Queanbeyan skipper Mark Solway won't be forgetting this day in a hurry.
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North Canberra-Gungahlin have been bowled out twice in a day to slump to a 10-wicket Cricket ACT Douglas Cup defeat against a rampant Queanbeyan at Freebody Oval on Saturday.
It is Norths' fifth outright defeat in seven games - but the fashion in which this one came makes it stand out above the rest.
Bowled out for 103 in their first innings thanks to a Tyler Van Luin masterclass (6-32), Norths were sent in again after Queanbeyan posted 8dec-199.
It looked as though they might live to fight for at least a little while on Sunday morning until Vele Dukoski's five-wicket haul (5-60) saw the visitors bundled out for 100.
From there "it was all wrapped up pretty quickly".
"It was the last ball, well the first ball of our innings," Solway said.
"We came out to bat and needed five off the last over, otherwise we were coming back [on Sunday]. Brad Falkenberg hit a six off the first ball, and it was quite a big one too.
"We were probably a little bit lucky. We got the luck of the draw with the toss, it was a bit of a green seamer. We won the toss and sent them in, and we managed to get a few early wickets. We went out with a bit of intent with the bat and it just paid off.
"We were thinking we’d declare half an hour after tea, send them in and see what happens, thinking we might get them four or five down and we’d come back for the morning session.
"In that second hour we started taking a few poles. It was probably only in the last hour we started thinking ‘hang on, we can probably wrap this up today’."
Norths have finished the season with just one first grade victory to their name - a Twenty20 win over Eastlake in December - after going winless in the one-day and two-day competitions.
The signs are much more positive for Queanbeyan, who miss the two-day finals but will be buoyed by the experience of a one-day grand final experience and an impressive crop of youngsters moving forward.
"Tyler Van Luin with his nine wickets, he’s had a big season for us and has stepped up his game another notch from last year. He’d be one of my picks for one of the best quicks in the comp," Solway said.
"We had a couple of the young blokes bat up the order and look pretty good, so good signs for us for the next couple of years as well."
Meanwhile, home semi-finals are still up for grabs but Tuggeranong Valley have one hand on the minor premiership after posting 9dec-287 against fourth-placed Weston Creek Molonglo (0-8 in reply) at Chisholm Oval.
Ethan Bartlett's stellar day out has Western District-UC snapping at their heels after he bagged 3-38 and 102 with the bat to give his side a first innings lead over Eastlake at Kingston Oval.
Bartlett combined with Matt McGann (4-23) to roll Eastlake for 123, before the former peeled off his fourth century of the season to steer Wests to 8-275 at stumps.
Teenage batsman Dylan Faram's half-century (55) helped finals-bound Ginninderra to 210 against ANU, who enter day two at 1-16, at ANU North Oval.
AT A GLANCE
Cricket ACT Douglas Cup: Stumps, day one - WESTERN DISTRICT-UC 8-275 (E Bartlett 102; L Harman 4-90) lead EASTLAKE 123 (A Tett 52; M McGann 4-23) by 152 runs at Kingston Oval.
GINNINDERRA 211 (D Faram 54; L Pedley 4-27) lead ANU 1-16 (F Ford 6; J Willcox 1-6) by 195 runs at ANU North Oval.
TUGGERANONG VALLEY 9-287 (M Barrington-Smith 67; H Medhurst 4-91) lead WESTON CREEK MOLONGLO 0-8 (R Trickett 8*; S Devoy 0-0) by 279 runs at Chisholm Oval.
QUEANBEYAN 8dec-199 and 0-6 (B Falkenberg 6*; D Jackson 0-6) bt NORTH CANBERRA-GUNGAHLIN 103 and 100 (L Whatmough 20; V Dukoski 5-60) by 10 wickets at Freebody Oval.
