South West suffered a 34-run loss at Horsham City Oval yesterday. 

Innings in the grand final were split in two as temperatures soared above 40 degrees. Teams batted in 25-over blocks in the morning and 20-over blocks in the afternoon.

South West team manager Ross McIlveen said the weather was an added obstacle. 

“It was pretty testing today. It was 42 degrees at one stage,” he said.

“The boys battled 40 degrees at each end of the week. They persisted to the end and showed some character.” 

Hamilton batted first, making 177. South West was dismissed for 143.

McIlveen praised his side for its efforts.

“It was a 60-run improvement against the same team we played on Tuesday,” he said.

“I am very proud of the boys; it was a great effort.

“At the start of the week if you’d have said we’d play in the grand final we’d have taken it.”

McIlveen said the run chase became too much for South West in the dying stages of the game.

“We were 15 runs behind after the 25-over mark but Hamilton had lost one wicket and we had lost three,” he said.

McIlveen said Hamilton had a mature side with a lot of top-age players.

He said the South West fielded a relatively young team and the association’s representative future looked bright.

McIlveen said the grand final was played at a quality turf wicket ground which would help the players’ development.

“City Oval is a beautiful oval. It was a thrill for the boys. They played Premier League cricket there only a few weeks ago.”