What’s better than capping a dominant season by celebrating a premiership at your home ground in front of family, friends and loyal supporters, you ask?
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Doing it twice on the same day.
Sunday, March 22, will go down in the annals of Eastern Hill Cricket Club as one of the Eagles’ most successful days, with both the A and B-grade sides saluting at Kings Park to clinch their respective Gisborne and District Cricket Association premierships, sparking jubilant scenes from the many faithful that turned out to witness history.
It was a feat a year in the making for the A-grade side in the Johnstone Shield firsts competition, having suffered heartbreak in the decider last season, a loss which it well and truly made amends for with a peerless 2025-26 campaign, going undefeated and largely untroubled in a dazzling crusade.
The formidable Eastern Hill line-up proved almost faultless this season, and it was no different in the grand final, immediately sending opponent Diggers Rest Bulla Village into disarray despite losing the toss.
Being sent into the field proved no worry for the Eagles, as Nathan Fowler struck with just the second ball of the contest to leave the Burras down 1-0 in an act that foreshadowed the overall outcome.
Diggers Rest settled the nerves and attempted to recover, slowly advancing the scoreboard for 16 overs until Fowler (2-37) struck again, leaving both Burras openers in the sheds inside 17 overs with only 25 runs on the board, as the Eagles made a blistering start.
However, the visitors were up for a fight and resolved to dig in, adding 33 runs for the third wicket as they looked to turn their fortunes around, only to be met by the full force of Tim Rudd-Schmidt.
In a match-defining spell, Rudd-Schmidt managed to break the partnership to reduce the Burras to 3-58, before removing the opposing skipper Evan Long shortly after to make it 4-67, which became 5-68 as the crafty seamer snared three wickets in as many overs to blow the contest wide open.
Oscar Newell, fresh off a seven-wicket haul in the semi-final, took advantage of the carnage, snaring his first of the decider to see Diggers Rest slump to 6-76, before Rudd-Schmidt (4-22) claimed his fourth scalp to leave the Burras precariously placed at 7-88.
It didn’t take long for the Eagles to finish things off, as Newell (2-21) snared a second, while Benjamin Bryant (2-19) joined the party with two in two balls, as the ruthless Eastern Hill outfit stormed through the Diggers Rest batters in 53.4 overs and restricted them to 104 runs, leaving 105 runs between themselves and the premiership cup.
Opener Billy Cox was an early casualty, dismissed for three as the Eagles slumped to 1-11 after nine overs, but Dean Fulco and Benjamin Bryant steadied the ship with a patient approach, guiding Eastern Hill to 1-29 at stumps on day one, needing 75 runs for victory on day two with nine wickets in hand.
Fulco and Bryant resumed the cautious approach on Sunday, adding 20 runs in nine overs before Bryant fell for 24 from 60 deliveries, leaving the Eagles at 2-49 after 28 overs.
Newell strode out to join Fulco at the crease and the pair looked prepared to do it slowly, ticking off the remainder of the 56 still required with ones and twos, creeping ever closer to victory.
Despite a steadfast 26 runs off 111 deliveries, Fulco fell some 39 runs shy of victory, bringing Fowler to the middle, and with it a much more positively inclined intent to score.
It took only six overs following Fowler’s arrival for the Eagles to reach the magic number, sealing a terrific seven-wicket win with Newell and Fowler finishing unbeaten on 24 and 23, respectively, to cement Eastern Hill’s historic unbeaten season.
Rudd-Schmidt was named player of the match for his efforts with the ball, his 4-22 largely dictating the outcome, which will see Eastern Hill promoted to the top division McIntyre Cup competition next season.
The celebrations didn’t stop there, though, as the Eagles’ B-grade side prevailed in an absolute thriller, compounding Diggers Rest Bulla Village’s misery by condemning it to a second defeat for the afternoon.
After scraping through to the decider with a three-run victory in the semi-final last week against East Sunbury, the Eagles once again took things down to the wire in the Johnstone Shield seconds competition, snaring a 10-run victory to cover themselves in glory.
Sent in to bat on day one after losing the toss, the Eagles suffered a horror start as both openers Harvey Hager and Josh Speechley were dismissed early, leaving Eastern Hill in trouble at 2-6.
Tayte Hoefchen and Brayden Speechley stepped up, combining for a 77-run stand for the third wicket to put the Eagles back in the contest, although they both fell within quick succession for 48 and 33, respectively, as Eastern Hill tumbled to 4-89.
Skipper Peter Speechley anchored the middle order with a knock of 27 from 44 in the face of carnage, although his wicket looked to spell the end of the resistance as the Eagles were in peril at 7-125.
Eric Loweke, batting at number eight, provided an invaluable innings, though, mustering 31 from 83 deliveries as he fought to keep his side in the hunt, guiding Eastern Hill to 178 before becoming the final wicket to fall.
Defending a total of 178, the Eagles needed a hot start with the ball, and that is exactly what they got in the final 16 overs before stumps.
Peter Speechley (2-51) and Fraser Lewis were on fire, each claiming two wickets inside the first 12 overs as the Burras slumped to 4-25, eventually reaching stumps at 4-36 as the Eagles asserted themselves on the contest and put themselves in prime position to wrap things up early on day two.
But the early finish never arrived, as Diggers Rest settled in for a 95-run partnership for the fifth wicket, a stand which defied the early momentum and flipped the game entirely on its head.
By the time Lewis claimed his third scalp to break the stand, the Burras sat at 5-120, needing 59 runs for victory with five wickets in hand, and the game was suddenly right in the balance again.
A run-out and wickets to Lewis and Oliver Fulton (1-10) between the 76th and 79th overs brought the Eagles to the edge of victory as Diggers Rest fell to 9-165.
The Burras needed 14 runs with 11 deliveries remaining and one wicket in hand, meaning it was still anyone’s game.
The final over was given to Lewis, already with five wickets to his name, and he did not let the Eagles down, bowling two dot balls before claiming the match-winning wicket, bowling Diggers Rest out for 168 to give Eastern Hill a 10-run victory.
Lewis finished with figures of 6-42 following his premiership-winning efforts, as the Eagles players, A and B-grade alike, celebrated a famous day for the club long into the night.