By Steve Brown
THE Eildon Park Panthers started opening their Christmas presents early when they batted first against Belgrave on the opening day of round seven of the Knox Tavern Cup.
David Smyth smashed 166 runs out of a total 332 for his side.
The 20-year-old struck many of the nearby gum trees, adding to the lost ball tally and becoming a property steward’s nightmare.
Smyth faced 154 balls and together with Shane Cosstick (81) the pair put on a club-record 274 for the second wicket.
Michael Litterbach was the only shining light with the ball, taking 3/47.
After a great win against Upwey last round, the Panthers are playing as a team in form reminiscent of their grand final berth two seasons ago.
Footballers recovered slightly after being 7/155 at the tea break against the undefeated Johnson Park.
The ‘Bush Bradman’ Robbie Bedford and Andrew Tweddle pushed the score to a modest 163, and the Sharks made inroads to be 1/47 at stumps.
Footballers have the attack to cause an upset next week in front of a home crowd.
The Basin continued their good form, dismissing top-four side Upper Gully for only 116.
The Kings’ batting line-up struggled once again thanks to the bowling efforts of Shane Underhill (3/43) and Matthew Heskes (3/24).
At stumps, the Huntsmen required less than 100 for victory for the loss of only one wicket.
Jason Simmonds contributed a gritty 73 for Monbulk at the Wally Tew Oval against Ferntree Gully.
Well-supported by Blake Walter, who was unbeaten on 40, and Justin Creed (38), the Hawks managed 211 run and are looking for back-to-back wins.
Upwey got through their overs quickly to dismiss Rowville in the 73rd over for 183, with stumps drawn at 5.10pm.
Rowville’s Joe Morsello furthered his growing reputation as ‘Mr Reliable’ with another half-century, while former Richmond captain Sam Taylor collected the best bowling figures for the day with 6/68, showing his all-round class.
With the likes of Taylor, Howe, Mulchay and Jewell, 183 might not be enough on the barren Upwey oval.
Knoxfield’s Brett Holst this week won selection in the Victorian under-17 side. Michael Topp from Ferntree Gully and Mason Crozier (Mulgrave) received Victorian under-19 honours.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:KNOX TAVERN CUP
Eildon Park 332 (Smyth 166, S. Cosstick 81, C. Morris 36, Litterbach 3/47) v Belgrave. Footballers 163 (Bedford 35, Tweddle 30 Gottliebsen 5/46) v Johnson Park 1/47. Upper Gully 116 (Underhill 3/43, Heskes 3/24) v The Basin 1/24. Monbulk 211 (B. Walter 40 not out, Creed 38, Simmonds 73, Black 3/27, Richardson 3/49) v Ferntree Gully. Rowville 183 (Morsello 50, Mitchell 30, Taylor 6/68) v Upwey.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DECOITE SHIELD
Knoxfield 4/257 (Maloney 54 not out, Scanlan 52, Scholfield 38, Train 32, Morris 31) v Mountain Gate. Knox Gardens 164 (McInerney 38, Snyman 4/56) v Lysterfield. South Belgrave 171 (Barry 32, Smith 3/31) v St John’s Tecoma 2/73.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 3
Rowville 5/47 (Joyce 4/19) v Upwey 123 (Cross 33, Dalgleish 4/31, Oudshoorn 3/17). Upper Gully 237 (Claughton 61, Scoon 81, Betka 6/29) v The Basin. Footballers 7/246 (Marriott 156 not out) v Johnson Park. Ferntree Gully 200 (Moss 60, Millard 60 not out, Reid 31, Broekoff 4/69) v Monbulk. Eildon Park 7/353 (R. Hicks 83, J. Hicks 44, Trotter 44, P. Porter 59 not out, Dietzel 48) v Belgrave.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 4
Knoxfield 8/196 (Pruysers 74, Balfour 35, Sheridan 3/37) v South Belgrave. Knox 135 (Menice 34, Jones 4/36, Davey 3/34) v Mountain Gate 0/9. Auravale 127 (Boyle 30) v Lysterfield 4/37. Knox Gardens 362 (Marget 109, Metherall 82, Young 61 not out) v St John’s Tecoma.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 5
Upwey 287 (Tippo 63, Kennedy 50, Seymour 3/48, Payne 3/30) v Johnson Park. Upper Gully 93 (Bailey 33, Collard 32, Unsworth 4/27) v Eildon Park 1/10. Ferntree Gully 7/418 (Spaulding 238, Reed 57, Tinney 4/71) v Rowville.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 6
South Belgrave 138 (Otten 51, Farrow 32 not out, Jennar 3/14, Murphy 3/23) v Mountain Gate. Auravale 65 (Larcombe 4/33, Stewart 6/23) v Knoxfield 5/238 (Kodi 57, Harris 41, Stewart 39, Faulkner 71 not out). Lysterfield 114 (Greenard 34, Crichton 3/32, Squires 3/10) v St John’s Tecoma 3/119. Knox Gardens 263 (Webby 48, Gregory 30, Cetrola 50, Taylor 35, Montague 51 not out) v Monbulk. Eildon Park 1/19 v Belgrave 155 (Gill 3/32, Ayre 67).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 7
Mountain Gate 90 (Blair 41, Merceica 4/19) v Upper Gully 4/68. Johnson Park 313 (Consentino 101, Hilton 64, Moody 3/62) v Lysterfield. Ferntree Gully 249 (Lee 143, Hocking 30, Parkinson 4/66, Casement 3/54) v Knoxfield.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:B1 (ONE DAY GRADE)
Upwey 3/150 (Chambers 50 not out, Brown 51 not out, Tailby 30) d Footballers 139 (Birrell 34, Brown 3/15). Monbulk 200 (Powers 54 not out, Fraser 50 not out, Watson 39 not out) d South Belgrave 107 (Murphy 43 not out). St John’s Tecoma 96 (Collins 34, Stubbs 3/13, D. O’Loughlin 4/27) d Lysterfield 92 (Stubbs 37, Perkins 4/9). Eildon Park 8/201 (Tibballs 50 not out , Dozzi 52 not out, Caulfield 34) d Johnson Park 7/200 (Burgess 50 not out, Miller 46 not out). The Basin 8/200 (Stocker 52 not out, Furno 3/47, Waters 4/38) d Ferntree Gully 184 (Cooksey 51 not out, Beekhuysen 50 not out).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:B2
SE Wanderers 9/118 (Ferrari 37) d Bayswater 7/117 (Scanlon 3/17). Ferntree Gully 9/142 (Wilkinson 48, Arthur 3/22) d Rowville 92 (Wilkinson 4/11). Knox Gardens 112 (Bulbabasic 37, Croxford 3/26) d Mountain Gate 111 (Shaw 37). Auravale 9/151 (Beanham 45) d Upper Gully 9/125.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 21
VCCL semi-final at Traralgon: Gippsland 7/210 (R. Handley 3/22, Marks 103) d South East Country 206 (A. West 46).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 17 (1)
Healthguard Cup: Mountain Gate 9/180 (Hart 3/34) v Upper Gully. South Belgrave 6/153 (Abson 32, McDermott 39) v Lysterfield. Johnson Park 0/7 v Mulgrave 80 (Hope 30, Gstrein 4/22). Eildon Park 9/193 v Knoxfield.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 17 (2)
Bayswater 6/179 (Glazner 36, Ingleton 40, Mcleod 43) v Rowville. The Basin 173 (Osbourne 35, Chircop 42*, Lim 3/18, Howes 3/21, McInerney 3/29) v Knox Gardens 0/16. Eildon Park 117 (Mastertoun 3/23) v Ferntree Gully.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 15 (1)
Eildon Park 107 v Mt Gate 0/9. Ferntree Gully 8/127 (Smith 36) v Upwey.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 15 (2)
Upper Gully 36 (Murphy 3/5) v Belgrave 6/116. South Belgrave 5/162 (Williams 32) v Mulgrave. Lysterfield 9/144 (Hallmark 37, North 3/7) v Eildon Park Pumas. Eildon Park Wildcats 8/140 (Wong 35, Morgan 32, Fenelon 3/21, Dewar 3/23) v Johnson Park. Ferntree Gully 105 (Lee 40, Siewert 5/17) v Footballers 7/18 (Catalano 4/1).
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 13 (1)
Mulgrave 113 (H. Carter 2/3, J. Carter 2/9, Hunt 2/13) v Lysterfield. Ferntree Gully 108 (Stephenson 57) v The Basin 1/0.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 13 (2)
Auravale 172 v Upper Gully. Mountain Gate 76 (Goodwin 3/3) v Johnson Park 0/16. Eildon Park Cougars 4/38 v Basin/Bayswater 82.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 12
Knox Gardens 4/165, (Marget 30*) v Ferntree Gully.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:UNDER 11 (NON COMP)
Bayswater Green 42 v Knox Gardens Black 90 (Ganesan 3/11).
The Basin 93 (C. Edwards 23, T. Edwards 16*) v Ferntree Gully Blue 94 (Harry 23*).
