COMEBACK KINGS

After winning the toss and batting first, Kyabram’s batters never took full control of the Henry Barrow-led Mooroopna attack.

All of Kyabram’s frontline batters got a start, but only opener Billy McLay did justice to it.

He faced 169 deliveries for a fighting top score of 52, with just the two boundaries.

Kyabram skipper and main batting hope, Kyle Mueller, holed out to a good catch on the boundary when looking ominous with 14 runs to his credit at the time.

But then only Charlie McLay with 22 off 14 balls with three boundaries and Angus McKenzie with an unbeaten 17 off 50 deliveries could add late valuable runs to take Kyabram’s final score to a moderate 159.

This total always looked within reach of Mooroopna.

But it didn’t by stumps on Saturday night when the Kyabram bowlers had them reeling at 6-34 with the McLay brothers, Jackson and Charlie, picking up three wickets each to put Kyabram sensationally back in the box seat.

But when the game resumed on Sunday there was another change of momentum when Mooroopna batters Brodie McDonald and Nick Breslin staged a gallant rescue mission with some old-fashioned gritty batting.

In a fighting seventh-wicket stand they picked off 64 runs to get their side back on course for an unlikely win.

But the re-entry of one of Kyabram’s first day stars with the ball, Jackson McLay, into the bowling attack with his brother Charlie and Angus McKenzie changed the game back in its favour within a few overs.

McKenzie claimed Breslin’s wicket for 17 to trigger the Cats’ late fatal crumble.

Then Henry Barrow fell to Charlie McLay for one before Jackson McLay removed McDonald for 47 which was the death blow for Mooroopna.

Charlie McLay picked up two late wickets to finish with the superb figures of 5-30 off 21.5 overs with 10 maidens, almost identical to his semi-final heroics from the previous weekend when he took 5-31 off 22 overs.

Jakson McLay also produced a lion-hearted effort with his marathon 27 overs reaping the fine and economical figures of 4-33, including 10 maidens.

McKenzie’s wicket from five overs at a cost of only seven runs was also a vital turning point for his side.

It was a fairytale ending to a fairytale season for Kyabram which lost its first four games and had to win outright in the final home and away round to even sneak a spot in the finals.

· Kyabram missed celebrating two premiership triumphs when its B-grade side fell at the final hurdle against Central Park-St Brendan’s in the decider at Mooroopna.

Kyabram’s batters were chasing a gettable 165 runs to win the flag, but came up 63 runs short in their chase.

Central Park posted 165 after winnng the toss and batting, but struggled at times against the Kyabram pace attack led superbly again by Connor McLeod with 3-31 off 15.5 overs.

Nic Chambers and Lukas Hanslow chipped in with two wickets each in tight bowling performances.

At 0-36 in reply, Kyabram made a positive start in its run chase, but after the dismissals of openers Tim Nelson (19) and Jason Leocata (13) no other batter reached 20 as Kyabram fell in 65.1 overs for 102 runs.

It was a disappointing finish to an otherwise good season which saw the Redbacks take minor premiership honours.