THE 2025 WDCA senior cricket season ended in joy for some and heartbreak for others as the A reserve, B grade and C grade grand finals were fought out on Saturday. In the A reserve final, Rovers United Bruck held on to take the Brian Fisher Shield over Delatite at the Benalla Gardens Oval. Bowling first, the Hawks restricted Delatite to 94 all out before chasing the total in under 32 overs. Bart Cann found the first breakthrough, removing Nicholas Ferguson for eight. Adriano Speziale (2/10 from seven overs) and Cann (2/12 from eight) were tough to get away, while Dane Winter (2/10 from five) also found some wickets. Delatite opener Mark O’Loughlan provided some resistance, carving out 17 from his 31 balls faced, but no other batter besides Lochie Pymer at nine made it to double figures. With a meagre total ahead of them, the Hawks were in trouble early after a collapse saw three wickets fall for no movement on the scoreboard. Jon Hyde came in and settled the innings, peeling off 27 from 45 to help increase the run rate, but wickets kept falling. Eventually, Connor Dennis (13*) and Mark Drage (4*) saw the Hawks to a three-wicket win, with Hyde named player of the match. The B grade grand final was a similarly low-scoring affair between Yarrawonga Mulwala and Benalla Bushrangers, with the Bushrangers getting the job done by 16 runs at Stan Hargreaves Oval. Lee Brennan (24 from 68), Craig Williams (30 from 54) and Steven Pickering (21* from 15) made the runs for Benalla batting first, with Geoffrey Montgomery picking up three wickets. The Bushrangers managed 6/111 from their overs, with Laker Hudson Gillies lighting up the run chase with a half century from 83 balls. Unfortunately, no other batter would go with him, as wicket after wicket fell to see the Lakers bowled out for 95. Brendan Duncombe finished with 3/12 from his 5.3 overs, with Stewart McLeod, Brennan, and Leigh Pollard picking up two wickets each. In the C grade grand final, the Lakers managed to defeat the previously undefeated Beechworth-Stanley Wanderers by five wickets at North Wangaratta. Ryan Niklaus produced the only Wanderers innings of note batting first, managing 23 from 36 balls, while Yarrawonga’s Ben Picketing (4/30) and Will Murphy (3/21) tore through the list. A composed partnership form Damian Leeburn (44*) and Charles Jamieson (13*) would be the difference after a top order collapse.
