There is nothing more gut-wrenching than being a victim of a reverse outright, particularly on the grandest stage.
Druids will have to live with that hollow feeling of having a VTCA north west division premiership in their hands, only to fumble it on a dramatic third day of the grand final.
Captain Shane Windridge described a Druids side that hit the self-destruct button, opening the door for Keilor to swoop for a five-wicket win at Crofts Reserve on Saturday.
“It was a shocker,” he said. “We batted terribly [in the second innings]. Our players tried hard, but we just had a few brain fades.
“A couple of guys ran down the wicket and got stumped, I played a sweep shot and got caught on the boundary, hit it straight to the fielder. We didn’t play smart cricket, just played poor shots at the wrong times.”
In a topsy turvy affair, Druids went into the third day holding a slender first innings lead.
Druids could only muster 159 with the bat, but were bailed out by their bowlers, who dismissed Keilor for 157.
It gave Druids the chance to dictate the terms on the second weekend, but it proved more of a poisoned chalice.
With a lush outfield after a wet week, the ground offered little value for shots, creating the ultimate test of patience for the Druids batsmen.
It was a challenge they were collectively happy to engage in, but ultimately each and every one cracked as the scoreboard was not ticking over at a desired rate.
The exception was Leigh Wilson, who stood out with 48 of the Druids total of 114 in 63.5 overs, which gave them a lead of 116.
“He was the only one who got stuck in and took it to the bowlers a bit with his batting,” Windridge said. “No one else stuck around and we couldn’t get any partnerships going.
“It was just the sort of wicket where if you played properly, you couldn’t really time the ball through mid-off and covers, the ground was pretty lush.
“You had to hit it in the air a bit to get value for runs, which Keilor took advantage of at the end of the day.”
Having observed the conditions for two-and-a-half days, Keilor knew that attacking cricket was the only way to reach the 117 target.
They had about 30 overs left to face on day three and had no intentions of mollycoddling the ball around the ground in order to survive to stumps.
With all guns blazing, Keilor reached the target in 21 overs, scoring at nearly five-an-over.
Keilor captain Kaushal Lokuarachchi, a one-time Sri Lankan international, made 73 at better than a run a ball, lifting his side to the premiership.
“The wind was blowing straight down to one end and the guys who were bowling into the wind, he just took them apart, hitting them back over their heads,” Windridge said. “He batted unbelievably well and was definitely the difference.”
Despite the abrupt finish to the grand final, Windridge was proud of what his “tight-knit” Druids produced this summer.
“There were time this season where we felt like we were out of a game, but we all stuck together and found a way to get the result,” he said. “When the going got tough, we all stood up.
VTCA – North West division
Grand final: Keilor 157 and 5-119 d Druids 159 and 114
