Win out in the wash

By Chris Anderson
THERE was disappointment again for cricketers around the Yarra Valley on Saturday.
A burst of rain from mid-morning to mid-afternoon cost most venues a chance of play.
After lamenting an earlier wash-out while in a commanding position, Coldstream were the big winners in DJ Strachan Shield when they took the weather out of the equation and took the first innings points against Silvan in week one of their clash.
Hoddles Creek and Mount Evelyn will be lamenting a missed opportunity as they were in commanding positions against their respective opposition. The Wombats managed some play in the afternoon against Healesville, but the rain and the dark curtailed their chase to 4/91, just 48 runs in arrears with six wickets in hand.
The biggest disappointment for cricket fans was the wash-out between Warburton-Millgrove and Seville. In the grand final rematch, the game was evenly poised with Seville making 191 on the first week.
Round five action sees some intriguing battles as we close in on the Christmas break. Mount Evelyn host Coldstream in a battle that could shape the four with the Crocs facing a tough stretch of matches.
Seville host Hoddles Creek in an important game for the reining premiers if they are to stay in touch with the top four.
Yarra Junction and Woori Yallock face off in a game that will see the loser slip in the standings, while Silvan will need to beat top of the table Warburton if they are to have any hope of seeing finals action.
Mount Evelyn represented the YVCA in the first stage of the statewide Twenty20 competition against FTGDCA’s Eildon Park at Eildon Park last Sunday.
After losing the toss and put in the field, the Rovers controlled the momentum for most of the innings until a late charge from the Panthers pushed the score to 6/151.
Most scores look attainable when the Jones boys are in form and this looked the case as Brad and Kane Jones blasted a bereaved Panthers attack to all parts of the ground as the visitors raced to 1/90 off 8 overs.
This is where the game came unstuck for the batting side as they lost 5/5 and the momentum of the innings. As the inning crawled along, the Rovers just kept in touch and managed to leave themselves within four runs of a tie off the last ball.
Unfortunately the ball clattered into a fielder’s head and only two runs were made leaving the chasing side 2 runs short.
Most junior games got a start on Saturday, but the kids were hoping the weather would clear in time for Sunday’s Twenty20 finals. Over the opening rounds of the season, the juniors had been playing Twenty20 games in a bid to qualify for the semi finals played a fortnight ago.
Mount Evelyn and Coldstream won through to playoff in the U12B grand final, while Warburton-Millgrove and Yarra Glen played off in the U12A grand final. Coldstream versus Yarra Junction/Launching Place (U14B) and Healesville versus Healesville Red (U14A) played off in the Under 14 finals.
Healesville and Yarra Junction closed out the Twenty20 action in the Under 16 grand final. The YVCA U14 and U16 sides started their representative seasons last Sunday with games against the FTGDCA. The Under 14s had a classic contest that went right down to the wire. The YVCA batted first, and after a solid 43 run partnership between Darcy Fritsch (Coldstream) and Blake Binion (Yarra Glen), the innings fell apart with four mid-order ducks. With some late order runs the team managed to put together 9/109.
In reply, the FTGDCA innings was consistent in it’s flow as the batsmen struggled to pull away from the fielding side against the tight spin bowling of Liam Daly (Healesville – 1/9), Luke Smith (Seville – 1/14) and Brayden Caldwell (Seville – 4/12).
As it seemed FTGDCA had victory in sight, YVCA captain Dermott Fry (Healesville – 2/13) polished off the last wicket to bowl the FTGDCA side out for 102 and secure a seven run win.
In the Under 16 game, the YVCA were completely outclassed by FTGDCA side as they were bowled out for a paltry total then passed convincingly.