1st grade collected their first piece of silverware since 1993/94 with a hard fought win over Uni in Sunday's final at Figtree Oval.

 Unfortunately 2nds went down narrowly in their final.

Connor the hero as Dapto clean up Uni
BY MICHAEL COX

Victorious Dapto captain Richard Marsh never doubted his side could defend 178 against University in yesterday's Illawarra Cricket one-day final at Figtree Oval.

University could only manage 151 in reply, losing their last five wickets for just 35 runs to fall 27 runs short.

After his side scrapped its way to the modest total batting first, Marsh said he was still confident.

"I had no doubts we were going to win the game, I was very confident," Marsh said.

"I would have liked 20 more but I said to the boys before we went out to bowl, 'that's going to be enough'."

All-rounder Kyle Connor was the hero for Dapto, top-scoring with 34 from 28 balls before starving Uni of runs with his miserly off-spinners (1-18 off 10).

Connor came in with the score 7-130 and turned the game with his inventive strokeplay, his crucial knock including a number of cheeky lap shots over the keeper's head.

Marsh said Connor's batting came as a surprise, but not his watertight bowling.

"He hasn't scored a lot of runs all year but he's got a lot of talent. He's a confidence player but he just hasn't been able to hit one off the square.

"But with the ball he's been doing that all year. He's gone for two runs an over or less all season. He's been a bit unlucky in getting wickets, but he's been able to just tie down an end."

Dapto pressured the Students with some tight bowling, before the run-out of Uni batsman Wayne Livermore for one sparked a middle-order collapse.

University captain Scott Tutton praised the Dapto spin attack of Connor and Scott Cox (2-25), whose tight spells were instrumental in the win.

"We did well in the field but their two quality spinners bowled well and tied us down. We just dug ourselves a bit of a hole we couldn't climb out of at the end," he said.

"We got ourselves away to a good start, but then they got that run-out and a couple of wickets in the middle and they were on a bit of a roll. It's hard to turn around momentum when you're chasing in a final."