Tara Murray
It wasn’t to be for St Anthony’s in the Gisborne and District Cricket Association Jensen Shield grand final on Saturday.
The Saints were the underdogs heading into the decider with Aintree and Aintree showed why it had been the top team all season, losing just one match.
Aintree won the toss and decided to bat in hot conditions on Saturday afternoon. With contributions throughout the order, Aintree put on 7-255.
Nishan Singh top scored with 79 off 93 balls.
Jagjiwan Singh was the pick of the bowlers for the Saints, taking 3-45 but was expensive as he went at more than a run a ball.
The Saints needed everything to go their way in the run chase, but it didn’t. Most of their batters failed to get going, with just one player scoring more than 20.
The Saints in the end fell well short, bowled out for 114 in the 29th over.
Gurinder Singh Grewal top scored with 59 not out, playing a lone hand in the chase.
Saints coach Jason Orr said Aintree was just too good on the day.
“I think it’s fair to say that they were able to put the bad ball away and take the game away from us.
“All the guys were pretty tired with the heat and chasing 255 was a big ask. We thought we had the batters to do it, but we needed a bit of luck to go our way and it didn’t.”
The loss added to a bittersweet ending to the season for the Saints.
The Saints second XI were also set to play off in a grand final, but a tribunal decision following the semi final against Eynesbury ruled both sides out of the decider, giving Woodend the premiership.
Orr said it was a pretty bitter pill to swallow for a team that had made massive inroads this season.
“We had a bit of a club intra match at the start of the year,” he said. “I was really worried and hoped that we would win a few games.
“We lost the first two games and one other for the year, they continued to improve throughout the year.
“The young guys were led by a great captain and we’re looking forward to a next year.”
Orr, who was in his season coaching, said they had expected a bit more out of the first XI with it being a more experienced side.
He said he was proud of both sides and what they had done this season.
Now with the on field results starting to turn, Orr wants to continue to build on that during the off season.
“We’re hoping to tap into the local community a bit more,” he said. “Hopefully we can get a few more players and sponsors on board and we can get back to where we were a few years ago,
“Hopefully we can have another team.”
