Seville wins the Shield

By Keith Thompson
THE Yarra Valley Cricket Association finals started on Saturday with fine, yet overcast skies greeting players at Queens Park in Healesville.
The D. J. Strachan Shield final saw Warburton Millgrove win the toss and elect to bat against Seville.
The game promised to be a tight contest between the same two clubs that fought out last season’s final.
Seville attacked with the ball from the outset. The opening bowling combination of Amarasinghe and Tinley ripped into Warburton’s batting line-up, dismissing it for a dismal 58. Tilney was the star of the day’s play, taking an amazing 8/29. Amarasinghe took 2/17. In reply, Seville was 2/44 at the end of the day.
It continued the innings on day two with the intent of batting on as long as possible, but the Burras had other plans.
Seville lost six wickets before passing the 59 required for a first-nnings lead, but just prior to tea, it was 8/11. Warburton Millgrove then conceded the game and, with it, the trophy. Seville won its first D. J. Strachan Shield since the 1986-87 season.
In the R. A. Finger Trophy final at the picturesque Gruyere ground, Healesville won the toss and elected to bat against Seville.
The game ebbed and flowed with the batting side on top first, before the bowlers took hold.
At the end of play on day one, Healesville was all out for 146. Bryan Horner (26) and Sam Watts (24) were the best with the willow, while for Seville Stephen Morgan took 3/48, Daniel Healy 3/49, and Luke Clarke 2/10.
Healesville’s total provided a tense chase for Seville as it lost a constant stream of wickets – 2/20, then 3/32, then 4/40.
Although at one stage it still had more than 30 overs to get 70 runs, Seville had only three wickets in hand. The crowd grew steadily as other matches around the district finished and word spread that the action was in Gruyere.
The eighth and ninth wickets fell and Healesville was firmly in the box seat, still leading by 40 runs.
The ninth wicket partnership of Mark Johnson and Scott Troyahn set about achieving the highly improbable, working the ball around and picking up vital ones and twos. But with Pearce and Shambrook bowling well, Healesville gained the upper hand when it claimed Troyahn’s wicket with just over 20 runs required by Seville and the over count down to seven.
Johnson then succumbed to a knee injury. Struggling to move, he eventually called a runner.
As the second last over began, Healesville required one wicket and Seville eight runs.
Healesville kept it tight to start the over with a string of dot balls before Seville delivered a six out of nowhere. It then scored the two winning runs right at the death to conclude a brilliant match. Seville took out the premiership to go along with its D. J. Strachan Shield, and also went back-to-back from last season.
In the C Grade final played at Seville between Hoddles Creek and Yarra Glen, Hoddles Creek batted first and was in deep trouble early with the loss of four wickets for just 10 runs.
Needing a miracle recovery, it never came for Hoddles Creek – dismissed for 43. John Orren led Yarra Glen’s attack with 4/16, with support from Jon Woods’ 3/8. In reply, at stumps, Yarra Glen reached 2/121 with the Cowan brothers chipping in a combined 86.
They continued on day two, reaching 3/204 before Hoddles Creek conceded the match and the trophy, giving Yarra Glen its first title since the 2007-08 season.
Yarra Junction and Seville did battle in the D Grade final at Launching Place.
Yarra Junction made first use of the crease but managed only 91 all out. Leam Long scored a fighting 44, while Seville’s Craig Rackham took 4/21 and was assisted by Mark Proctor with 3/17.
In reply, at stumps on day one, Seville was 1/39.
It ultimately passed Junction’s score with three wickets in hand but lost them without adding to their total. It had a one-run lead and with more than two hours of play available.
Yarra Junction headed out to bat in its second dig intent on building a quick lead and sending Seville in once again.
It declared with a lead of 59. Seville failed to get the runs needed, but lost only a couple of wickets and took the points and the title with a first-innings win.
The YVCA one-deay grade semi-finals were concluded on Saturday with matches at Dixons Creek and Seville.
At Seville, Coldstream batted first and reached 120 at the end of the innings with Jamie Pegg top-scoring with 32.
Hoddles Creek then took up the challenge, and in a nail-biting innings, scored 9/125.
The Dixons Creek cricket ground hosted Kinglake and Healesville. Kinglake was all out for 88 and proved no match for Healesville, which reached 7/110.
The one-day grade final between Healesville and Hoddles Creek will be played at Gruyere next Saturday, starting at 1pm.