OUCH: Berry’s Glenn Brandon cops a ball to the head as Bomaderry’s wicket keeper Scott Fagerlund watches on.
THE Kiteley’s Roofing Twenty20 final last Sunday was everything spectators could have looked for in a final.
Tears, tantrums and team triumph combined to make for great watching at Hayden Drexel Oval, with Berry-Shoalhaven Heads just beating Bomaderry by 12 runs in a nail-biting finish.
Bomaderry got off to a bad start by losing the toss, leaving Berry to bat first.
The damp conditions made the batsmen work hard for their runs, with Kerry Penfold (3) and Aaron McElhinney (6) falling victim first before Glenn Brandon (26) and Jeff Dudgeon (23) stepped up to the plate and provided what Berry needed to give it a fighting chance.
Josh O’Keeffe finished Berry’s innings on a high, hitting the only six of the day on the last ball, leaving Berry at 6/108 at the change of innings.
Best with the ball for Bomaderry was John Muggleton (2/20), Jordan Matthews (1/18) and Matt Bell (1/20).
Bomaderry went into its innings confident, but tight bowling from Berry’s Chris McCarron (2/20), Aaron McElhinney (2/17), Tom Dougall (1/14) and David Crapp (2/20) left the likes of Scott Fagerlund (2) and Jarryd Sue (5) frustrated.
The turning point for Berry was tight bowling in the middle of the innings, and with Bomaderry’s captain Jason Bell (20) unable to connect bat to ball, the team’s strike rate plummeted.
Bomaderry got its second wind in the last five overs, with Jordan Matthews (25) and Josh Coulter (15) keeping their team in the game with five boundaries between them.
With wickets falling fast and thick, Bomaderry was unable to make the 13 runs needed to win the championship and a late runout had the side all out with one ball to spare.
Due to the craziness of Sunday afternoon, a error was made and Bomaderry was referred to as Nowra on the back page. The South Coast Register apologises for any confusion this may have caused.