City United should stop the "turkey talk" and concentrate on playing cricket, Old Boys captain Ben Middlebrook has said, after his side's 105-run defeat of City in a "fiery" one-day final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Middlebrook described Old Boys' defence of their one-day title at No 1 Oval on Friday night as "one of the more pleasing finals wins that I've been involved in in a long time".
Read more:
The veteran skipper said "fair play" to City United for rebounding from Friday night's loss by beating Old Boys in an opening round Twenty20 the following day.
"They decided to play cricket on Saturday instead of carrying on with the turkey talk," he said. "They've proven that they're good cricketers: they just need to focus on that."
Having led Old Boys during one of the great reigns in Tamworth cricket history, Middlebrook said his side would never "hand over a trophy to anyone".
"City's a good, young team," he said. "They're pretty feisty, they come hard at ya.
"But, you know, if they're gonna come hard at us, we're gonna come hard at them."
After winning the toss and batting, Old Boys were dismissed for 169 in the 40th over - the total achieved after a 74-run second-wicket partnership by youngster Adam McGuirk (66-ball 60) and veteran Simon Norvill (67-ball 50).
In reply, Old Boys decimated City's top order to rout them for 64 in the 17th over.
Four Old Boys bowlers claimed two scalps apiece: Josh Hazlewood, Troy Sands, Dylan Smith and Hayden Baker.
Teen quick Joey Mead was the best of City United's bowlers (3-23 off five overs), while Dan Whale top-scored for the vanquished with 17.
Old Boys will now look to also defend their Twenty20 and two-day titles.
Middlebrook said the side produced their best fielding effort in perhaps a decade in the one-day final.
McGuirk appears to have elevated his game this season, scoring three half-centuries in six innings, with a highest of 88.
Middlebrook said the teen "seems to be batting easy at the moment".
"I think he's still got improvement in him, which is scary for the opposition," he said, adding that McGuirk "keeps getting himself out when he gets set".
"He played a gem of an innings on Friday night to get 60 odd. Once he gets his mind set right, I think he'll be going, 'Jeez, I'm not satisfied with 60s: I should be getting 100s."
City United captain Pete Mead declined to comment in response to the "turkey talk" remark.
