The Swans ended four years of finals hurt against the Owaka Bandits and beat their competitors by a huge margin of 91 runs.
Waihola was asked to bat first and recorded 206 for the loss of six wickets from their 40 overs.
The star of the innings was once again Waihola opening batter Rowan Craw. He and fellow opener Marc Kohey shared an important opening stand of 53 runs before Kohey was dismissed off the bowling of Will Clark for 22.
The Swans’ top order began to wobble afterwards and Owaka found themselves in control at 58 for the loss of three wickets, after Kellan Crowie and Toby Greene were dismissed in quick succession.
The partnership of the innings came between Craw and Dylan Bungard who added 108 runs for the fifth wicket. Once Craw had his eye in, he played some fantastic shots, finding the boundary with ease. Bungard started slowly, but finally showed his class, dispatching bad balls with ease to the boundary. Craw was finally dismissed towards the end of the innings off the bowling of Francis Parker for 90 runs, which came off 108 balls and included five fours and three sixes. Bungard finished unbeaten on 56 in another inspirational knock by the Waihola Swans’ centurion.
Owaka’s bowling innings lacked its usual intensity and their fielding at times let them down, too. Will Clark and Parker took two wickets.
In response, Waihola took first blood by removing the dangerous Gordon Edwards inside six overs to boost the confidence.
Owaka began to rebuild with the in-form Jeremy Gray and Sam Bastin before a hugely important over by talisman Dylan Bungard saw Bastin and Bandits skipper Quentin Gare removed in the same over to leave Owaka faltering at 54 for three.
Gray and Parker tried to resurrect the innings but the Waihola bowling partnership of Kellan Crowie and Craig Gordon left them little opportunity. The two bowlers bowled tight lines and were extremely hard to get away.
With the score at 78, Gray was stumped off the bowling of Gordon for 56. This started a mini collapse as Gordon rolled through the Bandits’ lower order.
The more wickets Owaka lost, the harder they tried, and in the end, they were rolled for just 115 in the 31st over of the innings.
Gordon finished with fantastic figures of five for 20 off six overs.
Gray (56) and Parker (16) were the only Bandits batters to make double figures.
This brings a close to the Southern Region Premier season, with the Swans finally getting across the line in the big dance. The South Otago Cricket Prizegiving was held at the Milton Country Club where teams’ and individual prizes were handed out.
Waihola Swans 206/6 (40 overs) beat the Owaka Bandits 115 (31.5 overs) by 91 runs.
- Francis Parker
