It was another successful season for the Mounties, with three of our four senior grades making the finals. The 1st XI, 2nd XI and 3rd XI teams all progressed to the finals which is a credit to their respective captains for navigating yet another competitive season. Unfortunately for the 1st and 3rd XI teams, they came up against strong opponents in East Ballarat and Golden Point respectively on the day and fell short. This does not diminish the high quality of cricket played by both teams – several players had terrific seasons such as Ash George, Ajay Mada and Tom Le Lievre in the 1st XI, and Paull Jeffrey, Sam Kuchel and Richard Matters in the 3rd XI. It was also great to see both new and returning faces don the navy and white, as the 3rd XI called upon over 30 players to help with availability throughout the season.
The 4th XI were strongly led by Shaun Jeffrey for another season, and also had to deal with availability challenges to field a side each week. Despite missing out on finals, the 4ths still enjoyed the season and played some great cricket, most notably the win against eventual premier Ballarat Fire Brigade in Round 15 and a thumping win over Burrumbeet to finish the year on a high note.
The 2nd XI capped off a great season by defeating Darley in the semi final and taking out the premiership against Coronet City. The team had a balance of youth and experience with Hayden Cartledge at the helm. Jarrod Burns was a key performer making over 150 runs across both finals, and an even spread from the bowlers made it difficult for the opposition to score runs. In the grand final, Coronet City won the toss and sent the Mounties into bat. The boys were eventually bowled out for 226 which put a lot of pressure on Coronet the next day. In warm conditions, the Mountie bowlers worked hard, with the younger brigade in Dylan Hocking, Lachie Brodie and Ky Jans all playing key roles. Dylan opened the bowling with a very tidy spell; Lachie turned the game around after the first drinks break by taking two wickets in three balls; and Ky put the clamps on Coronet’s run rate with a nice display of spin bowling. Overall it was a very even contribution from the team with everyone doing their bit with either the bat, ball or in the field.