A tie was as good as a win for Gisborne in the McIntyre Cup grand final on Saturday.
In an on-the-edge-of-your-seat finish, the Dragons fought their way to 215, to equal Diggers Rest Bulla and win the Gisborne and District Cricket Association’s premiership.
Confident at 5-129 after the first two days of the match, the Dragons were on edge when they slumped to 8-169.
Dragons’ playing coach Simon Harman had said last week it would be the first two partnerships on day three that would decide the game, but then had to sit and watch the bottom three batsmen get the job done.
“The first partnership wasn’t too bad, but then to lose two wickets straight away was really disappointing and made the job a lot harder,” Harman said.
“The nerves were sky high and it wasn’t looking good. As I said last week, we had faith in the other three guys and they were able to pull us over the line.”
Harman paid tribute to Geordy and Darcy Nolan, along with Jay King, who ensured the Dragons levelled the scores with the Burras at 215 a piece.
“All the more credit to Geordy, Darcy and for Jay King at the end for sticking it out.
“Darcy is fantastic and he is a big game player, who brings the big stuff on the big stage.
“It was a fantastic effort from Jay. He is badly injured and managed to play through it. We were anticipating him not playing. We’re glad we picked him.”
After tying the scores, Darcy Nolan was out the next ball, but it didn’t matter with a tie enough to give the Dragons the premiership after they finished higher on the ladder.
“Whether its a win or tie, it’s irrelevant to us. If you get a home final, you’ve been the better team throughout the year.
“It feels like a complete win to us.”
Ironically, the Dragons only finished higher than the Burras on the ladder after a final round win between the two sides.
“It shows you need to play all the games out to 6pm – we’re really happy that we did that,” Harman said.
“I think we took an important wicket with about 15 minutes to play.”
The win capped off a brilliant day for the Dragons with their second side taking out the C-grade premiership.
