WARRNAMBOOL’S dream of snaring a provincial grade Melbourne Country Week crown has fallen agonisingly short, with just seven runs separating the side from representative cricket’s holy grail.
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Captain Nathan Murphy said the loss, which came on the back of Geelong posting 8-188 in the first innings, was “gut-wrenching”.
Warrnambool was bolstered by a fast start but was quelled by the bowling of Geelong’s Chris Bambury, who managed five maidens from 10 overs. It finished on 7-181 from 50 overs.
“Disappointed is an understatement. It’s gut-wrenching. I don’t think the boys could speak for about 15 minutes after the loss,” he told The Standard.
“We were close. We were only eight runs of the provincial title. It’s going to be hurting for a while.
“I think this is the best team we’ve put together in the last seven or so years. We’re a really close team and I’m really proud of them as a captain.”
Murphy, the captain-coach of Brierly-Christ Church, hailed the efforts of many first-time representatives and said the association had a burning desire to go one better next year.
“Cam Williams picked up almost 300 runs for the week which is just outstanding,” he said.
“Hank Schlaghecke got almost 10 wickets for the week. Ben Threlfall was another who played his role with ball and bat perfectly.”
Warrnambool will return to provincial grade competition next year while Bendigo has been relegated.
