Blue Mountains cricketer Pat Cummins helped Penrith Cricket Club claim the one day premiership title on Sunday, defeating traditional rivals Hawkesbury at Howells Oval.
Fast bowler Pat Cummins, who grew up in Mount Riverview, was the star attraction in the McDonald’s First Grade Limited-Overs Cup Final clash, returning after representing Australia in the three-match KFC Twenty20 Series against Sri Lanka.
Cummins bowled the last over for Penrith in a nail biting finish, which saw Hawkesbury needing five runs from the last over and Penrith needing one wicket.
Hawkesbury ended up losing by one run in the rain-shortened match in front of a packed out crowd.
It was the first Limited-Overs title for Penrith since 2001/02, denying Hawkesbury its first piece of First Grade silverware in any format since joining the SCA in 1985.
Penrith went into the match as favourites, with Cummins joined by fellow NSW Blues squad members Ryan Gibson and Josh Lalor, who both represented the Cricket Australia XI during this season’s Matador Cup.
Speaking immediately after the match, Cummins said it was emotional playing a part in such a close victory.
"It's actually quite nerve wracking. In big stadiums there's lots of people and you don't really notice it but here it's all your teammates [watching] and you know how much it means to everyone so it's nerve wracking -but I got through it," he said.