Noble Park (5/220d) is still beautifully poised for a high finish in the VSDCA East/West competition despite its push for outright points falling short against Donvale (98 and 5/137) on Saturday.
Noble was dominant on the opening day; rolling the Lions cheaply and taking a 10-run lead into day two with Sahan Perera and Janaka Liyanabadalge at the crease on 20 and 2 not out respectively.
The pair batted for an additional 27 overs on the weekend, the partnership extending to an unbroken 118-runs with both Perera (75 not out) and Liyanabadalge (58 not out) making stylish half centuries.
Liyanabadalge then declared, giving his bowlers 50 overs to claim 10 wickets and haul in maximum points.
Noble was on track early before fighting knocks from Ben Wright (51), Rajapakse Rajapaske (27) and Keshav Sankar (21) denied a fairytale finish.
First-innings points were still a huge boost for Noble, who jumps from sixth to fourth on the ladder.
A high-finish is still very much in its own hands, with games against Croydon (8th), Melton (10th) and near-neighbours Endeavour Hills (14th) to round out its season.
The winning-streak of Endeavour Hills (226) has finished at one after the Falcons were chased down by a methodical Mt Waverley (3/228) batting line up at Mt Waverley.
The Falcons were never in this one, with early partnerships of 40 and 73 setting the trend for the day.
Savya Narasimha (63) and Hareen Silva (38) did the initial hard work for the winners, before Aingharan Athiiththan (56 not out) and Ben Hocking finished off the job with an unbeaten partnership of 107.
The Falcons, currently fourteenth, next play Box Hill (15th) and Bayswater (8th) before the final round home-game against Noble.
In the stand out performances on day two of round 12, Callum Hands (5/28) bowled Altona (160) to victory against Melton, while a 167-run partnership between Darcy Harmer (102) and Dean Russ (73) saw Werribee (4/209) jump from fifth to third with a six-wicket win over Hoppers Crossing (205).
VSDCA SUMMARY
Results R12 (Day 2): Noble Park 5/220 def Donvale 98 and 5/137, Mt Waverley 3/228 def Endeavour Hills 226, Bayswater 7/235 def Box Hill 9/234, Croydon 161 def by Balwyn 206, Melton 140 def by Altona 160, Spotswood 220 def by Yarraville 7/221, Taylors Lakes 151 def by Williamstown 228, Werribee 4/209 def Hoppers Crossing 205.
Ladder R11: Balwyn 57, Altona 52, Werribee 51, Noble Park 51, Hoppers Crossing 48, Spotswood 48, Taylors Lakes 42, Bayswater 39, Croydon 33, Williamstown 33, Melton 30, Yarraville 30, Mt Waverley 30, Endeavour Hills 21, Box Hill 15, Donvale 0.
Fixture R13 (Two Day): Noble Park (4) v Croydon (9), Endeavour Hills (14) v Box Hill (15), Balwyn (1) v Bayswater (8), Donvale (16) v Mt Waverley (13), Hoppers Crossing (5) v Altona (2), Spotswood (6) v Taylors Lakes (7), Williamstown (10) v Melton (11), Yarraville (12) v Werribee (3).
