Through actions, not words, Yarraville has stated loud and clear that its name can be spoken in the same breath as other elite clubs of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association’s north-west group.
The Eagles bulldozed back into the top six in stunning fashion on Sunday evening, with a 169-run thrashing of premiership contenders Roxburgh Park-Broadmeadows at Yarraville Oval.
Eagles captain Matthew Love told
Star Weekly his side is set for a big January, with clashes against the top two clubs on the agenda, concluding with a two-day showdown against top-of-the-ladder Melton over the next two Saturdays.
“It’s going to be a big job out there at Melton,” Love said. “They’re showing this season they’re still a strong club and are going to be hard to beat, but we’ll go in with full confidence.”
The return of all-rounder Alex Hewet after a brief stint with Geelong in Premier Cricket will help the Eagles no end in their push to play in the finals. Hewet played one game for the Eagles prior to Christmas but really announced his arrival as man of the match against the Falcons, taking 6-44 off 21.1 overs to despatch the visitors for a mediocre 104 in just 43.1 overs.
The Eagles are understandably chuffed to have Hewet back at the club, though in some ways it was like he never left.
“He’s always loved the club and stayed involved with social events,” Love said. “He wasn’t really enjoying the drive out to Geelong every week, so we were very happy to have him back.
“He knows we’ve got a good list and he thinks we can make finals … he’s going to help with that and did so on the weekend.
“He gives us stability; you know what he’s going to give us every time he gets the ball and that’s consistency with line and length,” Love said. “His run-up and action is pretty economical, so he can keep going all day.”
Patrick Prestidge returned to his early-season form with 3-21 off eight overs.
The Eagles had 27 overs to face late on day one – enough time for openers Brad Shaw (51) and Brad Jones (37) to settle in. Shaw went on to make his first half century as part of an 84-run opening stand.
“To be none down overnight made us relaxed as a group,” Love said.
“The openers are playing their role well. They’re working really hard and giving us stability up the top of the order.”
With Shaw and Jones eating into a large chunk of the target, there was plenty of what Love described as “junk time” for the rest of the order to cash in.
Love continued his glorious summer to make an unbeaten 100, his third ton of the season. The skipper has scored 454 runs at 113 to lead the competition’s averages.
“We still needed to make sure we finished off the day well, getting a decent score on the board, because percentage could well and truly play a role,” Love said.
Veteran David Wolfe continued his solid form at the crease with 50 and teenager Josh Hahnel, fresh off a century with the Western Spirit representative side in the under-18 state championships, made 21 not out. The rout was complete, the Eagles finishing on 4-273.
