After winning a close encounter with Old Carey over three days in the semi-final, Marcellin played Bulleen at Koonung Reserve for the title of Wright Shield premiers.
Day 1 began well, with skipper Cal Stewart winning the toss and electing to bat in great conditions for cricket. The two openers, Al Evans (29) and Stewart (36) got off
to a great start, scoring at 4 runs an over until the loss of both with the score in the 70's. Lachie Evans and Chenutha Wickramasinghe then consolidated with a fifty run partnership
before Evans was out caught at mid-wicket for 25. Julian Black then joined Wickramasinghe in the middle and both saw Marcellin to 3/138 at tea. Wickramasinghe scored at a good rate after tea
with the highlight being a straight 6 off Bulleen's opening bowler. He was eventually out caught and bowled to Garuge for 63. With the score at 4/190, coach Kris Krolikowski came to the crease and immediately put
pressure on the Bulleen bowlers, particularly on anything short. He combined with Black for a 73 run partnership before being dismissed for 40. Contributions from William Hiser and John Dinneen saw the score get towards
300 before Joel Donnellan came in with a quick 15 at the end to ensure the score reached an imposing 331. Black remained not out on 84.
Day 2 got off to a great start, with Marcellin's opening bowlers Tristan Black and Matt Bianco bowling an outstanding line and length and not conceding a run in the first five overs. Black removed both openers Woolley and Jolly cheaply,
having both caught at slip by John Dinneen. With Bulleen 2/11, Andrews and Garuge set about rebuilding the innings. Garuge was particularly damaging on anything full, playing some text book drives through cover. However, with
the score on 52, Bianco produced the ball of the season, crashing through Garuge's defence and taking the top of off stump. From there, it was always going to be difficult for Bulleen, with Marcellin keeping the pressure on in the field.
Andrews batted well, but with the score on 82 he gave a return catch to Dinneen and was out for 45. Krolikowski then came on and attacked the stumps, taking the next 5 wickets to remove any hope Bulleen may have had. With 9 wickets down, Bianco was brought back on
and took the final wicket of the match with an outstanding catch taken in the gully by Lachie Evans. In the end, Marcellin won by 188 runs, securing our fourth Wright Shield premiership in the clubs history. Wicket takers were Krolikowski 5/25,
T. Black 2/22, Bianco 2/35 and Dinneen 1/32.
An outstanding all round team performance with great contributions by all players over the finals series. A big thank-you to all supporters who could make it down to Koonung Park over the weekend, the support was really appreciated by all the players.