Shield glory to the Blues at Country Week

The Blues secured the title after a tough win against Horsham on Friday.

With matches reduced to 25 overs because of the heat, Horsham finished on 6-130 with Ben Cooke-Harrison scoring 37 and Tyson Keegan 51.

Cooke-Harrison continued his stellar form by taking 3-7, but it couldn't stop Warrnambool Blue from scoring a six-run win.

South West finished off its week with a 90-run win against West Wimmera.

Jesse Gaut was the stand-out performer for South West with 77.

A grudge match between the two Wimmera Mallee teams saw Team Two score a 17-run win against Team One.

Even team performances from both sides, and a display of good sportsmanship, saw the batting and bowling shared to include all players in the shortened match.

In other matches, Portland kept Warrnambool Gold win-less with a 64-run win and Hamilton proved too strong for Mount Gambier.

Warrnambool Blue coach John Houston said he was proud of his team's efforts.

"Our side prepared themselves well and did a really good job," he said.

"The highlight for me was seeing the development of our players and seeing young kids like Ben Threlfall stand up and perform.

"It's been a great experience for the boys to play cricket over five days and will no doubt help their cricket."

Horsham Cricket Association president Tim Lannen said it had been another successful tournament.

"We are very happy, it was a great week," he said.

"If we didn't have tournaments like these then the kids wouldn't get the chance to play representative cricket."

Lannen said the association was proud of Horsham's performance.

"They won two matches, but they could have easily won more. They lost a couple of close ones," Lannen said.

•SOUTH West cricketer Gus Bourke was judged Player of the Week by umpires.

All-rounder Bourke also won the Wimmera Mail-Times Player of the Day on day one.

FOR more on the Country Week, see today's Mail-Times.