Branxholm Brewers go back-to-back

Members of the winning Branxholm Brewers NECA T20 grand final.

February 21, 2024

By Peter Fish

Branxholm won the NECA T20 grand final in convincing fashion over a depleted Bridport team on Saturday.

Bridport went into the match without key players Taylor, LeFevre and Brown and batting first were kept to just 122. Veteran Troy Milne was promoted to opener and after a promising start was run out after a fatal mix up with fellow opener Andy Rudling.

At the half way mark of the innings, the Port were 1/42 and a challenging score appeared beyond them. Rudling eventually departed for a well-made 33 before Adam Wesley began to increase the scoring tempo.

He smashed 28 off a Keiren Mullins over, and eventually Bridport finished on 4/122 off their allotted 20 overs.

Joel Hayes and James Hayward opened the innings for the Brewers, and the Port were happy after Hayward was dismissed early. However, Hayes and Jonty Mullins then steadied the Branxholm ship.

Hayes began striking the ball crisply and was particularly savage on anything short. His team was cruising at 1/88 after ten overs, and despite eventually losing Mullins for 22 the match was seemingly over.

Hayes remained not out on 80 (six 4s, six 6s) and he led Branxholm to an easy premiership victory, repeating the dose from the 2023 grand final.

But if Branxholm was the major story of the day, five-year-old Ike Hill was the sub-plot. 

Ike fielded for the undermanned Bridport running energetically from fine leg to
fine leg every over as instructed by his father and team captain Scott Hill. 

However, unlike his dad, Ike did not drop a catch.