A middle-order breakthrough proved the catalyst for East Ballarat in an 18-run win against Golden Point that cast its opponent further away from a finals spot.
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Opting to bat, the Hawks put the pressure on early through Harli Givvens.
The left-hander's flowing 27 created momentum that middle-order bat Lewis Hodgins profited from.
Hodgins hit five boundaries en route to 40 before he became the first of five wickets from an unlikely source.
Golden Point's young opening bat Josh Pegg ripped apart the lower order to claim career-best wickets of 5-32.
A late counterpunch from captain Joshua Brown pushed the Hawks to 201.
Pegg carried confidence into the chase and shared an 82-run opening stand with Andrew Falkner (20)
The Pointies' young gun fell shortly after Falkner having made 53 runs off 51 balls with nine fours and one six.
Claiming wickets in clumps would become a trend of East Ballarat's defence.
Joshua White and Manny De Zoyza would both depart within three balls, before Jack Bambury and Lucas Herring shortly joined them to see 3-114 quickly deteriorate to 6-119.
The damage was done from then, with the Hawks' bowling attack, led by Lewis Hodgins (3-15) duly dealing with the tail to ensure the win.
The result keeps East Ballarat third, even on points with Darley above it.
East Ballarat 201 (J Brown 47*, L Hodgins 40, H Givvens 27, J Pegg 5-32) def Golden Point 183 (J Pegg 53, L Hodgins 3-18, C Jerram 3-25, H Givvens 2-31)
Naps-Sebas smashes way into top four
Napoleons-Sebastopol's summer to remember continues with the one-time battlers entering the top four in style, beating Brown Hill by 136 runs.
All-rounder Sajith Dissanyaka (91) again proved the difference, posting his third-consecutive score above 60 to set the platform for his side's imposing 9-257 total.
The opener hit five sixes in his 87-ball knock, while Viray Pushpakumara enjoyed his best innings for his new club, hitting 70 runs off 75 balls with five fours and four sixes.
Tom Bourke-Finn (3-50) was the Bulls' leading wickettaker.
Brown Hill's chase hit an early roadblock after Jacob Coxall (1-31) bagged a wicket in the third over.
Prabath Priyanakara (26) offered some resistance before becoming the next to fall.
A middle-order collapse at the hands of Lachlan Storey (3-15) all but dashed the Bulls' hopes as they languished at 7-81 in the 24th over.
Jason Knowles proved stubborn, though his 41 was the only double figure score from fourth through to 11th in the order.
Brown Hill 121 (J Knowles 41, P Priyankara 26, L Storey 3-15, J Tissera 2-10, S Dissanayaka 2-10, V Pushpakumara 2-28) def by Naps-Sebas 9-257 (S Dissanayaka 91, V Pushpakumara 70, T Bourke-Finn 3-50, J Knowles 2-31, T Appleton 2-51)
Lions continue winning ways
Darley has continued its winning return from the holiday break, again shining with the ball to record a six-wicket win against Ballarat-Redan.
Fresh off a five-wicket haul last weekend, Ben Longhurst (3-27) proved a handful once more, while Dilan Chandima (2-23) found himself among the wickets on his first day out of isolation to help restrict Ballarat-Redan to 124 off 49 overs.
Only Zac Jenkins played any innings of note for the Two Swords, posting 34 in his first bat for 2022 to move back to the top of the competition's runscoring charts.
Chandima carried his form over to the batting innings and combined for a 62-run opening stand with Danza Hyatt.
Two Swords all-rounder Jayden Hayes (2-36) would claim both prized scalps, getting Chandima caught behind for 39 before dismissing Hyatt (24) two overs later.
The wicket brought Hasitha Wickramasinghe to the crease, who finished unbeaten on 26 to see his side home in the 33rd over.
Darley 4-125 (D Chandima 39, H Wickramasinghe 26* DP Hyatt 25, J Hayes 2-36) def Ballarat-Redan (Z Jenkins 34, B Longhurst 3027, RN Khwaja 2-14, D Chandima 2-23)
Red Caps return to form
They say you can't keep a good side down and Wendouree proved the adage true, shaking off last week's first loss to defeat Mt Clear by 69 runs.
Usually known for winning matches off his bat, Red Caps star Sam Miller played a telling hand with the ball, finishing with figures of 4-33 to help restrict Mt Clear to 129.
Opting to bat, Wendouree announced its ambitions from ball one.
Cole Roscholler (73) responded to the early wicket of opening partner Miller in classy fashion, hitting 10 boundaries.
When he departed, stand-in skipper Matt Begbie (33) ably continued the assault while Heath Pyke (45) steered the innings.
The top order's dominance meant a late collapse triggered by Mt Clear leggie Ash George (3-47) had less of an impact; the hosts dismissed for 198.
Mt Clear had its tested opening partnership back in Jacob Smith and Matt Goonan and the two looked solid to survive the first eight overs.
Goonan would be the first to depart to make the score 1-28.
The next four wickets would fall for just eight runs. Smith (28) found himself among the collapse after one-handedly scooping a Miller ball on track to be a legside wide into the hands of midwicket.
Only John Butler (42) showed any form before his wicket ended another discouraging Mounties batting performance.
Wendouree 198 (C Roscholler 73, HI Pyke 45, MR Begbie 33, T Le Lievre 4-30, AJ George 3-47) def Mt Clear 129 (JP Butler 42, S Miller 4-33, L Argall 3-31, T Batters 2-14)
Bunnies prevail in low-scoring affair
With a gritty 25-run win against North Ballarat, Buniyong has leapfrogged its opponent and now finds itself on the fringe on the top four.
In a match where runs were rare, Liam Brady's unbeaten 44 proved influential to help the Bunnies rebound from 1-10 to post 125.
Only three other Buninyong batters reached double figures, with North Ballarat's usual suspects performing.
Mitch Nicholson was the pick of the attack, claiming figures of 4-13 off nine overs.
Liam Rigby quickly dented the hosts' chase, dismissing both openers to have the Roosters on the back foot at 2-7.
First-drop Vikrant Dabra fell for a duck with the score 3-15, leaving the middle-order with plenty to do.
North Ballarat skipper Mick Nolan (21) took the job on before his departure saw Ash McCafferty (31) passed the baton.
The latter's departure at 6-80 presented a chance which Buninyong jumped at.
Liam Mason (3-11) tore through the lower order to see the Roosters crumble to 100 in the 39th over.
North Ballarat 100 (AS McCaffety 31, LR Mason 3-11, K Hatton 2-12, R Singh 2-19, L Rigby 2-29) def by Buninyong 125 (L Brady 44*, MJ Nicholson 4013, J Humphries 2-13)
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