The Six-guns come out blazing
Moonee Valley was entering uncharted territory after it won the Ralph Barron Shield semi final in the North West Metropolitan Cricket Association.
Our Sixths had never won a premiership since we first fielded the team in the 2004/05 season, and none of our 11 players – 12 including 12th man Grahame McCulloch – had ever tasted senior premiership success at Moonee Valley.
And the drought was long for some of us – Joe Ansaldo was playing his 291st game, skipper Danny Terzini his 248th – and we had varying other veterans of the cause in the team.
The roll of honor included Murray Walker and Jesse Felle, who have played with heart for our Club right from the start of juniors in 1996 without ever winning a premiership medal.
The only players for whom it was all relatively new were Alex Gorham and Grahame McCulloch, both playing in their ninth games.
Alex had played in an Under 14 premiership at Moonee Valley, and Sam Carbone had won a medal at Buckley Park – ironically over Moonee Valley!
Pictured: Our Premiership team: L-R. Back - scorer Peter Smith, Pat Taylor, Jesse Felle, Joe Ansaldo, Michael Cumbo, Murray Walker and Shaun Rayment. Front - 12th man Grahame McCulloch, Sam Carbone, Dino Sapuppo, captain Danny Terzini, Mark Cini and Alex Gorham.
But in the here and now, it really was a Grand Old Flag for a dozen Moonee Valley players. The Sixths toughed it out to win the 2013/14 Barron Shield premiership.
In all, our guys had played in a combined 1425 senior games for Moonee Valley, including the Grand Final - and it was only in the tense final couple of hours on Day 2 that they were able to say that their efforts had yielded the highest personal and team accolade - a Premiership!
Finishing top of the ladder and winning the semi meant that the match was played on our turf - the eastern wicket at Ormond Park, and Moonee Valley's players utilised their knowledge of the pitch and the playing surface to good effect.
Craigieburn won the toss and elected to bat, but we quickly had them in trouble after Alex Gorham got the first breakthrough, with a smart catch in slips by Dino Sapuppo.
We had them 5/52 but then they consolidated, putting on 71 for the sixth wicket before Dino Sapuppo struck, with a super catch by Shaun Rayment on the boundary.
The early part of the innings had mirrored the semi final against Greenvale, who lost 5/84 in chasing our total of 9/259cc before consolidating.
The common factor in each of the bowling innings was Murray Walker, who destroyed the Greenvale top order on the way to 5/59, then did the same to Craigieburn for match figures of 5/42.
After the Rayment catch, Murray Walker picked up his fourth wicket for the day, courtesy of a smart catch at mid off by Mark Cini. Jesse Felle got an LBW, then Dino Sapuppo took a blinder of a diving catch on the boundary off Murray to send the late hitter packing.
We knocked them over for 170, with the last wicket falling to some foxy fielding from Joe Ansaldo, who wound back the years for a sharp return to Dan Terzini to effect a runout.
We had eight overs to bat to finish out Day 1, with fielders crowded around the ball. We saw off 4.2 overs before lightning intervened, and stumps were drawn with the score 0/5.
It was a tense time for openers Michael Cumbo and Murray Walker, but they were equal to the task. Skipper Danny Terzini and the spectators on the boundary were quick to let umpires Anthony Brick and Farhan Khan know about the thunder and lightning, and they called off play.
The light was bad as well, so that didn’t help the two batsmen out in the middle.
There was 6mm of rain overnight according to curator Spider Beel's rain gauge, but there was no delay to play.
We were brisk and business-like for the start of Day 2, and knew that we had another 73.4 overs to score another 166 runs to bring home the bacon, with all 10 wickets intact.
But some Craigieburn breakthroughs as crucial times with the ball threatened to be the real dampener, rather than the overnight rain, but each time Moonee Valley was able to consolidate.
Our openers were patient, but in the ninth over of the innings Murray Walker mistimed a hook shot and was out caught for three, with the score on 11.
Skipper Terzini strode to the crease, with an imposing 480 runs to his name for the season so far. He too was watchful at the start, before hitting out.
Mick Cumbo was next to go, for a restrained and careful seven, after blunting the new ball for 20 overs.
Another batsman with a fine season behind him strode to the crease. Mark “Junior” Cini had accumulated 373 runs in the Barron Shield at 53.29, and also had a 50 in the Fourths.
When Junior fell for nine and Danny was caught for 40 we were a slightly shaken 4/77 in the 40th over, with still plenty of work to do.
Young gun Alex Gorham hit the ball crisply after he joined Sam Carbone, but sacrificed his wicket for the good of the team in a run-out mixup. Alex knew that Sam was crucial to our chances, and selflessly ensured that he was the batsman who had to walk.
It was 6/118 when Dino Sapuppo was bowled, and 7/129 when Sam Carbone was given out caught behind. The length of time umpire Khan took to raise his finger showed there must have been considerable doubt in his mind, and watchers on the boundary reckoned he was more swayed by the vociferousness of the desperate appeals than the likelihood of any faint snick on the bat.
Jesse Felle had been in for four overs, and had been watchful. With the loss of Sam Carbone’s wicket, Jesse combined with Pat Taylor and showed they were made of sterner stuff.
Watchfulness was largely over. Jesse wielded the willow with devastating effect while Pat held up an end and blocked. Jesse took 12 runs off the 63rd over of the innings, and a few of us then dared to believe.
Craigieburn's last roll of the dice was to bring back their spinner - but little did they know that slow bowling was Pat Taylor's comfort zone.
The spinner was on. Jesse was facing. Jesse took a single first ball. Then it was four, dot, four with the spinner obligingly landing the ball right where Pat wanted it, and he launched us to victory.
A big smack over mid off was given as a four, even though Lou Raffaele on the western oval said it landed over the line and should have been called a six.
Two runs to tie – which would have given us the Premiership anyhow as we finished top of the ladder – or three runs to win.
It was of no consequence to Pat – the next ball went sailing to the mid on boundary, and the game and the flag were won.
They say victory is sweet, and so it was for our team. In batting order: Michael Cumbo, Murray Walker, Danny Terzini, Mark Cini, Sam Carbone, Alex Gorham, Dino Sapuppo, Jesse Felle, Pat Taylor, Shaun Rayment and Joe Ansaldo, with Grahame McCulloch 12th man.
Craigieburn were sporting and stayed around to watch the presentation of medals to our triumphant 12.
As an added bonus, they were presented by Pascoe Vale Central legend Ralph Barron, after whom our grade was named.
Twelve Moonee Valley guys wrote themselves into the history books, and it really was a reward for a lot of hard work over a lot of years.
Murray Walker won the man-of-the-match award for his five wickets, following on from his five-for in the semi final. He certainly stepped up to the plate at the business end of the season, with the two five-wicket hauls crucial in bringing home the flag.
Batting:
Cumbo ct 7
Walker ct 3
Terzini ct 40
Cini ct 9
Carbone ct 38
Gorham ro 14
Sapuppo b 3
Felle no 34
Taylor no 10
Rayment dnb
Ansaldo dnb
Extras 15
Total 7/172
FOW Walker 11; Cumbo 34; Cini 53; Terzini 77; Gorham 103; Sapuppo 118; Carbone 129.
Bowling:
Felle 23o 10m 2-44;
Gorham 9-2-1-37;
Walker 17.5-6-5-42;
Taylor 8-3-0-19;
Sapuppo 5-0-1-26.
***For a precis report and more photos of the game, click HERE.
