Tara Murray
Williamstown came out on top in the top of the table clash with Spotswood in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association north-west on Saturday.
As cricketers returned to action after the Christmas break, there were plenty of key matches in the second last one-dayer of the year.
In the top of the table clash, there were plenty of wickets in a low scoring affair.
Spotswood won the toss and elected to bat and the wickets fell quickly.
The Woodsmen were in trouble at 4-9 and the wickets continued to fall as they were bowled out for 63 in just the 22nd over.
Dan Schuppan was the only batter to reach double figures, finishing with 21.
Fraser Hay and Sean Sturrock took four wickets each for the Seagulls.
The Seagulls lost Brenton Hodges without scoring in the run chase. The Seagulls moved to 1-25 before starting to lose some wickets.
The Seagulls though managed to do enough, finishing 7-64.
Hay, who opened the batting, top scored with 20. Sam Hope finished with three wickets for the Woodsmen.
The Woodsmen remain on top of the ladder, but are now just three points ahead of Williamstown.
Hoppers Crossing moved into the top six with victory against Balwyn.
Balwyn won the toss and elected to bat at Hogans Reserve. It got off to a bad start and was in trouble at 4-28.
While the lower order showed some resistance Balwyn was bowled out for 101.
William Slattery and Sanka Abeyruwan took three wickets each for the Cats.
The Cats had little trouble in the run chase, finishing 1-105 in the 19th over.
Skipper Simon Lambert finished 40 not out.
Werribee continues to put the pressure on the top six, beating Croydon on Saturday.
The Tigers won the toss and sent Croydon in, restricting them to 6-137 off their overs.
James Freeman took two wickets for the Tigers.
The run chase wasn’t an easy one, with the Tigers slipping to 5-63. They managed to get the job done with eight balls remaining, finishing 8-138.
Adam Alifraco top scored with 27.
The Tigers now sit in seventh.
Yarraville upset Altona in its match, in a match that went down to the wire.
The A’s made 5-233 from their overs with all but one batter getting starts. Connor Brown top scored with 60 at the top of the order.
Matthew Grose and Saaransh Mahay took two wickets each for the Eagles.
The Eagles got off to a solid start and were able to build their run chase. They timed it to perfection, hitting the winning runs with two balls remaining.
Spencer Wray finished with 58 for the Eagles, while Charlie Ward took three wickets each for Altona.
Melton made it three wins in a row, beating Bayswater.
Bayswater won the toss and made 8-183 from its overs. Andrew Reid-Dick took three wickets for Melton.
Despite losing two wickets early, the Lions were able to settle with skipper Ben MacRae at the crease.
MaRae was run out with victory in sight. The Lions were able to do enough, finishing 6-186. MacRae made 89.
Melton, which know has four wins, sits in 11th.
Taylors Lakes got its second win of the season, beating Endeavour Hills.
The Lions made 9-205 with Ben Coddington finishing with 94 after being run out. The Lions had no troubles with the ball, bowling Endeavour Hills out for 158 in the 39th over.
Samuel Clark taking five wickets.
Taylors Lakes now sits in 14th.
