Cricket Albury-Wodonga Country has toppled Wang Gold for Junior Country Week’s under 16 title.
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The standout player of the competition, Eddy Ziebarth, continued his remarkable carnival with yet another half-century.
Country collapsed to 5-50, but Ziebarth’s 65, along with 32 from Wilson Mack and Austin Shepherd’s 25, pushed the team to 178.
“The mental toughness of the team has been the major factor in the team’s development,” coach David Grant said.
“They’ve been together for four years now and it’s the first time they’ve won their age group.
“They showed the fortitude to fight back, a number of times they were five down but fought back to win.
“The only game where we had a strong opening stand was 60-odd against Wagga on the first day, and we lost that one.”
And that proved Country’s only loss over the week-long event.
Interestingly, Ziebarth was only confirmed in the side at nine pm on Sunday after officials had the incorrect phone number for him, and he was therefore unaware of the team’s training sessions.
When a player was elevated at the 11th hour to the under 17s, officials were able to make contact with Ziebarth.
“Eddy saved us again, he’s been the backbone of the entire week,” Grant said.
“His partnerships with Wilson and Austin were crucial.”
Gold’s Corey McIntosh took 4-19.
The visitors replied with only 106, James Jordan hitting 51, while Ryan Scammell claimed 4-26.