By Justin Flynn
Ocean Grove won the BPCA D grade premiership, beating cross-town rivals Collendina at Ray Menzies Memorial Oval on Saturday.
After morning rain delayed the start to the grand final, play eventually got underway at 2.15pm.
Collendina batted first and was in trouble early with opener Ted Wilson being run out without scoring.
Grove new-ball bowlers Trent Lowe and Callum Docherty kept things tight and at 4/21 the Grubbers were well on top.
A 38-run stand between Jacob Gasior (23) and Scott Grant (26) steadied things for the Cobras, but they would be the only Collendina batsmen who would reach double figures.
Some good catching and fielding from the Grove side were instrumental in winning the game.
David Bate grabbed 3/23 with his seamers while In the end, a total of 71 just wasn’t enough for Collendina to defend against a string Grove batting line up.
Docherty (two wickets) and Lowe (one wicket) went for only 18 runs each off their eight overs while Marcus Wirth chimed in with 2/10 from seven.
The Grubbers won in 25 overs with five wickets down.
To have any hope of an unlikely win, Dina needed to remove Grove danger man David Bate early. Bate was caught for 11, but the Cobras sent down 21 wides and never looked like winning.
Clynt Combridge was the best of the Cobra bowlers with the tidy figures of 0/11 from eight overs while Julian Wilson grabbed two wickets.
It was a deserved win to Ocean Grove, which was easily the best side all season.
