Diggers Rest Bulla missed out on the GDCA B-grade premiership over the weekend, falling to Gisborne in the grand final’s hard-fought final days.
With the first two days of the final finishing with Gisborne still 32 adrift of the Burras first innings 168 and with only two wickets in hand, Diggers Rest Bulla has firmly in the box seat for first innings points.
But two frustrating partnerships from Gisborne denied the Burras the chance to take a firm grip on the final, with the minor premiers crafting a 25-run stand for the final wicket to claim the first innings win on Saturday.
Wicketkeeper Chris Robinson (22 not out) was the architect of the late innings push for victory, working expertly with the tail to get his side home.
Final batsman Darcy Nolan (12) was also important as Gisborne took a narrow seven run lead into the second innings.
Contrasting the first innings and its grinding approach to run scoring, Diggers Rest Bulla attacked the game in the second innings in the hope of forcing a reverse outright result, hitting almost five runs an over.
However their 6/107 off just 18 overs never looked like enough to force the hand of their opponents, and when the Gisborne openers put on 38 for the first wicket there was only ever going to be one victor.
Gisborne eventually finished on 1/53, missing out on an outright win but claiming the B-grade premiership none the less. For the Burras it’s a disappointing end to a promising season, but a great effort for the side after coming up from C-Grade last year.
