Emma-Jayne Howe could barely watch. Skye Lovett felt a strong sense of deja vu.
But Waratah-Mayfield's captains were soon celebrating a "sweet" victory that was four years in the making.
In their fourth Newcastle District Cricket Association women's T20 grand final appearance in as many seasons, Waratah produced a seven-wicket win over Newcastle City with eight balls to spare at No.1 Sportsground on Wednesday night.
Howe and Lovett played pivotal roles.
The former, who was named player of the match after hitting 22 runs off 32 balls and taking one wicket, watched on nervously after being dismissed lbw in the 18th over with the score 3-84.
Waratah had suffered a late collapse to lose the 2021-22 grand final to Wests.
But Lovett replaced Howe at the crease and smacked back-to-back fours to finally secure glory, finishing 3-95. It was the first time Waratah had beaten City in three exchanges this summer.
City batted first and were in trouble early before posting 8-91 off their 20 overs.
Openers Kate McTaggart and Sienna Eve went for four and three runs respectively then City were 3-28 after Howe claimed the prized wicket of City captain and NSW Country teammate Kirsten Smith (18).
Denman teenage talent Caiomhe Bray steadied things with an unbeaten knock of 32 in the middle order.
Waratah mounted a measured chase. They were 1-17 after Jaclyn Vickery was run out for one. But opener Alana Ryan (24) and Howe combined for a 38-run partnership before the former was caught off McTaggart's bowling.
"It felt a bit like deja vu of last year," Howe said. "We got the runs up then I got out and the wickets kept falling and Wests just won it at the end.
"But I'm so proud of the team. It feels like a long time coming but we earned it really well this year. We always had a team. We played as a team and tonight we won it as a team."
Earlier, Hamwicks (3-177) beat Toronto (6-129) in the division two final.
Waratah are a foundation club in the NDCA women's competition, which began with four teams in 2019-20. They lost to City in the first two grand finals before going down to Wests last summer.
The competition has grown rapidly with 14 teams this season split across two divisions.
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