Pure relief, satisfaction and euphoria permeated across Reid Oval late on Sunday afternoon as Allansford-Panmure and its legion of fans, players and volunteers soaked in premiership glory.
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The Gators were crowned kings of the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association in season 2023-24, overcoming a brave and dogged Nestles to clinch their first division one title since 2010-11 with a 66-run win.
It was a win built on relentless pressure and against an opponent determined to go back-to-back after coming into the decider with unrelenting momentum.
There was few moments where the game appeared won or lost for either side, but as has been the case all season, the Gators - who won the minor premiership - had the answers at the right time.
Reigning league best and fairest Shashan Silva, in his first year at the club after tasting premiership success multiple times with Russells Creek, told The Standard he was almost lost for words but "unbelievably proud".
"The talent's always been there at the club and what I wanted to do as a leader was to bring the best out of them," he said.
"The structure at the club was already there when I arrived from Timmsy (Kyall Timms) and everyone jumped on board straight away and it made my captaincy easier. The boys just listened to everything and it's easy to work with them.
"I'm so lucky to have such an established leadership at the club. When I came in, it felt like family already.
"I'm so proud of everyone at Allansford for all the hard work that was put into this result."
Playing-coach Kyall Timms said the division one premiership was a long time in the making and praised everyone involved within the club in making it possible.
He believed from the ground up, Allansford was a special cricket club only made possible through the tireless work of its volunteers.
"I'm pretty relieved. In the two years since I've been back as coach of the club, we sat down when they approached me to take it on again and we said if we're going to do it, we've got to do it properly," he said.
"We said we wanted structure and wanted to recruit and go hard at it. It's relief, pure joy, happiness to see it come off. It's good to give back to the club as well.
"We're a club of volunteers, we're a community at Allansford. It means so much to a lot of people and that's probably the most enjoyable thing to see.
"The players get to reap the rewards in the end for the facilities, and to give back to them is pretty special."
The Gators successfully defended 204, rolling the Factory for 138, with spinners Rommel Shahzad (3-41), Shiv Kumara (3-19) and Simon Richardson (2-31) leading the way.
Experienced batter Chris Bant (38) and Daniel Meade (42) played vital hands for the Gators on day one.
Patrick Mahony was named player of the match for his classy 33 with the bat late on day one, while his fielding, which included a spectacular catch to remove star opposition skipper Jacob Hetherington, was game-changing.
Nestles batter Michael Harricks battled hard on day two to make a typically gritty half-century.
Timms said the game never felt secure and knew his team needed to stay focused for the entire two days.
"200 on this ground is probably under par to be honest, the ground is impeccable so we thought it was competitive but maybe a bit under," he said.
"They have some seriously good batsmen and I didn't think we were on top until we got that last wicket.
"I've played senior cricket for 25-plus years, there's highs and lows in grand final and credit to Nestles for their fight.
"It was a game played in incredible spirits. It was a pleasure to play in."
Nick Creely
Sports reporter with The Standard
Sports reporter with The Standard
