Having passed all tests with flying colours over the first month of the season, the Eagles came into this contest full of confidence against a Broadford side many had anointed premiership favourite.
Like he has all season, Ben Bryant was once again the hero for Eastern Hill, smashing a blistering 85 on a tough wicket before backing up his heroics with a scintillating spell of fast bowling that tore the heart out of Broadford’s top order.
Winning the toss and batting first in picture perfect conditions, it was a tough start for the Eagles as opener Daniel O’Sullivan fell on the second ball of the match, putting his side under immediate pressure.
That brought the in-form Bryant to the crease and he immediately went about resurrecting the innings by putting on a crucial 66-run stand with Brayden Speechley.
Making batting look incredibly easy throughout his classy innings, the accomplished number three found the boundary on nine occasions as his teammates began to grow in stature at the other end.
Seemingly set for a mammoth first innings total, Bryant’s vigil ended at 85, sparking a late innings collapse.
Broadford quick Jack Connell’s return to the attack was the main catalyst for the downfall, as the Eagles lost 7-44 to be bowled out for just 154.
Entering the second innings with confidence its batting unit could get the job done, it was a disastrous start to the Broadford chase as Gareth Sharp departed in the first over to have his side at 1-0.
While Eastern Hill was able to dig its way out of early trouble, Broadford could not follow suit as Bryant came into the attack with immediate effect to put it in a state of disarray at 4-44.
Needing someone to stand up in the middle order, Jeremy Bradshaw did all he could to keep the game alive, striking a brilliant 26 while chaos ensured around him.
But the bowling combination of O’Sullivan (3-31) and Jake Sutherland (2-26) proved too much for the Broadford cause, as it was bowled out for 129, 25 runs shy of the victory target.
Seymour could not repeat its heroics from last week, falling to Tallarook by 77 runs at Chittick Park.
A first innings batting onslaught was the catalyst for the crushing victory for Tallarook, as Cameron Muir (83), Lachlan Watts (47) and Leigh Irving (47 not out) got well on top of the Seymour bowling attack to help post a daunting total of 3-223.
Needing to bat out of its skin to be any chance of getting near the victory target, Seymour was overawed by the scoreboard pressure in the chase as Xavier Arandt (3-19) and Ben Tarran (3-11) combined for six wickets to ensure Tallarook enjoyed a healthy percentage boost.
Some late swinging from tailenders Nicholas Quigg (31), James Voogt (34) and Dallas Anderson (21 not out) saved some embarrassment for the Seymour side, but the final score made for grim reading as it plummeted back down to Earth after the spirited win against Yea last week.
Yea Tigers wrapped up A-grade with a much-needed victory over Kilmore at Kilmore Cricket Ground.
Getting off to a shaky start in their premiership defence, the Tigers were boosted by a clinical bowling performance in the second innings as they defended a relatively small total of 136.
Batting first, Yea once again found itself in trouble in the opening stages, as a string of early wickets to Mitchell VanDeDuim and Brett Buttler had it in a world of trouble at 4-60.
Needing somebody to stand up, the responsibility fell to captain Andrew Butterworth, who came in at number five and immediately steadied the ship and went about counter-attacking the Kilmore bowling brigade.
Striking seven boundaries on his way to a crucial 46, the skipper’s work gave his bowlers a chance as the second innings began.
Needing to take early wickets, Yea was found wanting in the opening passages as opener Robert Hanson (21) and number three Jacob Walton got away to starts to have Kilmore on top of the chase at the halfway point.
Enter Darcy Pell.
With the game well and truly slipping away, he pumped life into the Tigers’ cause with a game-changing nine-over spell taking 4-25 that sparked an incredible middle order collapse.
Losing its last six wickets for just 18 runs, Kilmore was bowled out for just 118 in a result that will without doubt give Yea confidence as it approaches the Christmas break.
B-grade action saw a number of intriguing results, with Eastern Hill scraping over the line against Alexandra, Avenel crushing Kilmore and Broadford outlasting Kilmore in a low-scoring thriller.
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