A boundary off the second last ball of the match from talented teen Darcy Phillips has given Werribee bragging rights over Hoppers Crossing in a Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association Wyndham derby that went down to the wire at Chirnside Park on Saturday.
Phillips, 16, has been a revelation for the Tigers this summer. He was brought in initially as a wicketkeeper-batsman to replace an injured Mason Frenkel, but since Frenkel’s return Phillips has remained in the Tigers side as a batsman and is getting more settled by the week.
Phillips played a match-winning role with 37 not out at better than a run a ball to ensure Werribee overcame its plucky neighbour and claim a finals berth.
“He’s really impressed us with the bat and since Mason’s come back with the gloves, he’s held his spot as a batsman,” Tigers captain Tim O’Brien said.
“He had a really good innings at Box Hill, which got us over the line, and then he came out this game and got 37 not out from about 26 balls.
“He pretty much won us the game in the end.”
There was a bit of extra spice to this local stoush.
At the start of the day, Werribee needed a win to cement its finals spot, though as it panned out, a swag of surprising results from other grounds meant the Tigers would have finished in the top six without winning.
With their victory, they at least avoided having to play minor premiers Williamstown in week one of the finals though a trip to Balwyn is not exactly going to be a walk in the park.
For Hoppers Crossing, finals aspirations were over a long time ago, but they arrived intending to ruin their rivals’ finals plans.
A wobbly start saw the Cats in trouble at 4-12, but they created some worries in the Werribee camp as Sanka Abeyruwan (82 not out) and James Grixti (79) combined for a 147-run fifth wicket partnership.
“Those two really dug in and then got away from us,” O’Brien said. “They didn’t even give us a chance, so full credit to them for posting a competitive score.”
Only when that partnership was broken up through the dismissal of Grixti did Werribee get the chance to restrict Hoppers Crossing to a manageable total.
James Freeman was the dominant bowler early with 3-28, but Jonathan Burton (1-27), Michael Kelly (1-28) and Matthew Palmer (2-31) reeled in the run rate later, leaving the Cats to settle for 7-187 from the maximum 45 overs.
It took a collective effort for Werribee to reach the target. As they so often are, the Dean brothers, Matt (40) and Shaun (36), were the spine of the innings. Matt’s inclusion in recent weeks after ankle surgery has been a massive boost for the Tigers in the run-in to the finals.
“He’s a really important player for us and you know what you’re going to get with Matty,” O’Brien said. “He’s still struggling a bit with his ankle, but he’s a good team player and wants to win a flag like everyone else at the club.”
Freeman (27) and O’Brien (14) chipped in with valuable runs, but Phillips was the one who brought it home for Werribee. Four matches out from the finals, Werribee needed to win all four games to break into the top six.
The Tigers are looming as a danger team at the business end.
“Going into the finals winning four in a row, we’ll take some momentum in,” O’Brien said.
“Every other year we’ve made finals, we’ve lost the last game of the season and haven’t gone in with as much winning form as this year.”
