The Clermont Bulls have once again lifted the Central Highlands Cricket Premiership Barton Shield, claiming their fourth consecutive grand final victory with a composed and united effort against the Rolleston Roosters.
Rolleston won the toss and elected to bowl, but the Bulls were unfazed. Despite wet conditions in the lead-up to the match, Clermont set a competitive total of 130, led by Rhys Williams with a steady 54.
Club President Ben Reynolds said the team was focused on sticking to the basics.
“The wicket had water lying on it on Wednesday morning, so to even be playing on the turf was a credit to our curator John Wood. The key really was to bat for as long as possible and see out the 40 overs.”
With the batters having done their job, Clermont’s bowlers took control in the second innings. Mitch Wharley led with 4 wickets and his efforts earned him Man of the Match honours, Nick Smith followed with 3, and Tom Robertson and Brendon Finger grabbed 2 apiece. The bowling performance was backed up by sharp fielding and tight pressure across the field, restricting Rolleston to just 86 runs.
“Going into the second innings, the message was simple. Don’t give Rolleston any cheap runs. Stay sharp in the field and shut down the singles.”
That pressure in the field played a vital role.
“If you can restrict a team from scoring, especially by stopping singles and rotating the strike, it puts a lot of pressure on the batting side. It forces them to take risks, and wickets generally come.”
The win marks another proud moment in the club’s history. For Reynolds, the achievement is about more than just the result.
“Not many people get to be part of a club for that long and experience this kind of success. It’s a great feeling.
“As a town, we’re lucky to have a rich cricketing history. Some great players and families have come through the ranks. The next generation is starting to come through, and it’s great the older fellas are still involved. Some are even still playing and mentoring the younger blokes on and off the field.”
The Bulls also faced their share of challenges throughout the season.
“Our biggest one is usually just trying to field a full team each week. A lot of the fellas, as much as they’d love to play every weekend, have work and family commitments. There are some long distances travelled each Saturday. But even when we’ve only had nine or ten players, we’ve still committed. Cricket in the Highlands is the winner.”
The club’s strong connection to the Clermont community and the hard work of its committee are the driving forces behind its success.
“No matter what the sporting club or show society, without a committee there are no games or events. We’re extremely grateful for the contributions each committee member makes, week in and week out.
“Without our fans or sponsors, we wouldn’t have a club. Simple as that. Cricket in Clermont is a great community event and participation across the junior and senior teams is growing. The grand final crowd this year even surpassed that of previous home finals.”
Looking ahead, Reynolds isn’t ruling out a fifth title.
“I definitely think it’s possible, but we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We’ve got some great young talent coming through, but so do other teams. Rolleston, who we’ve faced in the grand final four years running, has a very young team with a lot of talent. They’ll have fire in them next year and will be looking to knock us off the perch. We’ll need to be ready for that.”
