By CHRIS ANDERSON
YVCA
WOORI Yallock is the champion of the Yarra Valley Cricket Association after a stellar performance in the grand final.
The victory caps off a great rise for the Tigers.
After enticing former junior gun Daniel Mock to lead the club, Woori Yallock assembled a talented group of players for this season.
Woori Yallock had no hesitations in electing to bat first, in order to seize another chance to put up a decent score.
But the Burras had different ideas.
Through a pair of wickets from the brilliant Mick Walker, and his reliable partner in crime David Lever, the Tigers soon found themselves under the pump at 4/24.
Consolidation was called for, and in-form captain Daniel Mock and Ryan Frost came together and steadied the ship to guide their side to 4/87 at tea.
Upon return from the tea interval, the quick wicket of Frost again opened the door for the Burras.
Mock had other ideas, and, after establishing himself at the wicket, he wasn’t going to let his team down.
Through a pair of useful partnerships with Simon Young and Greg Selby, Mock’s innings of 77 enabled his team to loosen the chains and post a handy 186.
After day one, most had the Burras in front, as most thought they had enough talent in the bank.
Warburton-Millgrove made steady progress at the start of their innings, and the in-form David Lever threatened to stay at the crease and take the game away from his opposition.
The brilliant stroke-maker couldn’t repeat his semi-final heroics.
His wicket with the score on 50 started a worrying trend for the favourites.
The batsmen couldn’t nudge their noses in front as talented all-rounder, Simon Young, and reliable spinner, Ben Hayes, turned the screws.
Warburton-Millgrove’s long batting order ensured the Burras were only one partnership away from victory, however, the partnership never came.
They were eventually dismissed for 148.
Some doubted the Tigers’ claims to be top dogs, as they struggled to beat the experienced line-ups of Seville and Warburton-Millgrove.
But they put those doubts to rest in emphatic fashion across two weekends of hard-edged finals cricket.
In R.A. Finger Trophy play, Seville and Coldstream clashed at Woori Yallock.
Day one proved to be an old fashioned arm wrestle, with neither team truly claiming honours.
Seville batted first and found it tough to gain any momentum, due to the loss of early wickets.
Opener Jake McInnis (40) held things together early for the Blues as wickets fell around him.
But the Crocs couldn’t land the knock-out blow.
A useful partnership from Tom Page (31) and Michael Stevenson (27 not out) added some stability to the innings and ensured Seville reached a defendable 165.
The wickets were shared for the Crocs, as the bowlers worked as a team to keep the Blues in check.
The total looked to be short of the mark.
Despite losing their first two wickets before the score had reached 20, Ben Walsh (40) and Stephen Phillips (65) combined for an extended partnership that had the Crocs well in control.
Someone forgot to tell the Sandfort brothers, Ron and Mark.
The Sandforts combined for nine wickets to turn this contest on its ear.
Even at 5/130, most had the Crocs still in front, with just one decent partnership, or a couple of lusty blows needed to close the gap on victory.
Finals nerves can be crippling, and within a blink of an eye, the Crocs had capitulated to a 20-run loss, sending the Seville contingency into unexpected celebrations that looked a distant chance for most of the day.
D.J. Strachan Shield
Woori Yallock 186 (D. Mock 77, S. Young 29, M. Walker 3/30, David Lever 3/50) d Warburton-Millgrove 148 (David Lever 31, Daniel Lever 22, B. Hayes 4/32, S. Young 4/63).
R.A. Finger Trophy
Seville 165 (J. McInnis 40, T. Page 31, M. Stevenson 27 not out, C. Dikschi 2/25, B. Walsh 2/25, D. Oliffe 2/26) d Coldstream 10/145 (S. Phillips 65, B. Walsh 40, M. Sandfort 5/23, R. Sandfort 4/53).
