Nestles break 20-year Warrnambool and District premiership drought with emotional win against Russells Creek

Emotional scenes gripped Reid Oval late Saturday afternoon as Nestles' time in the Warrnambool and District association wilderness came to an end.

The faces of many, beaming with pride, some with tears rolling down their cheeks, could barely hide exactly what it meant as the club ended a 20-year division one premiership drought.

After some near misses in the past and a large chunk of it spent away from finals action, the Factory are kings of the Warrnambool jungle again.

Moments prior, deafening cheers permeated across the ground as club great and stalwart Geoff 'Wiz' Williams capped off one of the all-time grand final performances by scoring the winning runs as the Factory chased down Russell Creek's 209 with seven wickets in hand.

Williams mixed poise, class and patience in an epic century, dubbed by several at the ground as one of the "best knocks seen in a grand final" finishing unbeaten on 115 to steer his side to a famous victory.

Proud coach Alex Strauch, who came to the club five years ago, described clinching the premiership as a special moment for everyone who've stuck by the club.

"There's a lot of pride with this group, we knew what we had to do and build this from the ground up," he told The Standard.

"We wanted to build this side the right way and filled a couple of holes with some experienced players but I'm proud of not only how they played, but I'm proud of so many involved at the club.

"There's a lot of people who've done a lot of hard work and deserve this win. It's just as much for those people as it is for the guys who played."

Earlier in the day, Creek - shooting for an astonishing five flags in six years - won the toss and elected to bat on a deck which on the surface looked like it had plenty of zip and enough grass coverage to give something for the bowling side.

Coach Cam Williams took the game on to make an entertaining 44, but it was Mr Reliable, Rukshan Weerasinghe's 52 which guided Creek to what looked like a potentially daunting 7-208.

Skipper Jacob Hetherington snared three wickets to be a key factor in holding Creek back while Max Hannah's new-ball spell of two wickets proved vital.

But 'Wiz' had other ideas as a large crowd got right behind every single run he hit.

From the outset of his sublime knock, his ability to pierce the gaps was a sight to behold. That unmistakably sweet sound of a cricket ball hitting the middle of the bat ringed through Reid Oval too many times to count.

The beloved club icon never looked troubled against a star-studded Creek bowling attack and quite fittingly combined with former BBL and state player Tim Ludeman to break the game open with a defining 116-run stand.

The pair came together at 2-67 and with the game still in the balance but Ludeman - returning to the club which helped launch his professional career this season - summed it up perfectly.

Allowing Williams to be the aggressor, the right-hander steered the ball into gaps, ran hard in between the wickets to make a superb 38 from 59 balls. When he was eventually dismissed, it was basically game over.

Hetherington, the reigning league best and fairest, was at the crease when Williams hit the winning runs to send the crowd into raptures and end the premiership drought once and for all.

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