THE Portland and District Cricket Association’s 2022-23 under-16 season came to its enthralling conclusion on Sunday, with Portland Tigers defeating South Portland by 34 runs in a back-and-forth contest.

The Tigers won the toss and elected to bat first at Henty Park, with openers Toby Ralph (26) and Artie Harvey (15) looking to lay the foundation for their innings.

They looked to be on top in the early stages of the contest, sitting on 1-66, before Demons bowler Ty Matters helped swing the pendulum back in his side’s favour.

Having already claimed Harvey’s wicket earlier in the piece, Matters then removed Tigers skipper Ben McDowell for 18, before also dismissing the dangerous Seb Harvey for just three.

The Tigers got resistance through their middle order from Chad Finck (18) along with a rock-solid 14 from Mika Bottrall, however South were able to continue to take wickets with regularity.

Ultimately, the Tigers were bowled out for 135, a total both sides would rightfully have felt gave them every chance of victory.

Matters finished up with his side’s clear best figures of 4-24 from nine overs, while Tighe Warburton produced a tidy spell of 1-8 from eight overs which included five maidens.

Matters and Warburton opened the batting in reply and had their side well on top at 0-57 in the 17th over.

Both batsmen looked very comfortable at the crease, and it looked as though the Demons were well on their way to a straightforward victory.

But just as the Tigers needed to find a breakthrough, it was Rhys Cambridge who came through with the goods, as Warburton feathered one to Tigers keeper Seb Harvey to be dismissed for 33.

From there it was Finck who took over, as he claimed the wickets of both Matters and key South batsman Eamon Drew – for 20 and 15 respectively – in the span of three balls to get his side well and truly back into the contest.

The wickets continued to fall, with both Finck and Cambridge claiming another one each, while Artie Harvey made a major contribution with three wickets of his own.

Eventually, South were bowled out in the 37th over for 101, short of their target by 34 runs in what was nonetheless an exciting matchup.

Artie Harvey finished up with figures of 3-18, while Finck added 3-21 and Cambridge took 2-18.

Each team was presented with an MVP award, with the Tigers’ one, along with the overall man of the match, presented to Finck, while South’s award went to Matters.

Tigers coach Joel Askew said it was a quality matchup which demonstrated that there is a good standard of junior cricket to be found in Portland.

“It was played in good spirits and hotly contested by both sides, which is what you want to see at the end of the day,” Askew said.

He added that he was proud of how his side stood up at points in the game where things weren’t going there way.

“At one stage it looked as though South were well on their way to winning, but our boys stood up under pressure and it was a credit to them,” he said.

“We’ve seen great development in all these boys as the season has progressed which has been great to see.

“Hopefully it bodes well for the future of cricket in Portland, there’s a good batch of junior kids here who can really do something with their cricket.”