ORC First Grade Grand Final team: Mick Fardon (c), Tim Halloran, Brendan Inwood, Dave Sellers, Wayne Sellers, Bruce Webb, Michael Waldren, Ben Cummings, Justin Fardon, Sam Debenham, Tim McKinnon, Mitch Botham (12th Man)

ORC just beat the weather to take a slender eight-run win over Oxford Centennials in the grand final of the 2011-12 Commonwealth Bank Cup at the Sportsground yesterday.

Brendan Inwood was the hero for ORC as he belted an unbeaten 76 to help his team post a total of 128, not ordinarily a match winning score in a match involving two of the competitions batting heavy weights. However, on a rain affected pitch, it proved to be just that, as the defending premiers fell 8 runs short in another tightly contested affair.

ORC captain Mick Fardon was delighted and had no doubt that Inwood’s contribution was the biggest reason that his team were able to lift the trophy for the second time in three years.

“Brendan yesterday was incredible. As well as everyone bowled today, he pretty much won us the game yesterday. On that deck, that’s the best innings I think I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“I was a bit worried. At 7-40 you aren’t going to be comfortable, regardless of how the pitch is playing.

The Sportsground wicket proved to be a tricky one, with both teams arriving on Saturday morning to find it quite wet, considering that only a few millimetres of rain had fallen on Wednesday. As a result, Ox-Cents sent ORC in to bat after winning the toss and it paid dividends early.

Tim Halloran was bowled in the fifth over for one and six others fell as the score reached 40. It was looking desperate but Inwood stepped up and kept the score ticking over. In the end, he ran out of partners with his side bowled out for 128 in the 60th over.

Aaron Seymour was the chief destroyer for Ox/Cents, finishing with the impressive figures of 5-32 from 20 overs, while Josh Toole and Mick Simmons also took doubles.

ORC were bowled out late on Saturday but, crucially, took a wicket of their own late on, getting Blake Aubin just before before stumps, something that Fardon believes gave them a psychological edge heading into yesterday.

Ox-Cents resumed at 1-6 on Sunday and captain Russell Gardner (26) and Josh Toole (21) looked like they might have been going to put together a match-winning partnership but Cummings had Toole caught and, soon after, he also claimed Gardner.

The defending premiers tried to hold on and Aaron Bell made 20 to keep his team in it but he was the last wicket to fall, the fourth victim of Cummings, who finished with 4-25 off 13. Fardon took 3-29 off 18 and Tim McKinnon 3-22 off nine.