After being washed out last weekend Beaconsfield (7/223) and Narre South (161) got some action and it was the Tigers who prevailed by 62 runs to maintain their spot inside the top four.
Tigers’ captain Andrey Fernando said it was a crucial win in the context of the season, especially after last week’s game was abandoned.
“There was a bit of tension coming into the game after last game was abandoned, it was important to get the win heading into Christmas,” he said.
“We feel like we are sitting in a decent position, but this week is the big test against Hallam Kalora Park – it’s a good challenge for us.”
A nightmare start to the match saw the Tigers lose both Fernando (1) and Jake Cronin (golden duck) in the second over of the game, but they fought back.
Beaconsfield was 2/1 and Tom Arnold was on a hat-trick, welcoming Sam Read to the crease with some chin music.
Read, who scored an 81-ball century against Dandenong West back in round three, soon adjusted to the pitch.
He belted Narre South captain Jeevan Mendis for 16 runs off an over and essentially hit him out of the attack on his way to 75.
The blistering knock included 11 boundaries and with brilliant support from Mitch Tielen (44) and Alex Nice (32), Beaconsfield posted 223 off 45 overs.
The batting depth has been a feature at the Tigers this season and Tielen has played a huge part in that, averaging 196 this season with the bat, to go with his 11 wickets.
“We didn’t know what to expect with the wicket, we got sent into bat and there was plenty of variable bounce early … we were on the back foot,” Fernando said.
“Two of our English imports Sam Read and Jack Steel steadied the ship and counter-attacked well. They put us in a strong position to get a good score.
“Mitch Tielen is probably having a career season, he has unbelievable so far with the bat and ball, one of the young boys Alex Nice also batted well.”
In reply, Narre South started as bad as it possibly could have, losing Kyle Hardy on the first ball of the innings as a Jake Cutting delivery ballooned up off the surface and caught the edge of his bat – gone for a royal duck.
Tielen was on fire with the ball and made sure that his team claimed victory with a five-wicket haul (including three of the top five) after his brilliant innings of 44 with the bat.
Tom Arnold (2/33 and 41) was a solid performer for Narre South in the loss, while captain Jeevan Mendis (28) is always reliable with bat and ball.
The Tigers will face a big challenge against Hallam Kalora Park at Perc Allison Oval this weekend.
