Skipper gets flag and a new baby

YESTERDAY is a day Simon Bourke will never forget.The Panmure Bulldogs captain-coach had just two hours' sleep before the Grassmere Cricket Association grand final.At 2.30am he had to rush to hospital with his wife, Melissa, who was in labour.An hour and six minutes later he welcomed his third son, Angus James - a brother for Declan and Darcy - into the world.Son No. 3 wasn't the only excitment Bourke soaked up yesterday as his side batted its way to grand final glory against Mailors Flat. Panmure's 2008-09 premiership cup will sit with a trio of others which the Bulldogs have collected during the past three seasons.Bourke was speechless after his overwhelming day so president James McKinnon was the first to speak to the team after the match."A lot of sides can say they've won one or two but it takes a really special club to win seven out of 10," he said, referring to Panmure's seven flags in the past decade.After the president's words, the emotional skipper told the side it was the best win he had been involved in."Just that last stand was amazing," Bourke said of Nathan Shand and Daniel Meade's 67-run partnership. After The Flat batted out day one, the Bulldogs were chasing a healthy 253.At 8-190 with only tail-enders left to face, Mailors Flat seemed like it was going to seek redemption for last year's grand final loss.But the unlikely heroes - Shand and Meade - stepped up.The Flat's last five overs were littered with mistakes, from misfields to wides and no balls.Shand and Meade took advantage of the errors by chipping away at their total with hard-running singles.With scores locked and three overs remaining, only a miracle would result in a Mailors Flat win.Shand ensured there was no miracle as he hit a boundary through mid-on to see the scoreboard tick up to 257 with two wickets to spare.While The Flat stood in despair - some, like losing skipper Leigh Finn, felt a sense of deja vu - the Bulldogs stormed Purnim Recreation Reserve to congratulate their jubilant teammates. Bourke admitted he was nervous when The Flat needed just two dismissals but always had faith his team could get up."Nathan had been batting pretty well the last two weeks and Daniel had made 100 in a final before," he said. "We knew what sort of situation we were in."He also knew what situation Panmure was in before it took to the field yesterday. "(Mailors Flat's 253) was gettable," he said. "We just had to bat our overs out and get those three runs an over."I thought our bowling and fielding (on Saturday) were pretty good."The chief wicket-takers were Shand (3-53) and Meade (3-78), capping off a memorable grand final for the duo.Sean James grabbed 2-21 while other contributors with the bat were Paul Moore (54) and McKinnon (33).The Flat's top scorer was Darren Loft (76) while Rob Bleumink added 49 and Peter Hunter put 31 on the board. Bleumink was best with the ball, claiming 6-72 off 29 overs. The skipper was asked what would be his priority last night: spending time with his wife and new son or celebrating with his team? "We all might have to go the hospital," he laughed."The nurses will be in for a shock."