Faces of Tamworth: South Tamworth end grand final nightmare against Old Boys

Old Boys’ long reign as Tamworth premiers ended unexpectedly and, as often occurs with change, unsentimentally.

And when the last Old Boys wicket fell in last season’s grand final, it unleashed a celebration that burst through the withered husk of defeat like the sun lighting No.1 Oval on that hot Sunday afternoon in March.

At the heart of South Tamworth’s win were the three survivors of the side’s five consecutive grand final losses over the five previous seasons, Angus McNeill, Tom Groth and Troy Osborne. They posed for a photograph after the match, embracing one another in a timeless fusion of success and of reward for perseverance.

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The trio constituted one of several powerful storylines underpinning the match, including, of course, Souths’ bid to end years of disappointment.

There had been no indication of that occurring. Old Boys won the Twenty20 and one-day finals and dominated the two-day competition, ruthlessly dispatching West Tamworth in the major semi-final, in a season-best showing to that point.

On day one of the match on the Saturday, the puzzlement over Souths quick Tom O’Neill’s failure to get a bag of wickets this season dissipated like Old Boys’ batting lineup as the tall quick took six wickets to rout the reigning premiers for 123.

In reply, Souths were 3-85 at stumps. Veterans Blake Fitzgerald (44 not out) and Tom Groth (25 out out) were still at the crease. Out were Brock Morley (2), Josh Crowe (1) and Jack Massey (6).

Groth and Fitzgerald’s 44-run partnership on day one was pivotal. Had one or both of them got out, it may have been a different result.

Resuming on the Sunday morning, Fitzgerald and Groth took the score to 103 before the former was dismissed for 54, caught Simon Norvill off Aaron Hazlewood’s bowling. Hazlewood would go on to take 6-88 off 39.2 overs.  The combined over tally of the other seven Old Boys bowlers used was 49.

Fitzgerald’s departure signalled the almost inevitable wobble. From 4-103, Souths slumped to 8-117 after the losses of Chris Massey (4), Smith (0), Troy Osborne (0) and Conrad George (0).

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But as his partners came and went, Groth, a silky smooth gloveman with an agreeable demeanour, summoned all his considerable experience to score one of Tamworth cricket’s finest centuries, given the circumstances, after earlier securing the first-innings win – the match win, as it turned out – with a lustily struck boundary off his pads.

With Souths 8-125, Groth hit out superbly to effectively execute Old Boys’ notions of a fightback. O’Neill (28) combined with Groth for a crucial 56-run ninth-wicket partnership. 

When Groth was the last man out for 137, the underdogs had reached 259 – a 136-run lead. He blasted 18 fours and two sixes in his innings.

With 52 overs left in the match, Old Boys’ second innings commenced with opener Simon Norvill, the scorer of a 35-ball ton in the major semi-final, swinging wildly and missing at quick Angus McNeill. 

Norvill and his opening partner Abel Carney fell for 19 and seven. And Old Boys’ virtual mission impossible never gained traction, as Souths and their supporters savoured every wicket and the pending victory celebration.

That victory came when James Hammond removed Troy Sands in the 25th over – Old Boys gone for 148. 

O’Neill finished with nine wickets for the match, while Hammond claimed six.

Smith, whom Groth handed the captaincy to this season, described the premiership win as “huge” . “I got the honour to captain them,” he said. “But they’re a quality bunch of blokes. Like I said all year, on paper we looked the goods. Our goal was to go one better [and win the title] and we’ve done it.”