By Ronen Erulkar
As the home and away season wound to a close for Lilydale Cricket Club’s juniors, and the senior teams played the first week of finals, it was a big weekend for the club with many crucial games being played.
On Friday night, the U12-4 team travelled to Yarra Glen with a spot in the finals on the line. Bowling first, Lilydale restricted Yarra Glen to 6-104 off their 23 overs, with James Cook the standout taking 4/11. In reply, Lilydale could only manage 50 – Ashton Filleul top scoring with 17. With results going their way, they have managed to make the finals series where Lilydale will take on Healesville in the semi final.
The U18 team brought their season to a close with a tight loss against Glen Waverley. Defending the 161 from last week, the opposition passed them for the loss of five wickets, ending up on 164 from 41 overs. Birra Whyman-Coombes (2/6) and Joel Tennant (2/19) were the pick of the bowlers.
On Saturday morning, the U16-3 team had a fantastic win against Mooroolbark to cement their spot in the finals. Defending their 8/216 from last week, Lilydale bowled out their opponents for 181. Josh Goodman was the pick of the bowlers with 3/36, and was supported by Caleb Uerata who took 2/18. The Falcons will now take on Wonga Park in the semi final next week.
The First XI welcomed back the first Saturday/Sunday finals game for two years where they took on top spot North Ringwood in the qualifying final. Batting first, Lilydale was bundled out for 138 in 61 overs – the lone hand was Shifran Muthalif scoring 77. Come Sunday, they simply did not have enough runs on the board as the opposition passed the total for the loss of five wickets. Bailey Humphrey (2/26) and Shifran Muthalif (2/34) were the pick of the bowlers. The Falcons will now take on Ainslie Park at Lilydale Reserve in the preliminary final next weekend, for a shot to play North Ringwood again the following week.
The Fourth XI came up against a very strong Croydon North Second XI in their semi final match. Batting first, they were bowled out for 84, with the U16 captain Braeden Anthony-Digby playing the long hand with 36 from 103 balls in a gutsy knock against a quality attack. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough runs on the board, with the opponents passing them for the loss of five wickets in 22 overs. Adir Erulkar was the pick of the bowlers with 2/15.
The Sixth XI team came up against Wonga Park in their semi final match and took the game down to the wire. Batting first, they compiled a competitive total of 9/181, with Ben Spencer (60*) and Luke Spencer (32) top scoring. In reply, the game went down to the second last over, as Wonga Park passed them with 7 balls to spare. Cooper Doughty (2/19) and Mitchell Cliff (2/30) were the pick of the bowlers.
With two junior teams (U12-4 and U16-3) and one senior team (First XI) remaining in the finals, it would be great to see as many players and supporters at the grounds next week to cheer on Lilydale’s players and help get them across the line for a spot in the grand final.
