After a big weekend of cricket action, it was a mixed bag of results for Upwey-Tecoma.
The 1st IX hosted cellar-dweller Monbulk but were wary of their opponent after a 1 run win in their previous encounter this season. The Tiger captain Jackson Waters lost the coin toss, his side asked to bat in sunny conditions.
An early wicket provided a boost for the Hawks, before opener Andrew Evans (56) and Waters (70) went to work. A 120 run stand for the 2nd wicket put the Tigers in command, with some late hitting from Jase Lansen (28*) pushing the total to 5/205 at the halfway point of the match.
Wickets were difficult to come by for the Tiger bowlers, with the Hawk openers battling hard to be 0/65 after 20 overs. With the required run-rate rising rapidly, wickets began to tumble. Monbulk lost their last 7 wickets for just 6 runs to be all out for 139, with Liam Dunning claiming 4/35 and Jay Colee 3/18 to be the chief destroyers.
The 66 run win sees Upwey-Tecoma well entrenched in the top four with 5 games to play.
The 2nd XI suffered a heavy defeat away to fellow finals aspirant Monbulk.
Upwey-Tecoma never recovered from the loss of opener Chris Jewell on the first ball of the day, limping to 101 all out. Only all-rounder Daniel Wiles provided resistance with the bat with 32 not out. Monbulk lost 5 wickets in their pursuit of the target with Jewell’s 2/20 the pick of the Tiger bowling efforts.
The 3rd XI went down to Lysterfield by 23 runs, finishing on 3/157 chasing 180.
Noah Weston and James Dobbie-Hayward both scored half centuries, while Rhett Chapman was best with the ball capturing 3/26.
The 4th XI were soundly beaten, away to Upper Ferntree Gully. James Todd (69) and captain Brett Snell (40) combined well to set a target of 179 but the Kings made light work of it chasing it for the loss of only 2 wickets.
In the junior ranks, the Under 16’s had a great win against Upper Ferntree Gully at Dobson Park. The total of 7/136 proved plenty as the Kings were all out for 70 in reply. Captain Oscar Taylor led from the front with an unbeaten 49 with the bat and 3/10 with the ball.
