Francovic rips through Mt Evelyn

The Yarra Valley Cricket Association Finals for 2008-09 commenced on Saturday and continued on Sunday in the D J Strachan Shield matches between Mt Evelyn and Wandin being played at Coldstream.
Mt Evelyn batted first under fine sunny conditions and started steadily progressing to 3 for 90 until a devastating spell of medium pace bowling by Wandin stalwart Gary Frankovic who in a spell of six overs took five Mt Evelyn wickets to have the side at 8 for 110 and all out for 137 (Gary Francovic 7/25).
In reply, Wandin were 1 for 99 at stumps with the loss of Jason Kennedy early on. Rowe and Hasan steadied the innings through to close of play.
In the R A Finger Trophy Final at Seville, Woori Yallock won the toss and decided to bat. The side lost early wickets to be in trouble at 5 for 80. With a couple of dedicated innings by the Worllry brothers and over 10 dropped catches by the Healesville fielders the Wori Tigers reached 233 before being dismissed. Healesville were 1 for 33 in reply.
In the C Grade Finals at the Seville complex, Powelltown batted first and was dismissed for 132. There were no major partnerships as the Gruyere District bowlers did well. In reply, Gruyere District were 3 for 35, and with two remaining days of play, the premiership could go either way.
At the Silvan Cricket Ground the E Grade Finals is being fought out between Wandin and Seville who want the toss and decided to bat and in true finals spirit, the Seville openers in Johnson and Johnson only played at what they had to. They blunted the Wandin attack for over two and a half hours before Alistair Johnson lost his wicket for 28. His opening partner Graeme continued on before he lost his wicket for 75. The Seville innings continued on slowly all day and at 6pm the side went in to the pavilion at 7 for 198 and will strive to add to the score when the innings recommences on Sunday.
The One Day Grade Final at Yarra Junction had Hoddles Creek batting first and being dismissed for just 98. C. Loughnan with 5 for 20 bowled well for Warburton-Millgrove. After the tea break Warburton-Millgrove went in to bat to chase down the score. They made it for the loss of six wickets and concluded the finals on 6 for 99dec with C. Morgan on 60.
One Day Grade Premiers Warburton-Millgrove.
DAY 2
MtEvelyn 1st Innings with 137 on the board from Saturday with Luke Jones on 31 and C. Morrow (28) Kane Jones (26). Wandin were all out for 222 ( J. Rowe (80) Scott Hasan (29) Wayne Ross (28) Kane Jones took 4 for 79 and Ian Llewellyn 2/18. MtEvelyn then needed to create a reasonable score in its second innings and create a lead to allow its bowlers enough time to try and dismiss Wandin again. MtEvelyn in its 2nd innings at stumps on Day 2 are 4 for 149 (Kane Jones 50no W. Ross has 3 for 49). It is now certainly game on for next weekend at Coldstream starting at 12.30pm.
R A Finger Trophy match at Seville
Woori Yallock 1st innings 233 v Healesville 1st innings 97, a 136-run lead plus in their 2nd innings Woori Yallock at stumps on Day 2 are 6/170 with a 306 run overall lead with an excess of five hours play available if Healesville can get the three remaining wickets in 40 to 50 minutes. They will need to chase down around 325 in about a run a minute pace.
C Grade being played between Powelltown and Gruyere District has seen a close contest with Powelltown taking 1st innings honours by just 7 runs,
Powelltown 1st innings 134 C. Neale 37, P. Dunne 32 R. Prouse 4/36, G. Sweeten 4/52 v Gruyere 1st innings 127 (J. Blain 32 A. Blain 11 C. Neale 4/44 , G McRorie 3/19 R. White 2/33 Powelltown 2nd innings 5/112 C. Neale 64* R. Prouse 2/23 G Sweeten 2/45 Powelltown have a 119-run lead with five second innings wickets in hand and one day’s play remaining which is four hours and 10 minutes plus a final hour with a minimum of 20 overs to be bowled. This match will go down to the very end with a result either way.
At the Silvan Cricket Ground the E Grade Final is between neighbours and rivals Seville and Wandin with the Wandin team certainly going in to the match as favourites. Seville batted first and were all out for 200 (Graeme Johnson, 63, Graham Large, 60, J. Hanarahan 3/36 A. Young 3/65 Paul Long 3/29). Wandin in reply were all out for 59 (Scot Buckle 6 for 33 Rod Bishop 4 for 19). Seville then batted again and at stumps in their 2nd innings were 5 for 59 with a 200-run lead. With just five wickets in hand, they may be hard pressed to create much more of a lead if the first inning collapse is repeated in this innings and surely Wandin would not be dismissed so cheaply a second time. These are four great cricket matches being played to determine the Premiers in the YVCA for Season 2008-09, engrossing cricket right down to the final hours it would seem.