In the extreme heat Hillgrove won the toss and elected to bat, which proved to be a good decision. The Guyra bowlers had some early success, with the first wicket falling at 16 but failed to capitalise allowing the batsmen to get their eye in and score freely. 

A great spell from Zac Atkin turned the tide for Guyra. He finished with the impressive figures of 5 for 22 off eight overs. Peter Presnell also bowled well claiming 2 for 30 with Heath Dowsett and Brandon Landsborough also claiming wickets. 

Hillgrove finished their innings on 164, with P Townsend the top scorer on 43.

As luck would have it, the cloud moved in shortly after the change of innings, allowing Hillgrove the better of the fielding conditions. This proved to be to their advantage.

Guyra started well, with a new opening combination of Presnell (28) and Martin (19) reaching 47 before the first wicket fell. Presnell was the first to go, caught Partridge bowled Baker and Martin followed just five runs later to an identical shot, caught Partridge bowled Baker.

Demielle Landsborough failed to get off the mark, which brought Jake Brazier (17) and Brandon Landsborough (22) together. They combined well before Jake was caught, bringing the in-form Matt Friend to the crease and Guyra looked to be on track to victory.

It was at this stage that the wind picked up and storm clouds rolled in. Matt reached 33 as wickets fell around him, before departing with the score on 143. 

Needing 22 runs for victory, it was not Guyra’s day and they were dismissed for 154, just 10 runs short of the Hillgrove total.

The ladder is now top heavy with four teams on equal points -  Guyra, TAS Blue, Barbarians and Hillgrove Colts are all on 18 points. 

This week they will take on Ex Services Blue at Elizabeth Park.