A 27-year drought between Williams Cup victories ended for Eves Realty Greerton when they squeezed home against Element IMF Cadets in the Baywide title decider at the BOP Cricket Oval at Mount Maunganui at the weekend.

For the second week in a row, Greerton which had sneaked into the Baywide post section playoffs, batted first and posted a total that set up the second innings for both championship contenders.

Cadet's bowlers struck early to remove one of the Greerton openers with just a few runs on the board. However, skipper Craig Budd dug in to steady the ship.

The arrival of Bay rep Brett Hampton at the crease changed the tempo of the match – playing at his brilliant best with the bat, he went on to blast 96 runs before being dismissed.

The defiant knock from Hampton, and an unbeaten 21 from Dutch Academy player Sebastiaan Braat, resulted in Greerton being removed for 186.

New Zealand Under-19 bowler Sean Davey grabbed four wickets for Cadets with Ben Christensen returning 3/22.

There was plenty of confidence in the Cadets camp as their opening batsmen walked to the crease.

The big prize on offer for the Tauranga Domain based side was their tenth Williams Cup in two decades.

The defining moment in the match came at the 43-run mark, when the Greerton bowlers struck to remove three Cadets batsmen, without a run being scored.

However, with Cadets inspirational skipper Jono Boult still in the middle they were still well in the hunt.

However, when Boult went for 66, the momentum firmly shifted towards Greerton.

Needing a near impossible 19 runs off the last over – the Greerton side was ecstatic with joy when the match finished with the scoreboard telling the tale of Cadets falling just 11 runs short in a classic Williams Cup title decider.

The Greerton wickets were shared around with Campbell Thomas, Sebastiaan Braat and Brett Hampton taking two wickets apiece.

Joe Carter posted 21 runs at the top of the order for Cadets.

Greerton's victory came with a newfound self-belief and an incredible fielding effort, along with the innings of Brett Hampton that shone like a beacon of light in the encounter.

Eves Realty Greerton 186 (Brett Hampton 96, Sebastiaan Braat 21no; Sean Davey 4/47, Ben Christensen 3/22) defeated Element IMF Cadets 175/8 (Jono Boult 66, Joe Carter 21; Campbell Thomas 2/27, S Braat 2/40, B Hampton 2/43)