The Beaudesert Cricket Seniors were defeated by cross town rivals Jimboomba Bushrangers in the Logan District Cricket Association Division 1 Grand Final.
Beaudesert came into the match as underdogs having never beaten Jimboomba on any occasion, with Jimboomba finishing at the top of the Division 1 ladder.
Jimboomba elected to bat and came out swinging on the first day scoring 266 runs, with Jimboomba Bushranger Kim Watson, falling 4 runs short of a century.
With Beaudesert bowling, Campbell Stewart took four wickets with Andrew Steindl and Keegan O’Donnell taking three and two wickets respectively.
On day two, Beaudesert came out to bat with Keegan O’Donnell scoring 54 runs and earning himself a half century.
With Beaudesert on 89 runs midway through the batting order, they needed a big performance to have a chance on taking the win.
Jayden Stephan came out to bat and scored 66 runs off 114 balls which included four fours and a six.
It wasn’t enough to take out the grand final with Beaudesert falling short by 44 runs.
Sixteen year old James McClure jumped up into the senior’s side to compete in the grand final. He took a catch off a Campbell Stewart ball and made 14 runs hitting three fours.
Beaudesert cricketer, Daniel Samphier, said despite the loss there was still a lot to be proud of.
“We had a seesawing season and started to peak at the back end of the season, which gave us some confidence coming into the finals”, he said.
“We missed some crucial opportunities, but we all had a decent crack of it and showed plenty of heart”.
With the loss in the past, Samphier said the team just have to focus on next year and do one better.
“Jimboomba were just way too good on the day, but we look forward to taking the title back off them next year”, he said.
