The Upwey-Tecoma first XI has booked their spot in a home grand final after downing Ferntree Gully in the Norm Reeves Shield semi final on Saturday at Knox Gardens Reserve.
In steamy conditions, Ferntree Gully captain Josh Henry won the toss and elected to bat first. It didn’t take long for young seamer Jay Colee to pierce the defence of Blues opener Andri Berenger, giving the Tigers the perfect start. Another quick wicket to Steve Collard reduced the Blues to 2/27, the Tigers grabbing the early ascendency.
A fifty run stand between Henry and Victoria County representative Jake Toohey threatened to wrest control back for Ferntree Gully. before an astonishing middle order collapse saw the Blues lose 4/9. Tigers off-spinner Steve Gannell claimed 3/3 in 3 overs, with Cameron Wheeler taking the other wicket, to have the Blues teetering at 6/87.
The Ferntree Gully tail set about a rescue mission but regular wickets saw them all out in the 39th over for 147. Collard was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 2/20, while Gannell (3/29), Wheeler (2/25) and Jules Whetstone (2/20) were all solid contributors for the Tigers.
Chasing 148 for victory, freshly-promoted Tiger opener Laurence Jansby burst out of the blocks with some aggressive stroke-making to get Upwey-Tecoma’s chase off to a flyer. The opening partnership between Andrew Evans and Jansby ended on 54 when Jansby holed out off Blues spinner Rory Bailey for a boundary-laden 38 of 40 balls.
Tiger captain Jackson Waters joined Evans, as they advanced the score past the 100 mark with some steady batting against some disciplined Blues bowling. The loss of Evans (22) and Waters (34) in quick succession gave the Blues a glimmer of hope, before some late hitting from Hunter Greenall snuffed out any chance of a miracle victory for Ferntree Gully.
The Tigers wrapped up the win, finishing on 4/148 to book their ticket to the big dance against either Ferntree Gully or Lysterfield in a fortnight at Upwey Reserve.
The season is over for the second XI, losing their semi-final to Lysterfield at Eildon Park. The Tigers lost the toss and were invited to field.
The Beavers were largely stifled by some tight Tiger bowling throughout their innings, crawling their way to 9/138 off their 40 overs. Young left arm orthodox spinner Darcy Whitten continued his superb run of form, capturing 4/10 off 7 overs.
As is so often the case in finals, the added pressure can make a seemingly simple chase all the more tricky. Despite a bright start to the chase, none of the Tiger batters ever got going. They were all out for 95 in reply, with Chris Jewell top scoring with 24.
It was heartbreak for the 3rd XI in their semi-final against Lysterfield, with a tie not enough to see them through as the lower ranked team in the contest.
Fielding first, the Tigers bowled brilliantly to restrict the Beavers to 147, with opener Aidan Beattie the pick of the bowlers with 3/24.
It was a see-sawing run chase with both sides looking like winners at various stages of the innings. With the Tigers needing one run to win off three balls, the Beavers claimed the last wicket to send them through to a grand final in the most incredible of circumstances. Ben Fanelli top scored for the Tigers with 29.
The Under 16s were also bundled out of the finals, losing their semi-final away to Eildon Park.
It was a nightmare start for the Tigers, reeling at 4/4 at one stage before Asher Caldow (25) and Harry Burrows (30 retired) added some respectability to the scoreline. The Tigers were dismissed for 95, which was well below par.
The Panther chase started well and they were never really troubled, finishing on 5/97 for a comfortable 5 wicket win. Zach Seal was the Tiger’s best bowler with 1/10 off four overs.
