His name: Ramadan Yze.
The star veteran was instrumental in securing victory for the Tigers over Numurkah as he struck 14 handy runs with the bat and finished with bowling figures of 4-15 from his 3.4 overs.
Yze’s performance didn’t come as a shock to Central Park captain Tyler Larkin, who was full of praise for the all-rounder.
“He is just a legend,” Larkin said.
“The amount of times he performs in tough games, he would have that many best-on-grounds in finals.
“He is the most reliable guy in finals I have ever played with. His contribution to our team over a period of time is unbelievable.”
After accepting his medal for best-on, Yze was humble in his own description of his performance.
“I just turn up and play,” Yze said.
“Ask the boys. I just turn up and I love it.
“A lot of people tell me I’m silly to still be playing, but I love the game.
“We knew if we could get off to a good start and get them on the back foot, we were a good chance.
“And that’s what we did, got a couple wickets early and then I just tried to hide in the field and make sure the ball didn’t come to me.”
The grand final itself was a thriller for spectators and as the match wore on, Yze said his nerves began to grow as he thought of Central Park’s recent poor history of losing big finals.
“It got really tight towards the end and I thought ‘Oh, don’t tell me again’. But to actually get it done, monkey off the back like you said; hopefully, it can kick-start us for the rest of the year.”
Thursday night’s win was Central Park’s 29th A-grade premiership as it continues to dominate district cricket.
In total the Tigers have won 11 Haisman Shield, 11 one-day and seven T20 flags.
