It wasn’t the start to 2025 that Taylors Lakes was hoping for as it went down in a thriller to Oakleigh in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association south-west on Saturday.
Keen to cement their spot in the top six, the Lions faced Oakleigh, another side in finals contention, in a one-dayer on Saturday.
The Lions won the toss and decided to bat at Warrawee Park.
Taylors Lakes was able to put some early partnerships together and at 2-119 were in a good position to take the game on.
Three quick wickets hurt the Lions and they lost some momentum.
A strong ninth wicket partnership between Dhanushka Lahiru Kumara and George Sakkas pushed the score to 8-197.
Nilan Fernando top scored with 51.
In reply, Oakleigh was in trouble at 4-50 with the Lions on track for another victory.
Oakleigh though had other ideas and had two strong partnerships in the middle order.
The match went down to the wire, with Oakleigh hitting the winning runs with 10 balls remaining, finishing 6-199.
Saihaj Jaspal took three wickets for the Lions.
The loss has seen the Lions slip to sixth on the table.
The Lions will be on the road again this Saturday, with a one-dayer against Malvern, which is third on the ladder.
The Lions will also be in action on Tuesday night against St Bernard’s OC in the T20 competition.
