By STEVE BROWN
FTGDCA
REEVES Shield teams at the lower end of the table delivered some knock out blows to cause havoc among teams with finals aspirations at the completion of round 11 in the FTGDCA.
Not one team batting at the weekend scored 200 on a 35 degree day.
Bottom side Ferntree Gully, with 212 on the scoreboard, proved too many for finals contender Johnson Park, dismissed for 187, thanks to some brilliant fast bowling from Jarrod Bradley who may be hanging up the whites at the end of the season.
Bradley finished with 6/34 as the Sharks needed either Martin Weightman (52) or Steve Devenish (40) to be at the crease at the end; however it was not to be.
Upwey Tecoma was disappointing in the replay of last season’s final after the side was toppled for just 96 in perfect batting conditions.
The game ended early on day two after left arm medium fast bowler Nathan Caton-Robertson tore through the Tigers line-up to produce a match winning 6/16.
Meanwhile, another left-armer and VCCL Country Week debutant, Zach Flintoff, stamped his authority at Knox Gardens as the Falcons inflicted The Basin’s third loss in a row.
Flintoff is maturing quickly as a genuine all-rounder, performing well during Bendigo Country Week and captured his best figures of 6/17 to shut out the Bears, who were bundled out for 149 in pursuit of 206.
The win puts the Falcons back in the finals race with two rounds to play while The Basin must regroup to continue its quest for the premiership.
Belgrave, chasing Knoxfield’s 169, was in a winning position however a flurry of late wickets saw the Knights win a thriller by five runs with only two balls to spare.
Knoxfield batsman Luke Scanlan, turned bowler captured 5/28 in the close one of the day, giving the Knights some breathing space on the table.
Monbulk enjoyed a night with Rodney Hogg, after defeating Upper Gully by 13 runs.
Defending 192, Jason Fraser sent down 22 overs for a return of 4/42 as Patrick McKenna (68) and Dan Claughton (31) were the only shining lights for the Kings who are once again under relegation pressure.
Provisional Ladder (Round 11) Eildon Park 57, The Basin 48, Johnson Park 39, Knox Gardens 36, Upwey Tecoma 36, Knoxfield 27, Monbulk 27, Upper Gully 21, Ferntree Gully 21, Belgrave 18.
VCCL Country Week Draw
Division 2
Monday 9 February vs Yarra Valley at Central Reserve, Glen Waverley.
Tuesday 10 February vs Mornington Peninsula at Prahran.
Wednesday 11 February vs Hamilton at Malvern.
Thursday 12 February vs Leongatha at Mount Waverley.
Friday 13 February – Final at Hawthorn Monash University.
Scores – Round 11
Reeves Shield
Knoxfield 169 d Belgrave 164 (Levell 35, L. Scanlan 5/28, Scholfield 3/18)
Monbulk 9/192 d Upper Gully 179 (McKenna 68, Claughton 31, Fraser 4/42)
Ferntree Gully 212 d Johnson Park 187 (Weightman 52, S. Devenish 40, A. Devenish 33, Bradley 6/34)
Eildon Park 7/327 d Upwey Tecoma 96 (Caton-Robertson 6/16)
Knox Gardens 9/206 d The Basin 149 (R. Heskes 39, Vozzo 30, Flintoff 6/17)
Decoite Shield
Footballers 216 d Lysterfield 147 (Binks 44, Chivers 31, Hepburn 5/19, Lakshita 3/54)
St Johns Tecoma 238 d Knox City 187 (Mahal 112, Kumar 40, Matthews 5/43 including hat-trick)
South Belgrave 237 d Rowville 160 (Blackman 46)
Mt Gate 3/383 (Goddard 107, Wheeler 101*) d Auravale 210
Division 3
Knoxfield 7/196 dec 1/104 (Sundaresh 81, Carnie 3/42) and 9/156 (Read 55) d Belgrave 84
Upper Gully 3/160 decl and 2/22 d Monbulk 64 and 115
Ferntree Gully 8/208 (Callaghan 110no, Dennis 44no) d Johnson Park 200 (Rambaldo 51, Dunstone 37, A. Catalano 3/34)
Eildon Park 7/410 d Upwey Tecoma 136 (Waldron 5/46)
The Basin 6/247 (Cook 93, Lee 63no, J Best 52no) d Knox Gardens 243 (Morrison 86)
Division 4
Knox Boronia Churches 192 and 0/90 (White 51no, Wylie 30no) d St Johns Tecoma 115 and 163 (Williams 5/38)
Rowville 9/236 d South Belgrave 228
Lysterfield 6/306 d Footballers 44 and 113 (Stroud 34)
Mt Gate 8/352 d Auravale 326 (Dubbeld 58, Healy 52, Atacador 7/86)
Division 5
Eildon Park 5/355 d The Basin 8/196 (Pollard 5/41, Edwards 71)
Ferntree Gully 7/311 d Upper Gully 194 (Sherry 47, Scoon 46, Bailey 32, Reed 4/35, Bullock 3/35)
Knoxfield 3/231(Royers 135, Palamara 30) d Knox Gardens 222
Division 6
Upwey Tecoma 6/255 (Lizza 96, Waters 71) d Lysterfield 185 (Nicolopoulos 67, Lizza 3/46)
Belgrave 317 (Beaton 55, Wiseman 60, McPherson 69) d Rowville 275 (Collie 3/44, Chaproniere 4/38)
Knox BC 243 (Drummond 70, Griffin 4/21) d Mt Gate 176 (Griffin 44no, Toivenen 5/16, Lomas 3/34)
Eildon Park 8/239 (Woodward 100no) d Footballers 231 (Rawlings 46, Leathem 51, Amy 32)
Johnson Park 7/347 (Carter 101no, Barrington 84no, Saultry 58no) d Ferntree Gully 260 (Sproules 78, Turner 77, Tempopolous 43, Barrington 3/10)
Division 7
Upwey Tecoma 5/247 dec (Hayward 71, Sommervaile 75no) d Eildon Park 90 and 2/135 (Jannke 101no)
Knox Gardens 7/234 (Jongen 54no, Morrison 37) d The Basin 222 (Gill 46, Clohesy 36, Wallace 56, Bakker 3/31)
Ferntree Gully 1/120 decl and 3/118 (Parker 58no) d Lysterfield 87 and 150 (Bower 30, Jacobson 3/15)
Monbulk 5/71 vs Upper Gully 5/81
Knoxfield 259 (R. Maibaum 100no, J. Maibaum 44, Morrison 3/34) d Johnson Park 154 (Miller 42, Gregg 4/37)
B1
St Johns Tecoma 224 (Perkins 55no, Gray 50no) d Belgrave 9/124 (Heard 50no, Smith 5/36, Robb 4/18)
B2
Bayswater 3/117 d Knox Boronia Churches 8/111 (Smith 50no)
Monbulk 228 vs Waverley Wanderers 228 (in dispute)
