Traditional rivals turn on thriller

By Keith Thompson,
THE YVCA under-18s took on a traditional rival, the FTGDCA, at Knox Gardens in a game that was of a very high standard.
FTGDCA won the toss and batted. Sharp bowling by Jackson Wright and Daniel Rogers quickly had it 4/50 off 18 overs, but solid innings by D. Devenish (76) and J. Turcinovic (52 n.o.) enabled FTGDCA to reach 7/235 off its 50 overs, with Wright taking 3/40 and Rogers 1/49.
YVCA lost an early wicket before consolidating to be 3/66 off 17 overs, with J. Rowe making a quick-fire 21. Ben Monkhurst, batting at No. 3, settled the innings and was the fourth wicket lost, with the score on 131.
Captain Ryan Smith kept the runs flowing until he was out with the score at 179. The game came down to a run-a-ball situation, but YVCA lost wickets in the chase and was out for 222. Monkhurst scored 68 and Smith 73, with a rapid 20 from Glen Sanders at one stage giving his side a chance.
There was tremendous YVCA support and on 23 November, at Gruyere Oval, the team will take on West Gippsland CA.
Round five finished on Saturday. Coldstream, with 141, could not contain Gruyere District, which reached 9/256 at stumps. Matt Tilney (65) and Brett Young (66) led the Scorpions’ batting, while Luke Sarre made 52.
The return of Matt Stark should build more confidence at Coldstream. He bowled well to take 2 /24 in his first outing of the season.
Wandin needed to bowl well to defend 195; Warburton/Millgrove, on the other hand, needed a steady approach requiring only 2.6 runs an over. Wandin prevailed. Only Liam Barnard (32) knuckled down fully as Wayne Ross (4/21) and Gary Frankovic (3/22) did a fine job for Wandin in restricting the opposition to 140.
Launching Place United’s 117 was never going to be enough to stop Healesville, which was dismissed for 214 at Launching Place, with Scott Hamer (56) and Julian Russell (47) the best of the bats as Hugh Wadsworth took 5/40. Hoddles Creek had a big chase and fell 94 runs short of Mount Evelyn’s total of 297, Simmonds’ 43 being a standout innings, while Chris Anderson and Kane Jones both took 4/34.
Seville notched its first win of the season, defending 213, and with a Yarra Junction batting line-up of great potential, the visitors knew that their total was marginal, at best. Daniel Lever (43) and Gerard Gearle (25 n.o.) were the best of the batsmen for Yarra Junction while the Seville attack was lead by two young fast bowlers – Daniel Healy (4/47) and David Wallace (3/29) – to dismiss the Eagles for 140.
This may instil confidence in Seville, which now meets Gruyere District. In other round-six matches, Mount Evelyn hosts Yarra Junction, Hoddles Creek travels to Woori Yallock, Wandin plays at home against Silvan, while traditional rivals Healesville and Warburton play at Queen’s Park. Launching Place United takes a trip to Coldstream in what should prove a close encounter.
Round five in the R. A. Finger Trophy resulted in Healesville being dismissed for 71 against Seville’s 208, with Steven Morgan (4/9) and Nathan McGill (4/30) doing the damage.
Other results: Yarra Glen 148 and 6/83 (Shane Holland 21, Jon Woods 20, Drew Davey 3 wickets) d Mount Evelyn 9/117 (Chis Doyle 31, Jamie Holland 3/29, Jon Woods 3/27); Woori Yallock 156 (Cal Ferguson 59, Stuart Thompson 4/43) and 6/113 (McKeown 61, Thompson 5/40) d Yarra Junction 124 (Chris Fall 47, M White 5/27, Adam Dunn 3/26).