THE final round of the Seymour District Cricket Association delivered plenty of drama, giving punters a tasty curtain-call before finals.
Alexandra took a dramatic smash-and-grab victory over Seymour to knock Pyalong out of the finals, who were powerless to do anything with the final-round bye.
It looked as though Seymour would have a comfortable afternoon early on as Brodey Pointon was chief destroyer in the early overs, taking three wickets to leave Alexandra on 3/24.
But Alex’s middle order was able to come to the fore, and from there, piled on the runs as they made 7/200 in 45 overs.
Pointon took 3/39, while Lachlan Drummond took 2/16.
Seymour was looking for good form ahead of the finals, but while Cameron Evans hit 59 runs, the rest of the Seymour batting lineup could not go with him.
The Mores were eventually bowled out for 139, losing by 61 runs.
Tallarook warmed up for finals by comfortably accounting for third-placed Yea.
As ever, it was an even bowling performance from the Tallarook bowlers which helped get it on top, with Tarkyn Dundon taking 3/19, Lachlan Watts 3/30 and Blake Munari-O’Dwyer 2/27 to bowl Yea out for 100.
Watts did it all as he then went on to score 53 off 37 deliveries, helped out by Hamish Melville’s 27 to get the job done easily, scoring 1/101.
Puckapunyal ended its season with an eight-wicket loss to Avenel, condemned to the wooden spoon.
An exceptional performance from Jackson Say kept Puckapunyal in the game, scoring 81 off 96 deliveries to help Pucka score 136, before taking 2/29.
However, Avenel got it done easily, scoring 2/137 off just 27 overs.
In B grade, Puckapunyal missed out on a shot at the minor premiership with a 100-run loss to Avenel.
Pucka could not stop Avenel, who was determined to try to make the finals in an ultimately futile bid, from scoring 7/166 batting first. Benjamin Kingston led the way with 2/23 off seven overs.
Kingston top scored with 16, but Pucka was overwhelmed by the Swans’ bowling attack to be bowled out for 66 in a wake-up call before finals.
Despite getting bowled out for 80, Tallarook recorded a 58-run win over Yea.
It was a bowlers’ paradise at Yea, with David McCullough top-scoring for Tallarook with 13, while the 22 extras provided the most runs for Tallarook.
However, the men in red and blue had a strong bowling attack, with Finn Melville taking 4/7 and Samuel Manchester a remarkable 3/0 off six overs to bowl Yea out for 22.
Seymour’s season ended with a seven-wicket loss to Alexandra.
Batting first, Seymour made 9/87 off 35 overs, with Harvey Smith top scoring with 21.
Smith also bowled strongly to lead the way for the Maroons, taking 2/31 off five overs, but Alexandra did it comfortably to finish with 3/91.
The first round of finals in A grade sees Tallarook host Alexandra, while Seymour will host Yea. In B grade, Tallarook and Pyalong will play at Yea, while Puckapunyal will host Alexandra.