A superb knock from Altona opener Aaron Maynard guided his side to a good win over Melton as sub district cricket moved into T20 mode at the weekend.
Maynard was the backbone of the Altona chase, crafting a stylish and unbeaten 78 as Altona hauled in Melton’s 6-130, with two balls to spare and seven wickets in the shed.
It was an important knock after losing opening partner David Kinsella without scoring. Maynard was able to build two match-winning partnerships of 57 and 67, with Shane Jones (15) and captain Adam Yates (32) respectively, guiding the side home.
Earlier, a great fielding performance from Altona kept the Melton run-scoring in check, and ensured an achievable target. Yates grabbed three run-outs at crucial times, while Jake Cullen, Shannon Clarke and Stefan Sidari all claimed one wicket, with only Melton opener Ben Macrae (53) going on to post a big score.
In other games, Williamstown batsmen Brent McMinn and Craig Sheedy again provided the bulk of the runs as they took the points over Box Hill in their T20 clash.
Batting first, Williamstown posted 5-133 from their 20 overs, with McMinn (32) and Sheedy (48 not out) enjoying a 42-run partnership to set up the total.
In defending their total, the Willy bowlers hunted as a pack and got the rewards early as the home side slipped to 4-35 and looked out of the contest.
Patrick O’Malley (3-11), Bryce Preston (2-32) and Sheedy (2-12) were all important, and Box Hill fell to 8-66 before staging a late fightback.
Mustangs’ number 10 Steve Wotherspoon clicked into gear with 41, but it was too little too late as they batted out their overs to close on 9-114.
Yarraville fell to a third straight loss, going down to Werribee by eight wickets after failing to capitalise on a strong start with the bat.
In perfect batting conditions, Yarraville openers Matthew Love (36) and Matthew Harrison (49) got off to a great start with a 70-run stand.
But they struggled to hit the boundaries to keep the run rate up. Captain Nathan Allen (34) made some handy runs late in the innings to push the home side up to 3-144.
When their chance came with the ball, Yarraville knocked over Werribee skipper Tim O’Brien early, but from there they struggled for penetration as the visitors pushed towards victory.
James Freeman (66) and Matthew Dean (62 not out) batted beautifully as the hosts claimed one more wicket, with Werribee taking the win with four balls left, condemning Yarraville to a winless opening month.
