Lions fall short of three-peat after being well beaten by Park in ADCA under-17s grand final

Collingwood Park capped a superb under-17 season with victory in Sunday’s grand final over rivals Royals at Turf North. Park finished the regular season on top of the ladder and faced a Lions outfit chasing a third-straight Albany and Districts Cricket Association under-17 premiership. The target of 176 to win was simply too many for the Lions, as Park claimed deserved grand final glory. Batting first, Park made a strong start after O’Shea Durack played with freedom at the top of the order. Austin Brown fell to Caleb Haua for four but Durack and Jed Schwarzbach set the tone with a 35-run second-wicket stand. Schwarzbach became the first of three scalps for Lions seamer Hayden Leo, departing for 16. Leo then snared Durack for a well-compiled 34 from 52 balls, including five boundaries, and when he had Buddy Robinson caught for six Park had stumbled to 4-68. Rory Luscombe and Peter Darmody then swung the momentum back in Park’s favour as their 71-run partnership helped set a strong total. Luscombe made 32 from 50 deliveries and Darmody top-scored with 35 from 39 to take the game away from the Lions. Late contributions from Kaleb Germain (15no) and Liam Pretorious (13no) ensured Park reached 7-175 from their 45 overs. Leo was the pick of the bowlers for the Lions with 3-27 from his seven overs while Haua toiled hard without much luck to return 1-17. Spinner Vince Bascombe snared the crucial wickets of Luscombe and Darmody in his spell of 2-5. In the chase the Lions lost Bascombe (3) early on and then key top-order player Devon Jefferis was clean bowled by Robinson on four. Robinson then snared the prized wicket of Teague Valli, a ball keeping low to rattle into the stumps and leave the Lions stunned at 3-29. Hayden Leo’s patient 68-minute innings ended on 12 when he was removed by Darmody and his side were in all sorts of trouble at 5-38 when Riley Bessen was out to a terrific diving catch from Brown. Despite the best efforts of Haua who made an unbeaten 46, the Lions came up well short. Haua hit one four and one six but he lacked support as only Davey Wignall (15) and Leo reached double figures. The Lions were all out on the final ball of the chase, losing by 46 runs in the end. Darmody was named player of the final for his efforts with the bat and 2-4 from three overs. Robinson was terrific with 2-11 from his five overs and Durack was economical with 1-8 from six in the middle overs to help Park secure the title.