Langhorne Creek defeated Nairne by 14 runs on Saturday in the Alexandra & Eastern Hills (AEHCA) Twenty20 grand final and in the process won their sixth title in the past seven seasons. It was a beautiful day at Langhorne Creek with a large crowd in attendance as the home side batted first with Brodie O’Dea and Ben Warren opening the batting. Nairne bowled and fielded well early with Mitch Hein (1/20) removing O’Dea for 10 in the third over. Chris Russo then joined Warren in a 31-run stand for the second wicket before the dangerous Warren was dismissed by Chad Harrop for 24 (25 balls). Harrop bowled an excellent spell to snare an economical 2/14 from his four overs. Russo continued on to top score for the Tigers with an important 29 from 28 balls. Matt Tonkin (17 not out) and Troy Blackwell (15 not out) made handy contributions at the end of the innings with an unbeaten 28-run partnership from the final three overs. Jacob Sadler made a good comeback after conceding 21 runs from his first two overs to finish with 3/27 from his four over spell. The Tigers finished with a competitive total of 7/129. 

To say Nairne’s run chase started disastrously would be an understatement as they slumped to 3/3 after three overs with Jarrad Tait (1), Shane Kenney (1) and Robert Crook (0) all back in the pavilion. Blackwell (2/16) and Adam Clements (1/19) bowled an inspired opening spell together with Clements also running Tait out in his follow through with a direct hit. Luke Timmins tried hard for the Razorbacks as he top scored with 30 from 30 balls but when he was dismissed by Russo (2/23), Nairne had slipped to 6/64 and the game was as good as over. Mitch Hein (24) and Matt Hein (23 not out) added respectability to the score with a 28-run partnership for the eighth wicket but ultimately Nairne came up 14 runs short at 8/115 from their 20 overs.

Once again Langhorne Creek proved to be the kings of Twenty20 in the AEHCA competition. The Tigers have won their last 15 games in all competitions with their last loss coming back in February 2020.