Brunswick Cricket Club's Craig Shield Grand Final

Grand Final - Oakleigh away

Oakleigh versus Brunswick for the Craig Shield title of 2026 was set to be an excellent game. Oakleigh were undefeated in the tournament, and no side had scored more than 131 runs against them, so they clearly had a strong bowling line up. While Oakleigh had been pushed closely in some previous matches, they had prevailed in each. Brunswick had lost matches in the round robin stage against two of the lower ranked teams of the North Group, but they otherwise had strong results, including in the two previous rounds of finals. Which of the two would prevail?

Brunswick lost the toss for the third consecutive time in the finals and were asked to bat by Oakleigh after the covers had been down overnight to protect against the possibility of rain. Oakleigh got off to the perfect start with a lovely first-up delivery pinging the top of Abhik's stumps. With the ball nipping around, soon it was 2/9, then 3/21 and 4/25, with Brunswick’s top four back in the shed. Combined, these four players had made 119 and 125 runs in the previous two finals, so a return of 25 runs in the grand final left Brunswick in a bit of strife.

While there weren’t any particularly large partnerships from that point, a series of double-digit partnerships, anchored around 41 runs from Hammer, got Brunswick to a total of 129. Handy contributions had been made by the middle and lower order, not least of which was the undefeated tenth wicket stand of 18 between Jed and Jonty – lower wicket partnerships are often key in finals. Would a target of 130 be enough for Brunswick, or within grasp for Oakleigh?

Storm clouds loomed but any substantial rain diverted around the ground, so Oakleigh’s chase proceeded without interruption. Well, without interruption from the weather. A ball hit hard back towards Jimmy in the opening over deflected off his finger and onto the stumps, running out the backing up batsman – an agonising way to be dismissed. Jonty then followed up with a maiden over, and when Jimmy hit the stumps with the first ball of his second over, Brunswick’s total looked to be some distance away for Oakleigh at 2/2.

However, two of Oakleigh’s best batters were at the crease, with Aiden Boby in particular playing well. Some bowling changes brought wickets, with Jude catching a fine edge from the fourth ball of his spell, and then again catching an edge to Hammer from the last ball of his second over. Aiden Boby then fell to Cale’s second ball; at 5/27, Oakleigh needed over 100 runs to win with half their wickets gone.

Soon it was 6/41 when Jed’s fourth ball was caught by Jude after a mishit pull shot. And within a flash it was 8/50 after Ben first got an edge to Hammer and then immediately trapped the incoming batsman LBW. The attempted hat trick needed to wait until his next over, but a full toss that Inderjot dispatched to the boundary put paid to that prospect.

With sensible batting by Zac Eipper and Inderjot’s continued stroke play, Oakleigh’s score edged higher. Once the ninth wicket partnership passed 40, doubling that contribution would see them breach Brunswick’s total. While Brunswick was still ahead at that point, Oakleigh could see an opportunity. Another lower wicket partnership was proving influential in a Craig Shield final match...

The Oakleigh pair had already seen off a couple of bowling changes, and they were well into Jude’s second spell when Brunswick's captain accepted a low return catch from the final ball of his eighth over. While 130 had seemed within grasp, 9/94 suddenly made a further 36 runs appear a distant goal. Sensing the need to do the bulk of the scoring, Inderjot sought to change the tempo from the first ball of the next over, but attempting to hit over cover he only managed to loop Jonty's delivery to Ben. It was Brunswick Cricket Club's Craig Shield Grand Final!

The margin did not accurately reflect how close the match had been. One or two batting partnerships would have been enough to shift the result either way. Credit goes to Oakleigh for their tournament - they won the most matches of any Craig Shield team in 2026. And thanks to Oakleigh for hosting a worthy grand final and for providing lunch for the players.

Congratulations to Hamish (Hammer) Kelly for being awarded the Aitken Medal as the best player of the grand final. His 41 runs in the middle order and three catches behind the stumps was an outstanding performance.

Result: Brunswick (9/129) defeated Oakleigh (10/94) by 35 runs

Leading numbers

Wickets: Jude 3/17; Ben 2/16; Jed 1/6; Cale 1/7; Jimmy 1/13; Jonty 1/14. Runout: Jimmy

Batting: Hammer 41; Jed 16*; Jude 15; Cale 15

Hamish Kelly receiving the Aitken medal as the best player in the Grand Final

Over the last five years, Brunswick have the best record in the Craig Shield:

quarter finals appearances in each of those five years;

4 semi finals appearances (the most of any of the 32 clubs);

2 grand final appearances (equal most of any club);

8 wins in finals matches (the most of any other club); and

2 grand final wins (the most of any other club).

It is a record of which Brunswick Cricket Club is proud.

A big thanks to everyone who has helped make Brunswick the 2026 Craig Shield Champions. A special shout out to club members for:

support and behind the scenes work (especially Rod, Ian and Chopper);

help on game day at Gillon (especially Nookie and TJ);

help with uniforms (John Martyr);

help on the field with coaching and selection (especially Nico, Zach, Owen, Mitch Taylor, Tom McK, and Brent Yates); and

head coaching and managing (Ross Coverdale and Mick McC).

Thanks also to the Association and the umpires for running an excellent tournament, noting Mick Moore's contribution as umpire and support for the team (when not umpiring!). Thanks also to the other teams in the competition, especially those who hosted us at their grounds during the tournament, and to Yarraville and Oakleigh who provided lunch for the players in the quarter final and grand final.

Thanks to Jason Sefton for the photos!

Finally, a big thank you to the players and their families for securing Brunswick's second win in the Craig Shield.

Brunswick CC -Craig Shield 2026 Champions!

Carn the Wicks!