The one-day final lived up to the billing as it went right down to the final ball before Coro Cougars were able to come away with a four-wicket win over Diggers on Sunday.
The final opponents weren't decided to the day before when Diggers were able to pick a six-wicket win over Hanwood on Saturday.
The game out at Hanwood was the only game to get completed on Saturday as a storm rolled through in the mid-afternoon, which saw the first and second-grade games in Griffith abandoned.
Hanwood elected to win the toss and elected to bat but lost the wicket of Oliver Bartter (0) early.
Jordan Whitworth (23) and Tom Shannon (18) got starts, but it was Luke Docherty (32) who got Hanwood progressing towards a competitive total.
The Hanwood middle and lower order chipped in to help their side reach 162 of their 40 overs.
Diggers made a quick start in response but lost the wicket of Mick Duncan (15) before a weather interruption.
Paresh Patil (29) and Trevor Richards (23) got starts to see Diggers just ahead when they were forced from their field once more.
Diggers wasted no time after a half-hour delay with Theo (46*) and Tom (16*) Valeri booking their side into the one-day final on Sunday.
Weather played a role on Sunday, with the final delayed by an hour and a half, which saw the game reduced to a 32-over game.
Diggers won the toss and elected to bat but lost the wickets of Duncan (0) and Kyle Bennett (1) to the bowling of Alex Flood.
Flood (3/28) followed it up with the wicket of the dangerous Richards (8) as Diggers were struggling on 3/31.
Dean Bennett (44) tried to be the backbone of his side's innings but finding a partner who was able to hang around with him proved difficult as the slow bowling of Rob Rand (2/8) and Shane Hutchinson (1/21) prevented Diggers from breaking away.
A late cameo from Meli Ranitu (13) and Matt Peruzzi (11) saw Diggers finish their 32 overs on 9/110.
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Coro were able to make a strong start with Tim Rand and Brent Lawrence putting on 29 for the first wicket before Lawrence (17) fell to Peruzzi.
Rand and Haydn Pascoe kept their side rolling and got their side into a position of needing 36 runs off the final nine overs when Rand (15).
When Pascoe (48), Brendan Hicken (0) and Mathew Axtill (1) fell in quick succession, the game was heading down to the wire.
Heading into the final over, the Cougars needed six runs off six ball and heading into the final ball, they needed two to win. Jake Rand (9*) was able to flick one off his pads and complete three runs to give Coro the win.
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Liam Warren
As someone with an underlying passion about sport it is a privilege to report on the sporting landscape around the MIA
As someone with an underlying passion about sport it is a privilege to report on the sporting landscape around the MIA
