Weston Creek Molonglo claim Cricket ACT Gallop Cup threepeat

Weston Creek Molonglo captain John Rogers laughs there aren't too many he can think of - but he is relishing the chance to sit back and watch Jono Dean take the reins this week.

Rogers captained Creek to their third consecutive Cricket ACT Gallop Cup title in a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Queanbeyan at Manuka Oval on Sunday.

Now he will hand the captaincy duties to Dean when he returns for the Twenty20 Cup campaign beginning on Thursday night.

"It's absolutely fantastic, it's his bread and butter. He'll take the reins as captain and I'm actually really looking forward to just playing for a little bit and letting Jono do his thing," Rogers said.

"Twenty20 is his thing, so I'm happy to sit back and watch that. The plan for him to take on the Twenty20 has been in place all season, from July, just purely because there is a lot of cricket coming into Christmas.

"Jono isn't playing any of the other stuff, and it's his thing, so I'm more than happy to step aside and let him run the show, and give the other guys a taste of something fresh."

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Dean's looming arrival is a huge boost for an unbeaten Creek outfit riding a wave of momentum after claiming the one-day title in devastating fashion.

A trio of half-centuries to Josh Myburgh (94), Robbie Trickett (73) and Sam Taylor (55) saw Creek cruise to 3-265 in 37.4 overs having rolled Queanbeyan for 261 earlier in the day.

Tyler Van Luin anchored Queanbeyan's innings with an unbeaten 73 from 75 balls a week after reviving their title hopes with a superb century in the semi-final.

The all-rounder was the last man standing when Queanbeyan's innings came to a halt with one ball remaining as Djali Bloomfield (3-41) claimed the 10^th scalp.

Queanbeyan skipper Mark Solway thought it might be enough - but it proved to be anything but and left him with a sense of deja vu after losing a second consecutive Gallop Cup final.

"Hopefully we can make a final again, it's a pretty good effort to get to one. You take a bit out of it. It's disappointing with the loss but at the same time, I'm proud of the boys and where we got to," Solway said.

"The boys batted very well, Manuka is very batter-friendly, but they were just too good for us in the end."

Trickett was dropped by Queanbeyan veteran Mark Higgs in the cordon when Creek had just six runs on the board.

The immediate aftermath brought with it a feeling of "what if?" And the Creek opener rammed the point home with every stroke.

That is until Solway had him trapped leg before wicket for 73 (77) to bring a 160-run opening stand to a close and revive hopes of an unlikely victory.

Soon enough Sam Taylor unleashed on the Queanbeyan attack and by the time he was on his way back towards the pavilion for a blistering 55 (32), it was as good as over.

AT A GLANCE

Cricket ACT Gallop Cup final: WESTON CREEK MOLONGLO 3-265 (J Myburgh 94, R Trickett 73; D Solway 2-20, M Solway 1-49) bt QUEANBEYAN 261 (T Van Luin 73*, M Solway 39; D Bloomfield 3-41, H Medhurst 2-46) by seven wickets at Manuka Oval.