By Ben Vallence
It was first vs fourth in what turned out to be a nail-biting contest between St Andrews and the combined Hoddles Creek/Wandin side in the Under 16s semi-final on the weekend. Hoddles Creek/Wandin had just scraped through to the final four on percentage and was considered the underdog against St Andrews who had been ladder leaders all season.
On day one, St Andrews won the toss and elected to bowl. It turned out to be an inspired choice, with Hoddles Creek/Wandin reeling at 4/8 after just six overs with an early batting collapse. With things looking fairly grim for Hoddles Creek/Wandin, a solid partnership was needed. Thanks to Oscar Lyons and Jackson Kneebone, the team was regrouped. In a classy knock, Oscar Lyons made 21 from 25 balls, before departing with the score on 5/36. Hoddles Creek/Wandin completed their first innings on 5/43, after 25 overs, and knew they would need to bowl and field out of their skin if they were to be any chance of staying in the game against the top side. The Hoddles Creek/Wandin team didn’t disappoint and came out firing. St Andrews were shell-shocked and found themselves at 6/26 after 12 overs, with four batsmen making ducks. Jackson Kneebone was the pick of the bowlers taking 3/5 after his 8 overs, bowling 6 maidens. Kai Harrison also starred with the ball, taking 3/15 after his six overs. St Andrews was able to steady before finishing their first innings on 7/61, surpassing the Hoddles Creek/Wandin total.
On day two, St Andrews began their second innings with the bat. Hoddles Creek/Wandin kept things extremely tight, with the first 5 overs of the morning all maidens. The pressure became too great for St Andrews, only making a further 16 runs before being bowled out for 77. Jackson Kneebone finished with 4/10 after 9 overs and Kai Harrison took 5/15 after his 8.2 overs. Hayden Currie top-scored for St Andrews with 19. Hoddles Creek/Wandin had to make 35 more runs to win the game, with 5 wickets in hand. After only making 4 more runs, Hoddles Creek lost an early wicket, with the score on 6/47. Andrew Waldron came in and scored quickly, but found himself out on 4, with the score on 7/57 and the game was back on a knife’s edge. Rory Vallence and Finlay McLachlan came to the crease. Both batters batted with great patience and grit, waiting for the bad balls to put away on what turned out to be a very hard ground to score. After holding their nerve under some tight St Andrews bowling, Rory Vallence (12no) and Finlay Mclachlan (8no) steered Hoddles Creek/Wandin to victory, finishing on 7/80. A gutsy performance by the Hoddles Creek/Wandin side.
Hoddles Creek/Wandin will take on Healesville in the Grand Final this weekend. It shapes up to be a great contest in the Valley.
