The final chapter of the 2020-21 Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association summer took place around the Blue Lake City last weekend with three grand finals.
Glencoe came back to the Hoggies Wines Crouch Shield in grand style by taking home the trophy.
After only fielding a C Grade side last summer, the Murphies took the B Grade competition by storm and won the decider over South Gambier at Scott Park.
The premiers batted first and its top order laid the foundations for a solid score.
Marcus Von Duve and Jed Matthews top scored with 28 and 23 respectively to push Glencoe to 3/79.
But the Demons bowlers turned the match on its head by tearing through the remainder of the batsmen.
A four-wicket haul from Jack Domaschenz sparked a dramatic collapse of 7/33 and suddenly the Murphies were all out for 112.
Despite South’s fast finish, Glencoe was even more destructive with the ball.
The Demons’ top order could not cope with the Murphies relentless pressure and lost five wickets before stumps.
The carnage continued when play resumed on Sunday and South’s hopes were all-but over after it was knocked over for 88 inside 39 overs.
Glencoe captain Zacc Cocks was the chief destroyer taking 5/28.
With a slender lead of 24, the Murphies padded up again and scored 2/30 before stumps was called to signal a convincing win.
After dominating the home-and-away season, Kalangadoo was the rightful winner of the Cox Bros Shield.
In the grand final Mil Lel just could not keep up with the relentless pace of the Magpies.
Kalangadoo batted first and recovered from some early wickets with a huge 131-run stand between Sam Casey and Ben Newton for the fourth wicket.
Casey played a classic innings with his 147-ball 68 forming the rock his teammates built the innings around.
Meanwhile, Newton stole the show at the other end.
The heavy-hitting number 5 smashed 11 maximums during a fine display of ball striking.
Newton raced to 99 off just 58 balls, but could not bring up the coveted century after agonisingly falling to Bradley Hann.
These two big innings vaulted the Magpies to a commanding 282 from just 59.4 overs, while Jordan Haggett was the pick of the bowlers with 4/42.
Mil Lel struggled to fire in the run chase with only Brett and Wayne Lawson able to offer major resistance with 24 and 44 respectively.
Four bowlers claimed multiple wickets led by Sam Triffitt in Mil Lel’s 137 which finished in spectacular fashion.
Facing Adam Mulraney, Mil Lel tail-ender Lachy Buckley swiped across the line and a leading edge flew straight up in the air.
Positioned at slip was Shane Giddings, who covered lots of ground before diving over his son Ethan to take an unforgettable match-winning catch.
