North Warrnambool's Ross Levett plays big part in win over Wesley Yambuk

In a battle between fourth ranked North Warrnambool and Wesley Yambuk (third), the 39-year-old smashed five boundaries, including three sixes, at the tail end to reach 34 runs from 31 deliveries.

It was a necessary push for the Eels to break the 150 mark and go on to post 8-178 for the Beavers to chase.

"I haven't had a lot of hits this year, and when I have, I haven't had a lot of time," Levett said. "Our top-order has been going well but it was good to have a few overs out there.

"Batting with Kory (Howlett), he'd been out there since the start. He just said to me, 'just play your game and if it's there, hit it', and there was a few there so I just had a crack at it. It came off on the weekend, it doesn't always happen that way."

It was the beginning of a skilled performance from the wicketkeeper, who later realised the work of his bowling attack, adding three catches and a stumping by day's end.

Getting on the end of an early Jack Burke delivery (which dismissed Walker Owen at 4-54), Levett knew he was in for a good day.

"Your quicks, you've always got to be switched on, but I hadn't taken a catch off of a spinner for a while," he said. "I got one off Burkey and thought 'here we go, this is alright'.

Led by Hank Schlaghecke (4-19 from 5.4 overs), the Eels' attack ultimately dismissed the Beavers for 119, well short of its 178 target.

"The pitch was doing a little bit, so we weren't sure what sort of score we wanted, but anything over 150 hopefully you can defend," Levett said. "We think we've got a handy bowling attack with Hank (Schlaghecke) and Oliver (King) at the front, then Bailey (Jenkinson). Nick Butters is back, and then Burkey and Robbo (Nick Robsinson) can come on. But the big emphasis was always getting (Wesley Yambuk's) first few out."

An earlier move to shift batter Kory Howlett from third to opener also paid dividends for the Eels, Howlett's 73 his highest score since a round two century.

"Kory, he's a hard guy to get out. He'll nudge it around for a bit, get his singles and twos and hit the bad ball. Once he's in, he can pick it up in the run rate pretty quickly if he's behind," Levett said.

"Putting him up the top to give him a bit of freedom to play his game worked well. (He and Jenkinson) put on 40 for the first wicket and saw off Wesley's opening bowlers."

In the overall scheme of finals, a win over Wesley Yambuk was pivotal for the Eels who settled for a draw against Nestles last round.

"It was a pretty big game because it did cement ourselves in the four, gave us a little gap and got us a game closer to Wesley and in touch with second place," Levett said. "Top two is obviously a goal. With the draw (to Nestles), we're half a game behind. "We hadn't had a full team together for a few games but we've got a few back now, so hopefully we can keep winning."

With a top four spot still squarely the line with five rounds remaining, Levett, who is also co-president of the Eels, believes a finals-berth would be the ultimate reward for hard work in what is the club's first season post Woodford-Wangoom merger.

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