Panthers hold out for a thrilling win

By Keith Thompson
SATURDAY completed the second-last round prior to the Christmas break with one-day matches being played in all senior grades this Saturday and returning to the crease on 13 January with the exception DJSS4 and RAFT3 in both instances.
In Saturday’s round seven matches in a close and thrilling encounter at the main Seville Cricket Ground, Yarra Panthers tried to keep the home side to less than their 201.
Seville was unable to create strong partnerships, and in the end fell three runs short as the Panthers dismissed the team for 198.
Dean Troyahn was the best with the bat with 60 in the Yarra Panthers’ innings of 8/201cc, M. Williams scored an unbeaten 79, C. Williams 47, and the bowling honours were shared.
In an even closer game at Warburton, the home side, chasing Mt Evelyn’s 260, reach a winning score of 8/261 off the last ball of the match, with Michael Walker guiding the team home with an unbeaten 148.
Chris Anderson 3/47 and Shane Luck 3/67 bowled well for Mt Evelyn.
Yarra Junction, with 4/318cc on the board thanks to Dan Lever (72 not out), Kevin Bomford (67) and Stephen Flutter (56), was in a commanding position on its home turf against Wandin, which at the end of play was dismissed for 223.
Captain Wayne Ross top-scored for his team with a fine 80 with assistance from Gary Frankovic (47). With the ball, Beau Hawkins snaffled 3/14.
No scores were received for day two play in the Silvan versus Coldstream match at Silvan. Silvan made 7/344cc on day one, and it is understood Coldstream reached this target and won the match.
After Woori Yallock’s first innings of 108, Healesville managed a meagre 67. Woori Yallock then batted a second time to reached 5/194 with Andrew Sharp 101 not out.
In the DJSS Reserve match between Wandin and Yarra Junction, the Bayliss boys brought Wandin home in the chase of Yarra Junction’s 215. Wandin was 3/40 at stumps and soon in trouble with the loss of three more wickets with the addition of just 25 more runs.
The Bayliss boys then got together and took Wandin to a stunning win with a final score of 223.
In the RAFT, all home sides lost to the visitors.
Gruyere District made 175, with Dean Prouse scoring 50 and Kinglake’s Brenton Styles taking 4/46, but lost to Kinglake, which amassed 9/339cc, Jamie Morgan making 113 and Ben Munn-Gibbs 71, while Henry Gibson was the best of the Gruyere District bowlers, taking 3/23.
In the match at Hoddles Creek, Yarra Glen had 6/340cc on the board, and the home side only reached 264, with Brenton Derix scoring 59 and J. Holland taking 3/60 for the visitors.
Marysville, with a first-day score of 226, needed to bowl tightly to keep Launching Place United to three runs an over – not an easy task at the picturesque Marysville Cricket Ground.
Launching Place United reached 5/311 at stumps with T. Wheeler (88), Stuart Parker (62 not out) and Andrew Hoare (56) the pick of the batsmen. C. Tiller with 2/32 was best of the Marysville bowlers.
The YVCA umpires had an enjoyable Christmas party after the day’s play and the association wished them and all other Yarra Valley cricket families the best for Christmas and the new year.