Even though its conclusion occurred under cloudless skies, it was also – sadly – played out before banks of empty seats

John Polack15-Dec-2000Even though its conclusion occurred under cloudless skies, it was also – sadly – played out before banks of empty seats. The absence of patrons did not befit a match of this quality. Thankfully, Queensland’s players did not allow the lack of atmosphere to diminish from their sense of achievement as they ploughed their way to an emphatic triumph over Victoria in the National Under-19 Championship Final here at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart today.In fact, the teenagers from the Sunshine State produced quite a remarkable performance during the two days across which this Final extended. With their opponents defending a proud unbeaten record in this Championship that extended as far back as the 1998-99 season, they had come into the match as distinct underdogs. But they revelled in the status.”Everyone’s ecstatic to say the least,” said captain Nathan Hauritz in the immediate aftermath of the win.”We really thought we had a good chance in this game after last night (when we had them two wickets down). And it just all fell into place beautifully today.”Hauritz and his charges had experienced a day of fluctuating fortunes yesterday as they scrambled their way to a mark of 8/232 before letting their bowlers loose. But there was no mistaking the eventual victors’ comprehensive dominance of day two. Matters were still evenly poised when Victoria reached 3/83 halfway through the opening session. Thereafter, proceedings headed entirely in Queensland’s direction. A stunning collapse – which yielded Queensland their opponents’ last seven wickets at a cost of a mere thirty-three runs – ended the match decisively.”We thought we were in trouble when they were at 3/83 but they just collapsed. It’s the best feeling I’ve had since I (started) playing cricket,” said a proud Hauritz.As it was, the Victorians had entered the day in a potentially difficult position at 2/19. And they soon found themselves in further bother when Nathan Geisler (8) outside edged a Nathan Rimmington (4/36) delivery to wicketkeeper Chris Hartley only fifteen minutes into proceedings.But, with the enterprising partnership of forty-four that followed, Stuart Brohaska (30) and captain Tim Welsford (23) seemed to be setting the match back on an even keel. Through much of the opening hour, there had been very little to hint at Victoria’s later decline. It was a measure, in hindsight, of Welsford’s centrality to the cause that the wheels completely came off the Victorian cart once he hammered a Chris McCabe (2/18) half volley straight to mid off forty-five minutes prior to lunch.Brohaska had hardly played a false stroke until then and so maybe it was the loss of his captain that unsettled him into committing a bad mistake in the following over. Having punched a drive not far to the right of Luke Davis at mid off, the wicketkeeper-batsman decided to take off with the stroke. It was a fatal mistake; Davis picked up, took aim from around ten metres away, and threw down the bowler’s end stumps with Brohaska not only well short of his ground but with his bat still in the air.Matters became calamitous for the Victorians when Lloyd Mash (2), Viv Ion (4) and Mark Simpson (2) all beat the same retreat back to the pavilion within quick succession after failing to deal effectively with deliveries outside the line of off stump. Bowlers Scott Brant (1/11), McCabe and Rimmington had their rivals in knots by this stage and any attempt to score runs had suddenly assumed Herculean proportions.Cameron White (20*) conceived some lusty blows after the break but, within fifteen minutes of the resumption, the contest – and the fate of the championship – had been settled. After twelve days of competition, and only eleven days beyond its hammering at the hands of the same opponent in the tournament’s opening match, Queensland had secured its fourth national under-19 title. Significantly, this is the first time it has claimed the championship in its own right, each of the previous three triumphs having been shared. It was a shame there were not more people to share in their slice of history, to witness a Bellerive pitch inspire the rapid clatter of wickets, or to appreciate that the future of Australian cricket more generally appears to be in extremely safe hands.