By Joshua Hamilton
Under 12s Wandin v Mt Evelyn at Mt Evelyn Reserve
Stand-in Skipper Thomas Day won the toss and elected to bat in balmy Friday night conditions. Jye Aitken and Emanuel Vallence would open the innings and got Wandin off to a flyer with great running between wickets. Jye’s innings was cut short by a sensational direct hit run out on eight. Emanuel, who retired and came back in later, was also unlucky to go to another direct hit run out, scoring eight. Skipper Tom Day came to the crease at number three and batted beautifully, notching up his high score for the season of 20. Josh Oliver and Cooper Ewart scampered between wickets until Josh was run out for 12 going for quick runs, and Cooper went to an excellent caught and bowled for four. Tristan Riddiford employed some power hitting to reach five before departing and was well supported by Jed Leckie who was unlucky not to score. Twin brothers, Oliver and Tom Robinson ensured Wandin batted out its overs, with Oliver finishing on his high score of six not out and Tom on one not out. The highlight was seeing Josh Nichols make his first run of the season! Wandin finished 7/81. Mt Evelyn’s chase got off to a strong start and was 0/20 after three overs. However, Jye Aitken came through with the breakthrough wicket, hitting the pegs and finishing with 1/1. Jye would not stay out of the action for long, taking a catch at square leg off Oliver Robinson’s bowling, finishing with 1/2. Tom Day then snagged another wicket, leaving Mt Evelyn at 3/30 and figures of 1/8. The Wandin bowlers kept it very tight, making scoring difficult. Cooper Ewart returned for his second spell and earned a well-deserved wicket, finishing with 1/14. Emanuel Vallence capped off a brilliant bowling effort, finishing the innings with two caught and bowleds, the last being a superb diving catch. Emanuel finished with 2/4 and was unable to bowl his hat-trick ball. Mt Evelyn finished all out for 41. A great team performance all around.
Under 14s Wandin v Healesville at Queens Park
Wandin travelled to Queens Park to take on second-placed Healesville. The outfield was quite damp and co-skippers Rory Vallence and Jackson Kneebone decided to have a bat. Openers Sam Robinson and Jackson Kneebone did well against the Healesville opening attack. Sam retired after facing his allotted deliveries, scoring five not out. Rory joined his co-skipper at the crease and the batsmen were ticking over the scoreboard until Jackson found himself just short going for a single, finishing on eight. Charlotte Edwards came in and was batting well before hammering a ball to point that was well taken, finishing on five. Rory finished his strong innings on 20 not out from his 20 balls, before retiring. The batsmen found it hard against some tight bowling, with Joe Robinson making three, Tom Day making one and Jarrah Walpole making four. Cooper Kneebone played some powerful strokes, trying to lift the run rate, before departing on 10. Tom Ray made three, Jye Aitken made one and Emanuel Vallence finished on one not out. Wandin finished on 8/85. Wandin’s bowling got off to a great start with Jackson taking a wicket off the third ball of his opening over, leaving Healesville on 1/0. Unfortunately, Wandin could not get another breakthrough until after Healesville had surpassed the run target. Jackson finished with very impressive figures 2/10. Jye finished with 1/1, Joe finished with 1/8 and Emanuel finished with 1/11. Healesville took out the win, finishing on 5/134.
