mmg.com.au

The sun was shining as Strathmerton celebrated a fine victory over Barooga in a cracker of a grand final in the Murray Valley Cricket Association Premier division on Saturday.

Strathmerton player Vic (Fossil) Cleary couldn’t have been more proud of the way his teammates handled themselves at Barooga Recreation Reserve.

‘‘It was an important win for the club and a good moral boost for the side,’’ Cleary said.

‘‘There had been rumours floating around that we may not be able to field a side for the start of the season, but with 10 adults and a few kids, I think we really pulled through.’’

Saturday’s grand final showdown was a close game, with Barooga winning the toss and deciding to bat first.

Tom Glover came in with 25 overs for 3-49 and Mark Haberfield with 30 overs for 3-49 kept the pressure on Barooga with 8-118.

Logan Morey and Barooga captain Matt Jaensch were an impressive batting pair, scoring 91 between them, with Barooga racking up an end score of 186.

Strathmerton captain Luke Carter and opening batsman Marcus MacMiller swung a lovely score of 112 between them, so Strathy was going okay initially.

But things started to heat up when it came down to 8-171, and the last two batsmen — 15-year-old Brayden Coburn and Tom Glover.

With a little bit of luck and whole lot of skill, they managed to pull away with 18 runs as a pair, making Strathmerton the winners with a total of 189.

With a spectacular catch from Sam Lee on the outfield, and the competition really even, the day had been an entertaining one.

‘‘I think that both sides handled themselves well under pressure and that the game was very close and even,’’ Cleary said.

‘‘I’m happy that we won and I hope that it will bring some more players to the club.

‘‘Hopefully next season we might even be able to field two teams instead of one.

‘‘We’re a good club, we just need the numbers.’’

Barooga captain Matt Jaensch said it was a good grand final game, despite the disappointing result from his team’s perspective.

‘‘It was tight and tough but it was good to see a grand final played in that manner,’’ he said.

‘‘There has to be a winner and a loser.’’

He said his team failed to make the most of the small chances they did have throughout the day.

‘‘We missed a couple of opportunities with run outs and catches.

‘‘There were a few things that didn’t go our way, but we just didn’t take our opportunities.’’

The captain said he was pleased with how his younger players had performed saying if anything it was Barooga’s more experienced players who ‘‘didn’t really stand up to the occasion’’.

Jaensch was happy with how Tommy Butler batted, and was similarly impressed with Murray Valley Cricket Association Rising Star Award nominee Logan Morey — who he said had set a good example for the younger players in the team throughout the season.

●Barooga Cricket Club will hold its annual presentation this Sunday at the Cobram-Barooga Golf Club starting at noon for lunch in the fairway lounge.

The event will include senior and junior awards for the 2012-13 season.