By Nick Creely
There was a sense of euphoria for Hallam Kalora Park captain Jordan Hammond in the aftermath of an incredible premiership victory on Sunday.
It was the club’s first Turf 1 flag since 2001/02, where Jordan’s father John was the skipper in that premiership glory, ending a drought spanning almost 20 years in emotional scenes at Frawley Road.
Jordan’s uncle Richard, a club great coached the side this season too.
Growing up at the club surrounded by his mates – many of whom have shared the same journey to premiership success – is something not lost on the skipper.
There’s an immense sense of pride when talking about his teammates and the journey they’ve been on.
“It’s unbelievable, its personally one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in sport,” he told the Gazette.
“Apart from last year playing with Casey, I’ve been playing with these boys for about eight or nine senior seasons, the same group of blokes, so it’s been a long time coming.
“There’s three or four that I’ve played cricket with for 15 years, from being juniors, Ryan Hillard, Ben Hillard, Rob Parker and even guys like Jagveer Hayer who left at the start of the year, Leigh Booth, Lee Brown, it’s unbelievable.
“That’s why I play cricket, to be with my mates – I don’t play to get money or for shits and giggles, I play to win and for my mates, and that’s the reason why the other 10 blokes play.
“We’ve fallen short a few times, but every year we’ve just gotten better – finally this year we went this step further, I honestly can’t believe it.”
Hammond said one of the great qualities of his premiership group is not just the talent within, but the mateship, loyalty and spirit that has endured many hardships in the quest for success but continued to push forward.
“The good thing with our group is we’re 11 blokes that are genuinely mates, we’re not there just there to play cricket for the sake of playing cricket, we’re there for each other,” he said.
“We’ve known from previous seasons just how good we could be, we’ve made a few changes here and there, a few extra blokes, and it made the difference.
“I can’t believe it to be honest – to work so hard with the same group of boys for seven or eight years, it’s special.
“The belief has always been there, I think some skill errors in various stages have probably cost us, but it was a complete effort this year.
“It was an 11-man effort this year, not just a few blokes carrying us – different blokes stood up in different stages throughout the season, I can’t fault any of the efforts.”
In a truly gripping grand final, played over two days, the Hawks got over the line by eight runs, denying the Bears back-to-back titles.
There was not one moment in the match where the pressure relented.
Hammond said it’s the best game of cricket he’s ever played in.
“That’s the most pressure I’ve personally faced – Berwick are a fantastic team, and a fantastic club, they’ve got talent everywhere,” he said.
“We had them 7/80, and we just knew that the game wasn’t over – they’ve got great players, batted deep and made a game of it.
“Fortunately, we held our nerve and got over the line.”
Hammond said that the recent clashes between the two clubs have made for some amazing cricket, but believes the grand final went to a whole new level.
“We’ve had four or five big battles in recent seasons and this year,” he said.
“That’s the biggest game I’ve ever played in, and the best win I’ve ever been involved in.”
On the opening day, the Hawks clawed its way to 151 off the back of a gritty half-century from Ben Hillard, 22 from the skipper himself and a vital 30 not out from Steve Gilmour.
“I was comfortable with 150, it (the pitch) probably wasn’t as flat as I thought, there was a bit in it,” Hammond said.
“It was probably similar to what it was two weeks ago, so we had the belief it was enough.”
With Gilmour (2/31), Sachith Jayasingha (2/17) and Will Whyte (3/31) starring as the Bears pushed the game right to the brink, Hammond said he was proud of his bowlers for holding their nerve at the death, with the skipper himself bowling with great skill in the critical moments to keep the Bears at bay.
“With finals, and its cliché, runs on the board creates pressure on the team chasing it down,” he said.
“We thought 150 was enough, and if we bowled how we’ve bowled all year, it was going to be enough in the end.
“I’m so proud of the guys.”
Hammond also heaped praise on Damien Fleming Medalist Steve Gilmour for his immense impact on the contest.
“He won us the game, he was best on ground for a reason,” he said.
“He got us that extra 30 or 40 runs at the end, it’s hard to just come in and score, and got us from maybe 120 to 150.
“And with his bowling, he wound back the clock – the person he is, I know I could throw him the ball and back him in.”
Despite the challenges faced by community sport this season, Hammond said that his group always had the belief that it could achieve the ultimate success this season.
“It was a tough year at the start of the season with all of the Covid stuff, training in small groups, but we’re a close-knit group and we were able to do enough through the week,” he said.
“It’s been a funny season in many ways – I would have said at the start of the year if I was asked whether I would prefer two-day cricket or one-day cricket, I would have said two-day cricket, but looking at it now, we’re a pretty good one day side.
“And to be fair, it’s probably suited us – we stuck fat with what we had to face, I can’t be prouder of the boys for getting it done.”
