Roxburgh Park-Broadmeadows captain-coach Mitch Johnstone spun his side to victory on the opening round of Sub-District cricket finals.
Johnstone delivered a marathon 31 overs to finish with 5-61 to ensure the Falcons defended a small total against Ivanhoe in the quarter-final at Lakeside Drive Reserve.
Batting first, the Falcons patiently worked towards 194 off 76.5 overs.
Simpson Obed rose to the occasion with a season-high 62 to rescue the innings from the middle order.
Opener Kurtley Brandt (35), in-form number five Mitchell Streiff (26) and tail-ender Lester Herathge (31) kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Their inability to bat out the full 80 overs would have irked Johnstone, but if there’s a bowling attack in the competition which can defend a small total it’s the Falcons.
Ivanhoe made a strong start with an opening stand of 48 but then the innings quickly disintegrated when five wickets fell for just 13, largely because of the batsmen’s inability to handle Johnstone.
Whatever Johnstone did not destroy, opening bowler Patrick Matautaava (3-35) and fellow spinner Adam Yates (2-12) took satisfaction in doing the honours.
The Falcons have set up a semi-final date with Altona, with the winner to go to the grand final.
Plenty Valley will feature in the other semi after obliterating Yarraville at the quarter-final.
The big, bad Bats rolled the timid Eagles for just 45 in their pursuit of the 208 victory target.
Lorenzo Ingram (4-6), Ben Dennett (3-12) and Sean Ayres (2-4) were outstanding with the ball on day two.
Dennett was the man of the match, having top-scored for the Bats with 54 on the first day.
The Bats will host Melton in what promises to be a mouth-watering semi-final.
In the VTCA north B1 grand final, Jacana still has some work to do entering the third day against East Coburg at Walter Street Reserve, despite taking a healthy first-innings lead.
As it stands, the match is hard to tip, with Jacana needing to take nine wickets and East Coburg requiring a further 165.
The stand-out for Jacana on the opening weekend was Telge Peiris, who scored half centuries (71 and 51) in both innings, but the biggest thorn in its side was Easts opening bowler Muddassar Hassan, who took 11 wickets (3-32 and 8-42).
This one promises a thrilling finish.
In the NWMCA Luscombe Shield decider, Gladstone Park was outclassed by Kealba-Green Gully, who claimed its third premiership in four seasons. The Kookaburras were bowled out for just 105, a massive 156 short of victory.
In the DVCA Barclay Shield showpiece, Rosanna could muster only 103 and will have a tough time defending it against Diamond Creek, who are 3-36 in reply.
