THE Seymour District Cricket Association returned after a week off, with the hunt for finals well and truly on for all teams.
Tallarook survived a competitive outing from bottom-placed Puckapunyal to win by 38 runs.
The men in red and blue batted first, but Pucka were up for the challenge, leaving Tallarook 5/73 at one stage, before Lachlan Watts helped steady things for the reigning premiers with his 55 to help them make 7/130.
It was with the ball, however, where Tallarook were able to shine, with all of its seven bowlers able to take wickets.
Again, Watts, as he did with the bat, led the way with the ball, taking 2/15 off his four overs to help restrict Pucka to 5/35, and despite some good hitting from Ciaran Fountain who top-scored with 30, it was never going to be enough, as Pucka finished on 8/92 off its 20 overs.
The result helped Tallarook return to top spot on the ladder, which was coupled with Seymour’s five-wicket loss to Pyalong in a game pitting second and third at Chittick Park.
After a solid start which saw Seymour 1/33, wickets fell at regular intervals as Pyalong took control of the game to bowl Seymour out for 101.
A fill-in took five wickets for Pyalong, while Brodey Pointon’s 22 and Hugh Smith’s 21 led proceedings for Seymour with the bat.
Dermott Clancy helped set up Pyalong’s response with a strong 32, helping it chase down the target with 11 balls to spare, winning by five wickets.
Elsewhere in A grade, Avenel moved away from the wooden spoon race with a 10-run victory over Alexandra at Leckie Park.
Tallarook were the big movers in B grade, scoring a seven-wicket win over Puckapunyal to move to within one game of the ladder-leaders.
Batting first, Puckapunyal had a solid base to build from with Benjamin Kingston’s 32 and Thomas Loft’s 22, but Pucka soon collapsed, losing 7/25 to finish its innings on 8/985.
Finn Melville took 3/11 for Tallarook, while Ben Trezise’s 2/14 and Aiden Winnell’s 2/33 helped matters.
Andrew Dundon helped guide the men in red and blue home in quick time, scoring 35 off just 16 deliveries, while Hamish Melville scored 27 as Tallarook scored 3/96 with 16 balls to spare.
Pyalong maintains fourth after scoring a strong 43-run win over Seymour.
Batting first, Pyalong was guided well by Mitchell Ryan’s 38 and Daniel Sowden’s 29 to score the best score across both grades for the round, finishing on 7/135.
Doug France was excellent for Seymour, collecting 4/19, while Jack Glen took 3/11.
Despite Seymour’s best efforts, the target was just too much, and Seymour finished on 3/92 off its 20 overs.
Harvey Smith top scored with 32, while Damien Zoch took 2/10.
It’s a big weekend bonanza for the Seymour District Cricket Association this week, with the return of representative cricket as the league plays Emu Valley at Chittick Park on Sunday, following the return of one-day cricket on Saturday, with Tallarook hosting Pyalong, Seymour hosting Avenel and Alexandra taking on Yea in A grade.
