Eagles land in thriller

WITH brutally hot conditions during the week subsiding, comfortable conditions greeted the Yarra Valley cricketers for an immensely important round of cricket for all teams.
With the local council unable to mow the grounds, and a limited week on the training track, most found the going difficult with the bat, making for some interesting contests.
Hosting Seville, Yarra Junction pulled off the surprise of the weekend with a thrilling and hard-fought, one-run victory.
The Eagles entered the Christmas break as one of the in-form teams of the competition which saw them surging towards the top four.
However, unrest over the break saw the departure of their captain David Lever, leaving most Yarra Valley followers with the opinion that the Eagles would slip from contention.
Batting first, the home side found the going tough against the experience of Ishara Amerasinghe (3/24) and the speed of Matt Hadlum (4/32).
This season has seen the transformation of some of the talented, but often inconsistent, young Eagles into genuine match winners.
One such player is Cam Spaulding who, on the back of an exceptional unbeaten knock of 67, ensured the home side reached a defendable total of 7/139.
Seville have not been in the greatest of form this season, but their experience, depth and skill have ensured that the Blues have found themselves towards the pointy end of the ladder.
Most observers would have pencilled them in to chase down the target.
At 3/64 after 25 overs, the visitors looked to be well on track with wickets in hand, and experience still to bat.
A dogged 39 from the hard hitting Tim Dwyer had the chase well on track, but his dismissal left his team in a hole.
But with the in-form Andy Kay (23) still at the wicket, the favourites still had their noses in front.
Like Spaulding, Quentin Hodgkinson has emerged as a match winner this season and this was again the case as his figures of 5/18 saw the Eagles to victory in a gripping contest.
With Seville (9/138) finishing one run short, Yarra Junction ensured they would continue to strive for finals action.
The match of the round was at Mount Evelyn where the Rovers hosted Coldstream in a top-four clash.
The home side won the toss, and duly elected to bat in excellent, although slow, batting conditions.
In an even contest between bat and ball, both teams had their chances to press their advantage on the contest.
An excellent partnership between Daniel Fraser (31) and Gareth Fraser ensured a platform was set for the Rovers, and as is the case on most occasions, captain Kane Jones (67) made sure it was not a missed opportunity.
His brutal batting, with the help of crafty knocks from Luke Jones (33) and Troy Hancock led the Rovers to an imposing total of 7/201.
Jarrod Bayliss was the pick of the bowlers, standing up in the final overs to record tidy figures of 3/24 and keeping the Crocs in the contest.
Mount Evelyn has been a venue that has seen batsmen prosper with short boundaries and a quick outfield.
Despite being on the slow side, the Crocs fancied themselves to chase the total if they could make a positive start.
Brilliant stroke maker Danny Adams (80) with strong contributions from Bailey Fritsch and Matt Johnson (42) had the Crocs immediately on the front foot.
This leaves the Rovers bereft of answers to the onslaught.
At 1/130 in the 27th over, it looked a matter of when, not if, a Coldstream victory would be secured.
With the unfortunate run out of Adams, in sight of a much-deserved century, the door was left slightly ajar for the home side.
The experience of Kane Jones (3/43) and Chris Anderson (2/21) leading from the front, the home side systematically turned the screws on the Crocs and with the run rate required slowly creeping up.
The visitors were unable to click up a gear, and with a flurry of wickets falling while chasing the score, the Crocs eventually found their chase 24 runs short at 8/177.
Healesville hosted Warburton-Millgrove in a key clash for both teams with top-of-the-table Healesville opening the door to their challengers suffering a loss to Coldstream last week.
While a win for Warburton-Millgrove would at the very least keep them within arm’s reach of the top four.
The visitors opened the game with the bat and battled to make a score of significance.
The experienced pairing of Mick Walker (43) and Tim McKail (25) looked to have the Burras on track to a decent score, however neither could capitalise on their starts – that was the overall story for the team’s innings.
Despite contributions throughout their batting line up, the visitors could not muster enough momentum to really put the consistent Bloods attack to the sword.
With spinner Scott Hamer (3/36) and the evergreen Brad Chandler (2/24) leading the attack, Healesville were able to restrict Warburton-Millgrove to 7/136.
With the early fall of in-form openers Geoff Stock and John Heywood, the Burras made the best start possible in their defence.
Healesville have had a great season thus far, built on even contributions with both bat and ball from their entire line-up, so despite the early set back, the Bloods held their nerve.
Scott Hamer (58) led from the front and with the experienced Brian Horner (28) chipping in, the Bloods were never really challenged despite the chase succeeding with only four overs remaining.
The Burra’s bowlers did their best to keep their team in the contest, but a total of 136 was always going to be short of the mark, with the Bloods passing the mark with five wickets in hand.
In the final game of the round, Woori Yallock hosted Hoddles Creek in a must- win game for the home side if they had any aspirations of featuring in the finals.
Hoddles Creek opened up the contest with the bat, and after last week’s poor start with the bat against Mount Evelyn, the Wombats were keen to show more discipline and hard edge to their batting.
The home side gave them no easy runs as opening bowlers Jackson Wright (3/22) and Danny Ryan (2/18) kept things tight against some dogged resistance from Luke Hethrington (20) and Brenton Derix (28).
Unfortunately, the visitors did not have the ability to up the ante when the whips were cracking, and despite their valiant batting, a final score of 6/103 looked a little thin.
A little thin it proved to be as the talented top order of the Tigers made short work of the chase despite the early wickets of in-form openers Dan Mock and Dan Reid.
Woori Yallock true bloods Ryan Smith (51) and Cal Ferguson (38) ensured there would be no wobbles in this chase as they led their team to a comfortable six-wicket victory.
DJ Strachan Shield:
Healesville 5/140 (Hamer 58, Horner 28, Clinch 2/10, Loughnan 1/17) d Warburton-Millgrove 7/136 (Walker 43, McKail 25, Hamer 3/36, Chandler 2/24).
Yarra Junction 7/139 (Spaulding 67, Hadlum 4/32, Amarasinge 3/24) d Seville 9/138 (Dwyer 39, Kay 23, Hodgkinson 5/18, Ottrey 2/31).
Woori Yallock 4/109 (Smith 51, Ferguson 38, Lawlor 1/15, Derix 1/15) d Hoddles Creek 6/103 (Derix 28, Hethrington 20, Wright 3/22, Ryan 2/18).
Mount Evelyn 7/201 (Jones 67, Jones 33, Fraser 31, Bayliss 3/24) d Coldstream 8/177 (Adams 80, Johnson 42, Doughty 20, Jones 3/43, Anderson 2/21).
RA Finger Trophy:
Seville 246 (Oates 96, Akers 89 B Nightingale 3/59) d Yarra Junction 94 (Osborne 50, Sandfort 6/22).
Hoddles Creek 1/129 (Pobke 87, Jones 24, Smith 1/20) d Woori Yallock 10/123 (Broussard 41, Dunn 21, Pobke 4/32, Chesney 3/21). Yarra Glen 8/129 (Cowan 33, Clare 17, Wallace 16, Pegg 2/31, Vaux 2/32, McArdle 2/33) d Coldstream 8/127 (Taylor 37, McArdle 24, Walsh 18, Beath 3/31, Wallace 2/19, Bourke 2/31).
Healesville d Warburton-Millgrove (no scores).
C Grade:
Mount Evelyn 7/186 (Hearn 41, Whitehead 42, Oakley 5/49) d Wandin 7/188 (Kift 71, Oakley 58, Whitehead 4/40).
Seville 9/147 (Laycock 44, Voight 3/32) d Launching Place 73 (Piergrosse 20, Kear 4/14).
Healesville 7/193 (Waixel 82, Braemar 40, Waixel 3/43, Waixel 1/15) d Gruyere 8/187 (Waixel 66, Merrett 40, Spakman 4/39, Jackson 1/28).
D Grade:
Launching Place 9/222 (Cope 72, Black 57, Juffermans 3/30) d Warburton-Millgrove 86 (Juffermans 28, Grindley 3/17, Piergrosse 3/39).
Seville 8/158 (Proctor 56, Corken 37, Haag 25, Fritsch 4/23) d Coldstream 156 (Wheeler 33, Delima 27, Fritsch 16, Spargo 3/34, Mullins 2/24).
Yarra Junction 4/101 (Flutter 51, Hammond 15, Anthony 2/13, Methven 1/7) d Healesville 6/98 (Nolan 33, Fawdry 15, Jordan 2/10, Cook 1/7).
Wandin 7/309 (Foley 137, Dobson 64, Alderman 38, Wilson 2/56) d Mount Evelyn 177 (Westaway 70, Ortu 30, Williams 25, Mackenzie 4/25, Thorn 3/0).