IT was a big day for all of the Diamond Valley Cricket Association’s Whittlesea teams, who all took victory in the third round of the competition.
After a lengthy rain delay, Mernda was able to take a tense two-wicket victory over Rosebank at Waterview Recreation Reserve.
The Demons looked comfortable for much of the early stages of the day, despite losing Satinder Sekhon and Gareth Sharp with the score on 40.
However, Alex Mitris and Lucas Long put together an 81-run partnership to get the Demons on top.
A theme of the day, however, was the Demons losing wickets in clumps. For a second time, the Demons lost two wickets without scoring a run, with Mitris caught and bowled, before Nathan Aston was bowled first ball.
Long continued on his way and scored 74, but the game took a dramatic turn with 33 runs still to get, as Mernda lost four wickets in the space of 10 deliveries.
Long was dismissed first, before Stuart Wright was bowled next ball. David Chesterton and Lachlan Taylor were also dismissed, and it was game on.
However, Max Russell and Geordi Summers batted smartly, with Russell scoring 12 and Summers 22 off 17 to get the Demons over the line, scoring 8/196 in response to Rosebank’s 194.
In Dyson Shield, Laurimar ensured a reverse outright was never in question against Old Ivanhoe Grammarians at Laurimar Town Park thanks to supreme innings from Abhi Patel and Luke Richardson.
Patel scored a majestic 159 off 165, while Richardson also performed well in scoring 101 off 103 as Laurimar finished on 1/290.
Seeking an outright win, Old Ivanhoe was sent back in by the Power, but negotiated the final 12 overs to score 0/50.
South Morang also scored a strong win over Thomastown at Main Street Reserve by five wickets.
Starting the day on 0/9, the Lions started strongly thanks to Shawn Lindsay White and Rohin Sidhu, giving them a great platform to attack the day at 1/70.
Sidhu scored 34, and Karl Heckmann added 28, but the day well and truly belonged to White, who finished unbeaten on 89 as the Lions took control and won their first game of the season.
Whittlesea’s first XI took a win in F Grade, completing a six-wicket victory over Lower Eltham at AF Walker Reserve.
With Lower Eltham scoring 195, and Kevin Satharasinghege Don taking 4/38, the platform was there for the Eagles to capitalise, and a consistent top order performance was just the tonic.
Susipsara Dehigaspitiya and Luke Carroll scored 38 runs apiece, but it was Nathan Heaney’s 70 runs which helped Whittlesea pass the target and scored 4/208, before sending in Lower Eltham again.
Whittlesea looked a danger of an outright victory after just two overs, with Tharindu Harith Withana and Chandrasiri Wanigapurage taking wickets after nine deliveries, but Lower Eltham held out to prevent any chance of an outright victory, scoring 2/14 off 24 overs.
Elsewhere, Mernda’s remaining four teams all lost, with B grade losing by 92 runs to Heidelberg, F grade losing to Riverside by 46 runs, H grade losing a high-scoring match to Rivergum by 31 runs and its one-day team losing by five wickets to Old Ivanhoe Grammarians.
South Morang’s wet weather resulted in draws in D grade and F grade, while G grade lost to Montmorency by 94 runs. The Lions one-day 3 side won by 180 runs over Rivergum, but their one-day 4 team lost to Plenty by 70 runs.
Laurimar’s E grade team had a tough fortnight, losing to Rosebank by 163 runs, while G grade lost at home to Rivergum by six wickets. All three of the Power’s one-day teams also lost, with their fourth XI losing by six wickets, fifth XI by nine wickets and sixth XI by seven wickets.
Whittlesea went unbeaten, with H grade winning via forfeit and the Eagles’ one-day team beating Panton Hill by nine wickets.
Sadly, all women’s cricket on Sunday did not go ahead due to Melbourne’s heavy rain.