Demon slayed by Cats crown
BROADBEACH Robina workhorse Reece McDonald admits a weight has been lifted after the Cats yesterday banished their finals demons – and Alberton Ormeau – to claim the Kookaburra Cup crown.
Semi-finalists for each of the past eight seasons, Broadbeach ended five years of playoff pain with a six-wicket grand final triumph at Robina’s Bill Pippen Oval.
Chasing 119 for victory after dismissing the Hurricanes early yesterday, the Cats never looked in trouble as top-order pair Ben O’Connell (25) and Tom Scriven (32) laid the groundwork for Steven Baker (27 not out) and Ryan Armstrong (20 not out) to apply the finishing touches.
It was a far cry from the Broadbeach teams that had lost five-straight playoff games before this season, with semifinal destroyer and man-ofthe-match Scriven again running riot on Saturday en route to figures of 7-43 from 21.3 overs.
McDonald, the Englishman’s partner in crime with 2-65 from 19 overs, said while the Cats’ horror finals record was barely mentioned, breaking through for a first flag since 2012-13 had been cathartic.
“I’ve been at the club for four years and to finally break the semi-final hoodoo and get one (a premiership) is really good,” the 35-year-old said.
“We didn’t really discuss (the record) in-house. I know Shane (Davis, coach) mentioned it once and said we kind of need to forget about that. This was a whole different group, I think there was only two or three guys left that had lost a few.
“I think the other players would probably agree with me there that getting past the semi finals and winning another flag is a bit of a weight off the shoulders. I know in recent years the guys probably felt they should’ve won one but we choked … so it’s nice to finally get it done.”
Having won the toss on a rain-disrupted first day, Alberton never got going with the bat, with Matthew Yiend (56 off 67) and Shane Connors (16) the only players to pass 15.
McDonald said Scriven’s second fast-bowling masterclass in as many weeks had been impressive to watch.
“He’s a class player. Alberton got a good partnership (on Saturday) when Connors and Yiend were batting. They were starting to get on top of us a bit and score some runs and then Tom made the breakthrough and got Yiend out.
“But there was a good 10over period there where it was in the balance and it went our way, which was good. Batting today, I knew it was good conditions and we’d get the job done.”