But he could hold his head up high and say that his side had given all it could to try to somehow salvage a third straight top grade title in a low-scoring but gripping encounter at the Sportsground.

Redbacks were always chasing the game after losing Greg Adams in the second over of the match, Colts having won the toss and bowled first as they had done in their semi and preliminary final.

The relentless pressure from Colts’ bowlers proved too much and Orme’s team were rolled for just 114, but they gave a huge defence of what was a sub-par total and, momentarily, with Colts at 6-59, they may have edged their noses in front.

“We gave it everything. We knew that of course 114 wasn’t enough when you bat first on what is a pretty high-scoring ground, but Colts bowled beautifully and we couldn’t build a partnership,” Orme said.

“With the ball, Adam [Orme] and myself got through a lot of overs, Shabbir [Dhamani] and Cohen [Schubert] bowled well and we never once made it easy for Colts to score and we started to feel like we were getting on top.

“When Greg Adams took the catch to get rid of Craig Berry we were starting to feel as though we were going to do it if we could get rid of Dan Casey. He and Tony Clancy put on a great stand, though, and that was where the game got away from us.”

To Redbacks’ credit, with time left in the game they batted a second time, having finished Colts’ innings off for 139, smashing their way to a lead of 82 thanks to Joey Coughlan (37) and Orme (33 not out).

But it was unlikely to lead to a miracle second innings victory.

“We had to try something. It worked to a degree in that we got some quick runs, but unless we could take three or four wickets in no time and put some nerves into them we were up against it,” the captain said.

“I couldn’t fault anyone’s effort in this match, just our execution let us down with the bat – which, to be fair, was a problem we’ve had for a while. We’ve been finding a way to win without batting at our best. Sooner or later that is going to cost you.”

Meanwhile, Colts captain Daniel Casey said his invaluable 29 was an innings totally removed from what he is used to playing, but his run of low scores beforehand drove him to play in such determined fashion.

In total he batted for 52 overs after coming in at the fall of the third wicket, repelling everything his opposition threw at him.

It was his stand with Tony Clancy which effectively won them the match, Clancy playing the aggressor’s role with six fours and a six in making 40.

“I think when you’re out of form sometimes it makes you concentrate that much harder and makes you more determined to get behind the ball and just bat for as long as you can,” Casey said.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever batted that long before – certainly not for a score of 29 anyway. We had to get a partnership going and we did that. 

“Because our bowlers did such a good job it meant that even if we lost quick wickets with the bat, we just needed one good stand in the run-chase and fortunately we got that.”