It was a mixed bag of results for Upwey-Tecoma in a big weekend of cricket action.
The 1st IX hosted cellar dweller Monbulk but were wary of their opponent after a 1 run win in their previous encounter this season. The Tiger captain Jackson Waters lost the coin toss, his side asked to bat in sunny conditions.
An early wicket provided a boost for the Hawks, before opener Andrew Evans (56) and Waters (70) went to work. A 120 run stand for the 2nd wicket put the Tigers in command, with some late hitting from Jase Lansen (28*) pushing the total to 5/205 at the halfway point of the match.
Wickets were difficult to come by for the Tiger bowlers, with the Hawk openers battling hard to be 0/65 after 20 overs. With the required run rate rising rapidly, wickets began to tumble. Monbulk lost their last 7 wickets for just 6 runs to be all out for 139, with Liam Dunning claiming 4/35 and Jay Colee 3/18 to be the chief destroyers.
The 66 run win sees Upwey-Tecoma well entrenched in the top four with 5 games to play.
The 2nd XI suffered a heavy defeat away to fellow finals aspirant Monbulk.
Upwey-Tecoma never recovered from the loss of opener Chris Jewell on the first ball of the day, limping to 101 all out. Only all rounder Daniel Wiles provided resistance with the bat with 32 not out. Monbulk lost 5 wickets in their pursuit of the target with Jewell’s 2/20 the pick of the Tiger bowling efforts.
The 3rd XI went down to Lysterfield by 23 runs, finishing on 3/157 chasing 180.
Noah Weston and James Dobbie-Hayward both scored half centuries, while Rhett Chapman was best with the ball capturing 3/26.
The 4th XI were soundly beaten, away to Upper Ferntree Gully. James Todd (69) and captain Brett Snell (40) combined well to set a target of 179 but the Kings made light work of it chasing it for the loss of only 2 wickets.
In the junior ranks, the Under 16’s had a great win against Upper Ferntree Gully at Dobson Park. The total of 7/136 proved plenty as the Kings were all out for 70 in reply. Captain Oscar Taylor led from the front with an unbeaten 49 with the bat and 3/10 with the ball.
