Wendouree is the Ballarat Cricket Association first grade premier.
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After an outstanding season, where it dropped just one match and finished on top of the ladder, followed by a determined finals series the Red Caps achieved the ultimate success.
After claiming first innings points last weekend, the equation was much simpler this week for Wendouree – deny Darley any chance of working its way back into the match. And that’s exactly what it did.
Wendouree batted for 105 overs across the weekend, dropping just six wickets while amassing 276 runs in another commanding display with the bat.
Just before the tea break on Sunday, the two captains came together to agree that the result was beyond doubt and the premiership was Wendouree’s.
Captain Cole Roscholler said it was a fantastic feeling to lead his side to a premiership and praised his group for showing plenty of “character” throughout the season.
“It’s a fantastic feeling, a bit more relief than anything, but over the next couple of days it’ll really sink in and the jubilant celebrations will kick in,” Roscholler said.
“We lost one game in round two and there was a tie in there as well, so to go through a season only losing one game (is great).”
While the plan was to bat Darley out of the game, Roscholler was mindful of not allowing a defensive mindset to seep into the Red Caps’ camp.
There was no such complacency throughout the weekend, Wendouree were still able to make plenty of runs as well as placing an even higher value on their wicket.
“Not only that (batting time), but playing your natural game, you can bat time and allow them back into the game so it was still about scoring and playing your natural game with freedom and not having a fear of failure and I think we did that pretty well.
“We still made 230 yesterday in 80 overs without taking too many risks, so that was a pleasing aspect as well.”
Roscholler was influential on the weekend. The captain led from the front with a knock of 96 on Saturday to further enforce the Red Caps’ firm grip over the match.
The Red Caps ended day three at 5-225 to give them a 290-run lead – leaving Darley needing something miraculous on the final day.
The Lions failed to make any significant inroads into the Wendouree batting line-up, which occupied the crease for the entire weekend until the decision was made Sunday afternoon.
The triumph is the latest Wendouree premiership in what has been a fruitful last decade, having strung together five consecutive flags from the 2008-09 season.
Roscholler said there was no exact moment throughout the season that resonated with him as a key moment or turning point, but he felt the shock round three loss to North Ballarat was a “wake-up call”.
However, the finals series provided some key moments.
In the semi-final clash with Napoleons-Sebastopol, Naps-Sebas were staring at a score of 260-plus at 5-207, before Ryan Simmonds and Tom Le Lievre knocked off the tail for 16 runs.
The Wendouree batsmen then recovered brilliantly from 4-68 to track down the total courtesy of a 98-run fifth-wicket stand
Roscholler was stoked to see the side “dig deep” for victory.
“The semi-final ebbed and flowed and to win that showed real character and fight from the group. Today it was tough tussle against Darley, but it was fantastic to win and it just showed we have 11 even contributors right through the group.
“The North Ballarat game was a bit of a wake-up call, as soon as we go away from what we do well anyone can beat us, but if we play to our strengths then we can beat anyone.”
While in the grand final, after a strong first innings of 268, the Lions responded to be 0-76. Before a momentum-swinging afternoon set-up the premiership triumph. Darley lost 10-124 from that point and could never work back into the game.
“It’s been a tough game of cricket, today I thought we batted pretty well to not lose too many quick wickets and give them a sniff, and yesterday it was just a grind.”