BALLARAT Cricket Association has swept aside two heartbreaking campaigns and charged back into Melbourne Country Week’s provincial division.
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Promotion came on the back of victory in the division two carnival, sealed with a six-wicket win over Leongatha in Werribee.
Friday’s triumph follows its relegation from the provincial grade in 2013 and back-to-back competitions foiled by wet weather.
Ballarat failed to lose a game during the 2014 tournament, but missed the playoff game after rain-affected fixtures. It then reached the final in 2015 and looked set for victory before a storm saw the clash abandoned with nine overs left to play. This meant the higher-placed Warrnambool and District was promoted.
The BCA boys set up victory on Friday with a strong bowling performance and then chased down a moderate total.
Leongatha, which lost to the BCA in a pool match on Thursday, managed to reach 9-136 from its 50 overs before Ballarat hunted down the total in under 31.
BCA captain Heath Pyke agreed it was mission accomplished.
“It has been a really pleasing week, not only from a cricket perspective, but even off field it has been a really enjoyable week with a good bunch of blokes, which is what country week is about,” Pyke said after the match.
Pyke said at no stage during the week did the squad have any worries.
“The playing group were terrific. We bowled really well all week, we fielded really well all week and (Friday) we topped it off and batted well all week,” Pyke said.
Pyke believed the association had the potential to clinch the provincial crown if it could assemble a similar squad of players to what it did this time around.
“If we are able to send away sides with the caliber of what we had this year, then there’s no reason why we can’t win provincial or, bare minimum, be competitive in provincial cricket,” he said.
Pyke was at the crease when Ballarat secured victory on Friday, with his unbeaten innings of 35 helping the side over the line.
Englishman Richard Moore backed up his century on Thursday with a vital knock of 42, while Sri Lankan Saman Jayantha made 28 to help Ballarat recover from a spot of bother at 2-33 early in the run chase.
After the BCA won the toss and sent Leongatha in, spinner Steven Nicholson and left-arm paceman Adam Eddy were the standouts with the ball.
Nicholson snared 3-25 from nine overs, while Eddy again claimed early wickets to finish with 2-18 from his 10.
The BCA went through the week-long carnival unbeaten after victories against Hamilton on Monday, Ferntree Gully and District on Tuesday and Leongatha on both Thursday and Friday.
Wednesday’s fixture against Mornington Peninsula 2 was abandoned due to wet conditions at Ivanhoe Park.