NORTH Nowra-Cambewarra secured their second Shoalhaven District Cricket Association first grade premiership in three seasons, after being crowned champions on Sunday.
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On day one, after electing to bat first, Shoalhaven Ex-Servicemens reached 8-247 after 60 overs at the Bernie Regan Sports Complex crease.
Leading the way was Mathew Ganderton (86), Nathan Tyrrell (40), Daniel Gleeson (29) and Graham Phillis (28) - Chris Bramley finishing 26 not out at stumps.
When play resumed on day two, the visitors added an extra 35 runs before being all out for 282.
Bramley went on to make 52 for the visitors, before being one of four scalps for Norths' Matt Hickmott.
The latter finished the innings with 4-69 from his 19 overs.
He was well supported by teammates Ben Seyffer (2-59), Justin Weller (2-81), Jordan Pearson (1-17) and Josh Coulter (1-19).
Needing a strong start to the innings, Norths fell in a heap early on - being 4-23 in the 11th over, following the dismissals of Hyeon Parsons (eight), Josh Coulter (three), Nick McDonald (zero) and Jordan Pearson (zero).
The hosts chase quickly turned into a survival mission, as the minor premiers knew a draw would be enough to secure theme the premiership.
Both Nathan Thomas and Jack Walsh dug their heels in and attempted to take the game away from Ex-Servos.
The former eventually fell for 37, off 138 deliveries, to spin bowler Harminder Singh.
Justin Weller came and went quickly for two and Norths were sitting precariously at 6-86.
Troy Sweet then joined Walsh at the crease, where the two youngsters blunted the Ex-Servos' attack.
Walsh's dismissal for 32 off 168 balls gave Ex-Servos a sniff late on.
But despite taking the second new ball, the visitors couldn't break the resolve of either man of the match Sweet (16 not out from 126 balls) or Ben Beck (five not out off 41 deliveries) - as Norths survived to be 7-118 after 94 overs at stumps.
With the cherry, Nathan Tyrrell finished with 4-32, while Manning Berry chipped in with 2-21.
The draw was enough to secure Norths the premiership, seeing them raise the trophy for the second time in three seasons against Ex-Servos in a two-day final.
"Chasing 280 was always going to be a tough ask, especially given how slow the outfield was," Norths skipper Nick McDonald said.
"When we were four down for not many was when I felt a draw was our only real option but I knew it would take an unbelievable effort to last as long as we did.
"The young guys as well as Nathan [Thomas] and [Ben] Beck handled the pressure exceptionally well, against a very experienced Ex-Servos side - they should be proud of the way they handled it.
"I'm stoked to have been able to captain this great bunch of blokes to a premiership - it means a lot to me given how many years we didn't even play finals and at times struggled to even win a game."