By Rob Boxell
Under 10s
Yarra Junction played down at Woori this week, captain Wilson lost the toss and Woori elected to bat first. The weather looked foreboding but the Eagles bowled extremely well. Archer took 3 wickets in his 3 overs followed by Wilson and Sam who both took 2. Jaxon bowled incredibly well also, taking one wicket, and getting a runout. The rain held off and we went in to bad in high spirits. The whole team batted well, getting some good runs off the bat and a few players getting some personal bests in runs. On the whole, it was a great game and the kids had a ball.
Under 12s vs Woori Yallock/Launching Place
The U12s were looking to carry on their unbeaten run when they took on Woori/Launch down at Junction. Skipper for the evening Aiden Fogerty won the toss and elected to field first and that decision paid off after an early wicket from Tyson Oates put pressure on the opposition from the start. Wickets from Alexander Mason and Fogerty continued to put the squeeze on which then led Luke Dark to come into the attack to claim a wicket and finish with great figures of 1/3 off 3 overs including a wicket maiden. Woori/Launch finished their innings on 5/51. Tyson Oates and Kye Van De Maat opened the batting for Junction and it didn’t get off to the best start with Oates clean bowled fourth ball of the innings and Van De Maat quickly followed. This led to Jordy Thornton coming to the crease who steadied the ship alongside key knocks from Alexander Mason (7) and Wil Joseph (6) to finish on his highest score of 14* to help Junction to the win and finish on 8/82 off 23 overs and continue our unbeaten run.
Yarra Junction 8/82 (J Thornton 14*) def Launch/Woori 5/51 (T Oates 1/2, L Dark 1/3, A Mason 1/5, A Fogarty 1/4)
Womens vs Montrose
Junction was looking to make it 4 wins on the bounce when they entertained Montrose down at Junction. Montrose won the toss and elected to bowl first. Millie Kuth and Lisa Hilton opened the batting looking to carry on their good form and it looked promising after Kuth began in her normal attacking manner before hitting one to a short cover for 10 and the score on 1/16. Skipper Carly Millar came out to the crease and with Hilton, put on a partnership of 32 before Hilton was bowled for a gritty 10. Charlene Booker came in and was run out first ball which led to a mother/daughter partnership between Millar and Anelise McCracken of 10 runs before McCracken chipped one back to the bowler for 2. A flurry of late wickets when trying to up the run rate left Junction finishing on 6/82 off 20 overs with Millar finishing on a career-high score of 27*. Kuth and Alannah Bomford opened the bowling and it couldn’t have got off to a better start when first-year player Jade Bennett caused a wicket to fall the first ball of the Montrose innings with a direct
hit run out. Montrose regrouped thanks to a good partnership and some slack bowling. Millar brought on Bec Brown and Tara Wilson and that decision changed the game as Montrose lost 6 wickets for 11 runs as Brown and Wilson tore through the middle order as they fell from 1/27 to 7/38 with Wilson finishing with great figures of 2/8 off 4 overs. Rachel Pilton continued with her wicket-taking form with 1/6 off 2 overs and Bennett came into the attack to bowl her first over in competitive cricket finishing with 0/1 off of her solitary over. Montrose finished on 9/63 off their 20 overs but the undoubted superstar of the day with Brown who created history by finishing with figures of 5/10 off her 4 overs and claiming the first-ever 5fa for the women’s side. Another win leaves Junction on top of the ladder and on a four-match winning run.
Yarra Junction 6/82 (C Millar 27*) def Montrose 9/63 (R Brown 5/10, T Wilson 2/8)
3rd XI vs Woori Yallock/Launching Place
The 3 rd XI travelled down the highway to Woori Yallock to take on the merged Launch and Woori 2nd XI. Upon winning the toss, Yarra Junction chose to bat first. Julian Bennett and Rob Boxell opened the batting, with Bennett departing early on. This bought Paul Ainsley to the crease, another member of YJ’s English invasion. Boxell and Ainsley put on a 36-run partnership until Boxell holed out on a run-a-ball 20. Ainsley stayed solid at one end, forming good partnerships with Jordan and Yeoman. Eventually, Ainsley was out for a very well-put-together 50. A cameo from the evergreen Glenn Thompson (36 not out) helped get the score to 156.
Going into the field, the boys toiled away for 17 overs before getting the first breakthrough, Bennett taking a quality catch off the bowling of Aaron Stewart. Another wicket saw the hosts go into the drinks break 2/81, requiring 76 runs to win off 15 overs. Enter Jack Bishop, called into the team at the eleventh hour, and only playing his fifth game ever, Bishop bowled 6 overs to take 4/29, which saw the visitors keep Launch/Woori to 8/151, winning their first game for the year.
Yarra Junction 8/156 (P Ainsley 50, G Thompson 36*) def Launch/Woori 8/151 (J Bishop 4/29, R Boxell 3/17)
2nd XI
Yarra Junction 8/83 def by Hoddles Creek 5/85 (L Van Der Vlugt 2/11, T Pilton 2/17)
1st XI vs Mt Evelyn
Losing the toss, Yarra Junction were sent into bat first against Mt Evelyn. Losing a couple of early wickets put Yarra Junction on the back foot as they had to claw their way for every run. Small partnerships added up, with most batsmen getting starts. A few unlucky calls saw Yarra Junction 8/93. The YJ tail wagged, with Rhys Matthews, Jordan Poynton and Ant Davis able to take the score to a defendable 149.
Going into the field now, Poynton and Dan Crewe opened the bowling and were able to get three early wickets to have the hosts 3/13. When Poynton managed to get a run out late in the day, it saw the hosts 4/59 as stumps were called. Yarra Junction now sits in the box seat but it’s still anyone’s game.
Yarra Junction 149 (K Bomford 31, R Matthews 28) vs Mt Evelyn 4/50 (J Poynton 2/12)
