By Rob Boxell
Under 12s vs Mount Evelyn
Junction took on heavily fancied Mount Evelyn on Friday evening and it was Mount Evelyn who won the toss and sent Junction into bat. Tyson Oates and Kye Van de Maat opened up with Oates the first wicket to fall thanks to a good catch on the boundary. Jordy Thornton and Van de Maat batted beautifully with both running singles well before both retired. Luke Dark and Wil Joseph came to crease and carried on with the same intent as the previous duo finding the boundary and punishing anything loose from the Mount Evelyn bowlers. Junction finished on 5/86 thanks to knocks of 22* from Thornton, 15* from Van De Maat and 13 from Dark.
Oates opened the bowling and got a huge wicket second ball thanks to a great catch from Joseph behind the stumps. Dark claimed another wicket in the third over with another great catch from Joseph to leave Mount Evelyn 2/11. 2/11 quickly became 4/11 as Van De Maat took 2 wickets in 2 balls and narrowly just missed out on his hat-trick. Mount Evelyn regrouped and got themselves back into the game before a late wicket from Thornton secured the game for Junction to grab a 26 run win and cement their place on top of the ladder.
Yarra Junction 5/86 (J Thornton 22*, K Van De Maat 15*) def Mt Evelyn 5/60 (K Van De Maat 2/10)
Women’s vs St Andrews
It was 3rd vs 2nd as Skipper Carly Millar lost the toss on a hot and windy day down at Junction and was sent into the field to bowl first.
St Andrews started off strong rotating the strike and punishing the bad ball before Millie Kuth got the breakthrough in the 4th over. Alannah Bomford got in the action with a wicket thanks to a great catch from Taylor Stevens to reduce St Andrews to 2/23. Stevens was back in action again, this time off the bowling of Bec Brown with the score now 3/34. 3/34 quickly became 5/42 as Brown stuck again thanks to another great catch from Anelise McCracken and Tara Wilson got in the wickets thanks to a great Yorker. Rachel Pilton joined the attacked and claimed her sole wicket for the day with another catch, taken by Kuth in the deep. Bomford came back on and claimed a late wicket and her second of the day to keep St Andrews 7/76.
Kuth and Lisa Hilton opened up and Junction lost the early wicket of the big-hitting Kuth for 0 to reduce Junction to 1/2. Carly Millar joined Hilton and they both batted beautifully punishing the loose balls paired with great running between the wickets to put on a partnership of 72. Millar departed for a well-made 29 with the score on 74. 2 quick wickets fell to add some last-over drama but Junction crossed the line with 4 balls to spare with Hilton finishing on a well-made 32* to grab a six-wicket win and going into the last game before the Christmas break full of confidence.
Yarra Junction 4/77 (L Hilton 32*, C Millar 29) def 7/76 ( R Brown 2/12, A Bomford 2/22)
3rd XI vs Wandin
The 3rds travelled down the highway looking to atone for their efforts from last week. Sadly the only highlight was winning the toss and choosing to bat. Although off to a good start, being 0/20 after three overs, the 3rd XI was unable to handle a rampaging Wandin attack and was bowled out for 49. The Dogs batsmen chased down the total within ten overs only three wickets down.
Yarra Junction 10/49 def by Wandin 3/73 (E Clark 2/10)
2nd XI vs Powelltown
Up against the old rivals, the 2nd XI lost the toss and was made to bowl first. Early wickets from Blayden Steedman and Leigh Van der Vlugt saw the visitors at 3/30 early on, however, a 100-run partnership between Neale and Arnold saw the momentum shift drastically. Ryan Carter was able to knock over Neale and then snare two more wickets, which saw Powelltown finish 6/225. With Matt Hammond and Carter opening, disaster struck when Carter went down with an achilles injury. AJ Druitt was run out soon after. Wickets began to fall as Junction slumped to 5/31 before Van der Vlugt and Hammond steadied the ship with a 50-run partnership. Hammond was dismissed for a fighting 41. Steedman joined Van der Vlugt and gave it a good go, hitting 25 and 26 respectively, however, the target of 226 proved too much for the home side.
Yarra Junction 7/121 (M Hammond 41) def by Powelltown 7/225 (R Carter 3/43)
1st XI vs Croydon North
Travelling down to Hughes Park, Yarra Junction won the toss and sent Croydon North into bat. It took 20 overs before Travis Nightingale made the breakthrough. Wickets fell at regular intervals, however, enough mini-partnerships saw Croydon North reach 5/214 at the conclusion of their 40 overs.
Opening with Marcel Kocher and Andrew Cowan, the visitors were unable to settle in and string together damaging partnerships. Nightingale had a battling 28 while skipper Kevin Bomford hit a run a ball 44 but it wasn’t enough as Junction were bowled out for 154.
Yarra Junction 10/154 (K Bomford 44) def by Croydon North 5/214 (J Poynton 2/41)
