Pinnacle of Under-18 cricket this Sunday at the MCG

South East Bayside had a good tournament and several players produced their best performances under pressure in the quarter and semi finals.

Middle order batsman Christopher Diggle was averaging just over 11 but came into his own on this occasion as Bayside comfortably reached their target of 155.

Diggle was unbeaten on 67, sharing a 108-run partnership with Damon Egan.

In this match Egan hit his second consecutive half-century as he finished on 62 not out which gave him an average of 51.

Egan also bowled well claiming four for 24 which brought his Championship tally to 12 at an average of just 5.25.  

In the quarter final against Gippsland Pride, Egan claimed his career best figure of five for 17 as they went on to secure a nine-wicket victory.

Orthodox spin-bowler Blake Parsons ensured pressure remained on the batsmen throughout the tournament and in the semi-final it was no different as he collected three for 16.

In the round robin part of the Championships, Parsons has claimed nine wickets at 14.56 and will look to continue his successful campaign in the Final.

Cameron Watts is another bowler in Bayside’s attack who has had a fruitful tournament.

He has taken 12 wickets at 11 with his best figures of four for 30 coming in the opening round against Western Waves.

It is not just South East Bayside who perform well with extra pressure but also Central Highlands as opening batsmen Thomas Rogers and Jakob Tidyman showed in the semi-final.

The match was against Central Highlands and Rogers backed-up his quarter-final knock of 47 with 94 as they posted 259-6 and went on to win by 35 runs.

While Tidyman scored 58, his second impressive contribution of the tournament, following a second-round 139 against Barwon.

Harli Givvens will also look to continue his form from the semi-final when he claimed five for 33, bringing his tournament total to eight at an average of 13.25.