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Rum Pigs take out season title

Rum Pigs took out the 2014 Kununurra Indoor Cricket Association A-Grade premiership on Friday night.

Rum Pigs overcame a nervous start with the bat to claim the Kununurra Indoor Cricket Association A-grade premiership with a 28-run win over Knackers on Friday night.

Teetering on a small tally of just 11 runs at the halfway point of their innings, Pigs captain Mitch Cooke and Julien Stoldt set about changing the momentum with a counterpunching partnership.

The pair put on 34 runs from their four overs, laying a platform for some late power hitting by James Kenny and Rob Cox that lifted the Pigs' total to a defendable 82.

Knackers started the game red-hot in the field, with Shane Archer plucking a spectacular one-handed catch off the back net to dismiss Timo Diederichsen.

In reply, Knackers made a promising start and looked well in control before some brilliant catching during the second batting pair turned the match.

However, more wickets in the third pairing of Andre Rafferty and Gobro Pickering, who put on 21, had Knackers needing 44 to win with Hugh Mason and Archer coming to the crease.

They did their best to attack the bowling, taking risky runs and hitting balls in the air, but the total proved too much and they finished 28 runs short of the Pigs.

Pugnacious Pigs bowler and hard-hitting batsman Jamie Hair was named player of the match for his all-round efforts. Earlier, Carnardlies caused the boilover of the season when they upset the highly fancied Wolf Pack by 17 runs in the B-grade final.

Setting an impressive 111 on the back of more than 20 runs from each pairing, Carnardlies stepped into fielding with a spring in their step and took wickets at regular intervals to have Wolf Pack on the back foot from the outset.

Some late hitting from captain Manus Walsh and Brad Tomlinson, who put on 39, gave their side a glimmer of hope but it was too little, too late as Carnardlies claimed the title.

Kununurra Indoor Cricket Association president Ben Durrans said the season had been a big success with a packed crowd for the grand finals a testament to that.

"We started the competition a bit earlier this year, so it finished on a night where it's a bit cooler," he said.

"This is one of the best turnouts we've had in a few years."

The 12-team competition was split into an A and B-grade mid- season and has run for the past 18 weeks.

Durrans said the association was looking at running a short wet season competition to start soon.