By Tara Murray
Williamstown, Werribee and Hoppers Crossing were among the winners in the opening round of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association T20 competition.
In the first round of the knock-out competition, teams were pitted against other teams in their local group, with all the west teams going head to head.
Williamstown, which has had a good start to the regular season, came out on top against Altona.
Altona made 8-121, with Williamstown chasing down the runs with nearly three overs remaining, finishing 7-124.
Hoppers Crossing did battle with Yarraville, which won the toss and elected to bat.
The Eagles made 8-127 on the back of 55 from captain Nathan Allen.
The match went down to the final ball, with Hoppers Crossing making 6-128. Justin Goegan (32 not out) led the middle order that got the job done for the Cats.
Werribee and Melton also played out a thriller.
The Tigers made 7-137 from their overs, with Adam Alifraco making 63. Ash Sweet took three wickets for Melton.
The Lions had some good partnerships in their innings, but fell short, making 6-130.
Pawan Wickramasinghe top scored with 39 for the Lions, while Bradley Apps took three wickets for the Tigers.
Taylors Lakes’ T20 campaign is over after losing to St Bernard’s.
St Bernard’s made 8-147 from its overs, with Taylors Lakes falling two runs short, 7-145.
In a north group match up, Plenty Valley was no match for Brunswick.
The Bats were bowled out for just 81, with Simon Black top scoring with 20. Brunswick got the job done with nearly five overs remaining, finishing 3-87.
Other winners in the opening round were Mt Waverley, Endeavour Hills, Caulfield, Preston, Box Hill, Balwyn, Brighton, Moorabbin, and Ormond.
In the next round of matches, Werribee plays St Bernard’s, while Hoppers Crossing plays Williamstown.
