By Chris Handasyde
Under 12-9 Healesville 4/89 defeated Mt Evelyn 4/63– by Adam Keath
Needing a win to stay in finals contention, the U12-9s caught an early break when four of the Mount Evelyn opposition decided they’d rather watch Ed Sheeran at the MCG than venture to Queens Park and play cricket. Sending the undermanned opposition in to bat, the Healesville boys bowled and fielded well, taking wickets when needed but keeping the scoring to a minimum, restricting the Mt Evelyn team to 4-63, the wicket-takers Cruz Augello with 1/1 off 2, James Howden 1/2 off 3, Gus Morcombe 1/5 off 2 and Ryder Hudson 1/15 off his 3 overs. Chasing the modest total started well with the first four batsmen Ryder Hudson 16, Gus Morcombe 11, Finn Coleman 11 and Manny Winrow 11, all retiring not out, meaning Healesville passed the set total without a wicket falling. Continuing to play whilst light permitted the rest of the team made it to 4/89 off 18 overs. The other main contributor to the score was Cruz Augello with a fine 12 runs not out. The win meant they ended the season in third position on the ladder and sets up a semi-final clash against Seville this Friday, the positive attitude and team spirit shown on the field bodes well for the clash against a team they didn’t get to play throughout the season due to rain and hot weather cancellations
Under 12-4 Healesville 3/142 defeated Hoddles Creek 5/97
Henry Harding 49*, Raff Morcombe 33* & 2/3, Taylor Caldicott 12* & 1/9. A Hempel 1/10, Summer Caldicott 1/22
Under 14 Healesville 9/191 defeated Yarra Glen 9/143 (Day 2 of a 2 day split innings game) – by Liam English
Great batting this week from the team making a great number of runs with a standout performance from Sam Keath making 43. Great bowling from Darcy English getting 2/3 off 5 overs and Raff Morcombe getting 1/6 off 3 overs
Under 16 Healesville 4/115 defeated Glen Waverley 111 (Day 2 of 2 day split innings game)
Seniors 2nd XI Semi Final – Healesville 87 defeated by Bayswater Park 8/169 – by Ethan Nikcevich
On a warm day at Sasses Avenue Reserve, Bayswater won the toss and elected to bat. The semi-final was underway with both openers starting strong until Jack Drummond picked up the Bayswater captain for 36. Zach Fawdry picked up the long-lasting opener for 29 and Scott Fawdry got the first drop batsmen to edge off. Bayswater’s batsmen had small partnerships and helped themselves to 169 with Moss Fawdry 3/28, Curtis Adamson 2/18, Scott Fawdry 1/13 and Jack Drummond 1/15. Tom Handasyde (31) got Healesville off to a strong start before captain Scott Fawdry was dismissed early, Healesville began to collapse until Jack Drummond and Blake Rallis held on to their wickets until just before drinks, and another collapse left Ethan Nikcevich and Darcy English as the last men standing and tried to hold on but Ethan was dismissed seeing Healesville all out for 87. A disappointing end of the season and looking onward to the next season.
Seniors 4th XI Semi Final– Healesville 2/147 defeated Kilsyth 143 – by Adam Keath
Sneaking into the finals over the last three weeks of the season, the full-strength Healesville fourths were pitted against top-of-the-table Kilsyth 6th XI in the semi-final. Playing on the Kilsyth fortress, a sun-baked small ground that obviously doubles as a dog park, the Healesville team lost the toss and was sent into the field. Dodging the dog excrement the team bowled and fielded extremely well. Grant Braden 2/15 off 7 overs setting the scene on the third ball of the day, an unplayable inswinging yorker that removed Kilsyth’s best batsman for a duck. Some good tight bowling by Sam Keath 0/8 off 2, Premdeep Singh 0/22 off 7 kept Kilsyth quiet and frustrated for the next 12 overs, Kilsyth 1/60 off 12. It was at this stage that the Healesville bowling attack started finding the outside edge consistently, with Darren Grover 2/17 off 3, Amandeep Singh 2/24 off 7 and Cooper Bell 2/2 off 2 giving Adam Keath behind the stumps plenty of catching practice, finishing with 4 catches. The other wicket-taker was Raff Morcombe whose left-arm spin had the Kilsyth batters confused and unsure, resulting in Raff’s first stumping dismissal in seniors cricket, finishing with 1/20 off his four overs. Kilsyth finished all out in the last over for a gettable 143.
The Chase started well, with the father and son partnership of Owen (53 retired not out) and Raff Morcombe (31) expertly navigating the new ball, playing sensible yet assertive cricket for an opening stand of 65, finishing in the 15th over when Raff skied a ball to mid-on. This brought Adam Keath (35) to the crease who with Owen and then Grant Braden (17 not out) upped the scoring rate passing the target in the 23rd over, the final 82 runs coming off 8 overs. The resounding win sees the team hitting their straps at the right end of the season, looking forward to a trip into the mountains to take on Poweltown in the grand final. A repeat of last year’s game that saw the Healesville team making it back to civilisation with the trophy, let’s hope this team can repeat the feats of last year on Saturday.
