Keilor completed a remarkable come-from- behind win to take out the Victorian Turf Cricket Association’s north-west premiership on Saturday.
Keilor trailed the Druids by two runs after both teams had batted once across the first two days.
But the momentum of the contest swung quickly on the back of a stunning bowling performance from speedster Dan Schuppan.
Fresh from five wickets in the first innings, Schuppan returned to cause more havoc for the Druids as he ripped through the top order, removing the first four batsmen.
Schuppan then returned later in the innings to clean up the tail.
His figures of 6-56 played a key role in dismissing the Druids out for 114, setting Keilor 117 for outright victory.
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Keilor coach Sean McManus hailed the effort of his star bowler.
“Dan has had an awesome finals series for us,” he said. “He had seven wickets in the semi-final and 11 in the grand final. To get 18 wickets in two finals is amazing.
“He’s a fantastic bowler with great rhythm and he doesn’t give the batsmen the opportunity to score runs.
“He’s also a great team player and we’re very lucky to have him at the club.”
Not everything went to plan in the Keilor run chase, with three early wickets falling.
Then club captain Kaushal Lokuarachchi stepped up, playing arguably his most important innings of the season.
The former Sri Lankan international player called on all his experience on the way to a vital 73.
Upal Bandara and Roshan Laksiri also made valuable contributions to lift Keilor to the target for the loss of five wickets.
“Kaushal has been fantastic for our club,” McManus said.
“To have a guy who’s played international cricket around the group gives a tremendous amount of confidence to our young guys. It’s one of the things that has made us a better team this year.
“We haven’t been relying on any one or two players. The young guys have all stepped up and been critical to us winning games.
“A lot of that’s down to Kaushal and what he’s been able to bring.”
McManus was also full of praise for Keilor wicketkeeper Chetan Arjun, who was involved in nine dismissals for the match, as well as Upal Bandara, who hit the winning runs after being a standout with both bat and ball this season.
As well as claiming the north-west premiership, Keilor secured promotion to the VTCA’s top grade for next season.
“We’re excited to win the flag and get up to senior division,” McManus said.
“If we keep the team together, we’d be confident of being competitive.”
