By Chris Anderson
It was great to have cricket back around the Yarra Valley after wintery rain put a halt on proceedings in Round 2.
Kind conditions made for great cricket as players battled it out in one-day contests.
In the competition’s Premier Grade, DJ Strachan Shield, the grand finalists from the previous two seasons, Mount Evelyn and Warburton-Millgrove, have given no suggestions that they will be relinquishing their positions at the top of the tree, remaining undefeated after two rounds.
Reigning premier, Mount Evelyn, was clinical in their victory at home over Seville.
Seville opted to bat first and was looking the goods early courtesy of a gritty innings of 45 from captain Leigh Aitkins.
The opener battled hard against some tidy Mount Evelyn bowling led by captain Kane Jones.
Losing Aitkins just before tea put a considerable dent in proceedings for the visitors.
Still at 3/72 at drinks, Seville was poised to push on to considerable total.
That wouldn’t be the case as Jones (4/22), Trevor Williams (2/25) and Darcy Fraser (2/5) turned the screws on their opponents.
Losing 4/13 in the middle of the innings proved a bitter pill to swallow for the Blues, and despite some dogged batting at the close, they were only able to muster a lean score of 114, having been bowled out in the 35th over.
Despite losing John O’Donnell in the first over, the Mounters made short work of the chase.
In-form duo Jesse Fraser (66 not out) and Jon Williams (43) again came to the fore with a masterful 111-run partnership that all but delivered the home side victory.
The Seville bowlers had few answers for the pair’s brilliant stroke play as the left-hand, right-hand combination proved hard to contain.
Despite some late wickets to Mark Sandfort (2/20) on the stroke of stumps, Mount Evelyn romped to a seven-wicket victory with more than 17 overs to spare.
Warburton-Millgrove squeaked home with the points against Yarra Junction in a low-scoring affair.
The Burras opened up proceedings with the bat and found themselves in early trouble courtesy of Terry Ottrey and Nick Bark who reduced the home team to 4/40.
Ben Lever (36) was joined by young star Bailey Humphrey at the wicket and the pair managed to salvage the innings with a tidy 51-run partnership.
Bark, with some able support from Glenn Thompson, led Yarra Junction back into ascendency, not only breaking the crucial partnership but then securing vital wickets putting a dent in the home team’s ability to build a sizeable total.
Warburton-Millgrove was able to bat out its overs, but with quick wickets at the start and the end was unable to post a significant total, being caught on 9/120 after 40 overs.
Understanding their less-than-ideal position, the Burras’ bowlers went about rectifying the situation with brilliant execution.
Recruit Stuart Thompson was the pick of the bowlers with brilliant figures of 5/23, while nothing replaces experience as he was ably supported by veteran slow bowlers, Cam Darwall (3/14) and Adam Humphrey (2/39).
The unsung and unrewarded hero of the bowling performance would be Bailey Humphrey (0/18 off 10) who dried up the runs at one end, heaping the pressure on the Eagles’ batting line up desperate to get some momentum to their innings.
Marcel Kocher (39) did his best to keep the Eagles in the chase, but the visitors could not match the pressure applied by the bowlers and were bowled out in the 37th over for 95, handing the home team a 25-run victory.
In RA Finger Trophy action, Woori Yallock outlasted Seville by 13 runs led by reigning Haag Medallist Cal Ferguson (3/31 and 23).
Matt Tilney proved he’s still go it with unbelievable figures of 7/2 as Gruyere put in a dominant display with both bat and ball to record an impressive 118-run victory over Warburton-Millgrove.
Wandin Red and Wandin Blue made it a happy weekend at the kennel with victories over Healesville and Coldstream respectively, while Mount Evelyn recorded a tidy 32-run victory over Yarra Junction despite brilliant bowling from Harry Relf, who netted figures of 6/34.
DJ STRACHAN SHIELD
Mount Evelyn 3/115 (J. Fraser 66*, J. Williams 43, M. Sandfort 2/20) d Seville 10/114 (L. Aitkins 45, K. Jones 4/22, D. Fraser 2/5, T. Williams 2/25)
Warburton 9/120 (B. Lever 36, N. Bark 4/, T. Ottrey 2/, G. Thompson 2/) d Yarra Junction 10/95 (M. Kocher 39, S. Thompson 5/23, C. Darwall 3/14, A. Humphrey 2/39)
Healesville d Yarra Glen (forfeit)
RA FINGER TROPHY
Wandin Red 7/137 (M. Darvell 29, M. Fawdry 24, J. Baxter 3/26, A. Jakubowicz 2/30) d Healesville 8/133 (R. English 38, M. Sinnott 2/26, M. Fawdry 2/27, L. Chandler 2/33)
Woori Yallock 5/167 (M. Dwyer 57, D. Worlley 25, C. Ferguson 23, T. Spargo 1/2, T. Bissels 1/12) d Seville 10/154 (M. Beri 37, L. McGookin 25, R. Foster 23, C. Ferguson 3/31, M. White 3/36, A. Whitworth 2/15)
Gruyere District 7/239 (A. Vassallo 81, M. Tilney 58, J. Nelson 3/46, R. Nyko 1/12) d Warburton/Millgrove 10/121 (A. Nelson 44, T. Wunhym 37, M. Tilney 7/2, A. Vassallo 1/27)
Mount Evelyn 6/163 (A. Whiting 49, C. Doyle 30, H. Relf 6/34) d Yarra Junction 8/131 (M. Anderson 20*, T. Hawkins 19, C. Doyle 3/26, M. Potter 2/26)
Wandin Blue 9/224 d Coldstream 10/98
C GRADE
Yarra Glen 10/134 (C. Foster 40 T. Davey 28 D. Allan 2/11 C. Ronalds 2/16) d Marysville 10/127 (C. Piggott 30 T. Gleeson 18 J. Woods 2/19 J. Holland 1/0)
Wandin 10/129 (J. White 41, T. Hall 24, B. Robinson 2/16, C. Laycock 2/19, D. Gale 2/28) d Seville 10/120 (D. Knight 28, S. Sculthorpe 22, T. Hall 4/28, M. Lanham 2/14, M. Oakley 2/35)
Hoddles Creek 1/46 (J. Pobke 30, A. Randall 5*, D. Peel 1/8) d Gruyere District 10/38 (F. Young 15, R. Gibson 9, P. Jones 4/3, L. Hoorn 3/6)
Launching Place d Woori Yallock (forfeit)
D GRADE
Healesville 4/172 (C. Handasyde 70*, C. Anderson 49*, H. Wheeler 2/29) d Coldstream 9/103 (B. Rhodes 29, H. Wheeler 20*, M. Wallace 3/20, J. Drummond 2/10, H. Baxter 2/13)
Wandin 6/174 (C. Foden 68*, J. Ingram 34, M. Young 2/13) d Launching Place 10/138 (D. Van Eijk 50, W. Clancy 4/17)
Yarra Junction 6/114 (J. White 26, B. Thomas 19, L. Shepherd 4/29) d Mount Evelyn 10/109 (D. Meades 20, L. Walker 19, E. Clark 4/23, B. Ganson 3/15, T. Reed 2/22)
E GRADE
Hoddles Creek 4/131 (K. Thompson 56*, G. Vukman 29, J. Barry 1/7) d Seville 9/126 (J. Mullins 54*, S. Buckle 17, J. Karanikich 3/14, J. Jenkinson 1/5)
16 AND UNDER
Seville 3/219 (A. Smith 50*, L. Kay 47*, J. Woodford 35*, S. Gebert 1/26) d Healesville 9/99 (S. Gebert 30, C. Frazzetto 26, J. Beri 3/9, L. Cavanah 2/12)
Mount Evelyn/Launching Place 4/197 (S. Vanhoogstraten 50*, L. Shepherd 48, R. Williams 44, C. Williams 22*, M. Cummings 1/12, H. Wheeler 1/19, A. Steele 1/18) d Coldstream 2/173 (D. Pezzimenti 50*, L. Riddleford 50*, A. Steele 28, O. Powell 1/14, A. Vanhoogstraten 1/14)
UNDER-14
Healesville (J. Handasyde 11*, H. Baxter 10, M. Thomas 10*, N. Borry 1/4, E. Shepherd 1/7, D. Carol 1/9) d Yarra Junction/Launching Place 8/47 (R. Foley 15, E. Nikcevich 2/3)
Hoddles Creek 6/113cc (G. Vukman 17*, A. Hall 17*, O. Lyons 15*, J. Bench-McGrath 2/12, A. Broussard 1/4, E. Van Beek 1/6, H. Smith 1/6) d Seville 10/99 (H. Smith 19, E. Van Beek 16*, C. Atkins 16, J. Hook 11, O. Simpson 3/17, L. Payne 2/11, H. Benson 2/11, A. Waldron 1/9)
UNDER-12
Healesville Red 5/105 (T. Handasyde 24*, D. English 24, R. Tanner 1/6, Jasper Barry 1/10, Joel Barry 1/15) d Seville 3/103 (Joel Barry 42*, T. Biddiscome 2/24, B. Anderson 1/12)
Healesville White 4/96 (A.J. Druitt 20*, M. Holland 19*, K. Tilney 1/4, S. Shaldyn 1/9, A. Beers 1/12) d Yarra Junction/Gruyere 3/68 (S. Shaldyn 17*, H. Beers 11, E. Demopolous 2/14)
Warburton-Millgrove 6/89 (K. Wunhym 17*, B. Caneva 15*, P. Saurine 14, S. Robinson 1/5) d Wandin 5/72 (L. Alderman 16*, N. Darvell 13* B. Urquart 1/3)
Launching Place 3/166 (E. Bradley 39, X. Dunne 31, L. Parker 23, K. Bennett 1/7) d Marysville 2/82 (A. Cowell 20, S. Thompson 14, H. Gannon 1/8)
UNDER-10
Seville 5/72 (Lachlan 8, Alby 4, Taj 3) d Mount Evelyn 5/62 (Jonathan 10, Billie 9)
Warburton Black 4/140 (Riley ‘Brown Dog’ 17, Eamon 12, Jaiden 12, Sumba 2/7, Ethyn 1/12, Kaylee 1/22) d Warburton Blue 8/85 (Joshua ‘Pirate’ 13, Jack 9, Jaiden 2/5, Aislin 2/5, Brodie ‘Buggy’ 2/12)
Wandin 3/148 (Dylan 23, Will 17, Tyler 2/13) d Wandin Blue 5/86 (Tyler 10, Alannah 8, Thomas 1/4, Will Henderson 1/4)
