With its finals hopes all but dead, East Sunbury decided to give some younger players a run.
On Saturday, four of them made their debut in the first 11, thrown in the deep end against Wallan.
As the match came down to the final over of the day, it was left up to two of the debutants, Patrick Penticoss and Jack Dillon, to get their side over the line.
Wallan had made 6-161 off its overs; Thunder needed four for a tie and five for a win off those final six balls.
Penticoss and Dillon held their nerve, guiding Thunder to 8-163 and the win.
Thunder president Keith Osborne said the feeling around the club was amazing after what was just the side’s second win of the season.
“We went back to the basics,” Osborne said. “The way the season has panned out, we’re probably not going to make the finals so we decided to start playing the kids.
“It was good to see what they could do against a quality line-up in Wallan.”
Osborne was impressed with the efforts of Penticoss and Dillon, along with James Ellis and Jay Brockman.
And he was also full of praise for Gary Williams (65), who anchored the Thunder’s innings.
The win moves the Thunder off the bottom of the ladder, while keeping alive a small glimmer of hope for the final.
“We’re still mathematically in the finals race, but we need things to go our way,” Osborne said.
“We showed what we can achieve against Wallan and we came home strongly last year. The catch-up game with Macedon could decide the wooden spoon.”
This is all a long way from last season’s efforts when the Thunder made the grand final. Osborne said that, despite the results, this season hadn’t been all negative.
“It’s definitely been a tough year and a rebuilding year.
“We lost several players to Greenvale and we’re not going to stop players seeking the opportunity to play on turf wickets.”
One who the club has been missing is Jessy Carroll. The all-rounder was travelling overseas when he was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkins B cell lymphoma.
“Losing Jessy has been one of the biggest losses in the club’s history,” Osborne said,
“He’s been back at the club and helping out, which is a real boost for everyone.
“It’s motivating to see him around. He was doing some bowling coaching with the young quicks this week, and they bowled really well on Saturday.”
