By Steve Brown
JOHNSON Park’s Craig Wenham completed a winning all-round performance to grab the Stephen Lee medal for the best afield in the Knox Tavern Cup.
He took five wickets for just 61 runs off 21 overs, then struck the winning runs with just three balls to spare in his 34 runs against a gallant Upwey-Tecoma.
The Sharks recorded their first Knox Tavern Cup Premiership chasing 235 and were under pressure requiring a run a ball over the last six overs with only two wickets in the bank.
Wenham and an injured Steve Bowen put on 45 for the ninth wicket to reach 8/236 and seal an emotion-charged victory.
Paul Wilson, in his final game of cricket, bowled superbly to take 2/48 from 27 overs and left the field through a guard of honour from both sides.
The Sharks lost a wicket each side of the tea break to be 5/103 off 47 with Bryn Gaunt dismissed for 39.
In front of a large crowd at Upwey the game seesawed in the final two hours of play.
Day one saw Upwey Tecoma, in Paul Wilson’s final match, recover from a disastrous start when they found themselves three wickets down with only one run on the board.
Seventy-eight overs later they were dismissed in the final over of the day for 235. The hero of the Tigers’ innings was Mick Hewitt, a veteran of 182 Premier matches for Dandenong and Northcote who was unusually patient for his 91.
Hewitt received great support from Dain Howe (41) and Brenton Hurst who scored a half century.
In Decoite Shield, Footballers (244) held off Knoxfield to earn promotion to the Knox Tavern competition next year.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:KNOX TAVERN CUP
Johnson Park 8/236 (B. Gaunt 39, L. DeSilva 31, C. Wenham 34) d Upwey Tecoma 235 (Hewitt 91, Hurst 56, Howe 41, Wenham 4/61). Stephen Lee Medal: Craig Wenham.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DECOITE SHIELD
Footballers 244 (Dignan 69, Rawlings 38, Pruysers 51, Plumridge 3/20) d Knoxfield 218 (B. Morris 110, L. Scanlan 43, C. Brittain 4/53, S. Hart 4/57). Ken Utting Medal: Ben Morris.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 3
Upwey 5/190 (M. Hewitt 83*, S. Wills 41, R. Marshall 31, N. Caton-Robinson 3/49) d Eildon Park 178 (Smyth 54, Cross 3/39).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 4
Knoxfield 5/202 (Pruysers 45, M. Flynn 43*) d Footballers 201 (Cranston 61, Stewart 4/33, Flynn 4/72).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 5
Eildon Park 4/155 d Ferntree Gully 153 (Stephenson 42, Cutts 7/46, Femia 3/43).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 6
Auravale 249 (Boorer 75, Healy 39, Garner 6/43) d Eildon Park 70.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 7
Eildon Park 7/135 d Belgrave 130 (McNamara 60, Jago 3/32, Zanella 3/41).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:ONE DAY GRADE B1
St Johns Tecoma 5/211 (Dwyer 33, Manelski 44, Ferguson 36, Collins 39*) d Johnson Park 157 (Bourke 36, Collins 4/41).
B2
The Basin 8/177 (Vincent 51*, Walker 4/29) d Auravale 9/110 (Pritchard 50*, Thompson 3/25).
B3
The Basin 2/111 (Pitman 51) d St Johns Tecoma 106 (P. Stewart 4/21).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:HEALTHGUARD CUP UNDER 17 (1)
Mulgrave 8/237 (H. Crozier 89, S. Tunnicliffe 59, B. Holst 2/39, B. Eason 2/34) d Knoxfield 170 (B. Fredericks 82, L. Pathmajeewa 3/30, D. Somaratne 3/35, S. White 2/17).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 17 (2)
Johnson Park 7/198 (B. Hards 56, T. Barrington 46, J. Gstrein 43, C. Ludowyke 3/20) d South Belgrave 130 (C. Ludowyke 44, B. Hards 3/13, M. Fenelon 3/36).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 15 (1)
Eildon Park Panthers 8/162 (S. McInerny 3/24) d Knox Gardens 161 (Griffin 5/8 incl hat-trick, Martin 42, McInerney 40) v Eildon Park Under-15 (2A).
Eildon Park 191 (Brown 3/24) d Footballers104 (L. McComb 30, N. Rowland 4/11).
@BT Sport Sub Mail: UNDER 15 (2B)
Upper Ferntree Gully 1/109 (Claughton 40, Roleff 35*) d Rowville 9/107 (Hamilton 3/8, Claughton 3/19).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 13 (1)
Knox Gardens 114 (Flintoff 34*, Kuppadakath 3/7, Pollard 3/14) tied with Eildon Park 114
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 13 (2)
Knox Gardens 57 (Hudson 3/3, Jobson 2/5, Glover 2/10) v Belgrave 0/47.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 12
Ferntree Gully 145 (D. Salan 34*, B. Siewart 28, J. Stephenson 28, T. Humphries 5/5, D. Almond 3/14) d Eildon Park Wildcats 88 (W. Smith 31*, B. Siewart 2/10, J. Stephenson 2/11).
