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It was almost the perfect storm in A-grade cricket on Saturday as the points table became even more jammed after an absorbing day.

Eastern Hill pulled off the biggest run chase of the season in a thriller against ladder-leader Kilmore, Broadford came back from the dead to stun Avenel, Tallarook kept itself in the hunt by humbling Seymour and Nagambie did likewise with a win over Alexandra that almost turned into an outright for the latter.

The results mean almost every side still has a finals chance, with only Seymour out of it at this stage.

It means there is still plenty to play for in the season’s penultimate round starting on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Avenel won the SDCA Twenty20 competition after a great day at Chittick Park and Bennett Oval on Sunday.

And the SDCA kicked off Melbourne Country Week with a loss to Wangaratta at Box Hill on Monday.

Eastern Hill v Kilmore

Despite its position as a finals contender, few would have given Eastern Hill much chance of getting Kilmore’s competitive 284 when play resumed at Kings Park on Saturday.

With a team where few batsmen had capitalised on a start this season, the home side initially made slow but steady progress as Leigh Wyatt and Jac Smith-Williams settled in for a long stay at the crease. The pair put on 96 after coming together at 2-32. Smith-Williams was dismissed for 70 off 104 balls with Wyatt going on to get a 146-ball 50.

It seemed a 50-50 bet at tea with Eastern Hill 2-128, but the spark was provided by skipper Ricky Misiti, who blasted 98 off 107 balls, being caught on the boundary off a shot that would have brought up his century.

When he was dismissed, Eastern Hill still needed four runs, but when Tim Rudd-Schmidt went shortly after, it was down to the last pair, Stu Hanley and Izaac Feery with two runs needed. It was Feery who hit the winning runs off the first ball he faced — and with just a few balls to spare — in a result that takes Eastern Hill to a clear third ahead of a visit to second-placed Alexandra this weekend.

Avenel v Broadford

Broadford was at long odds when play began on Saturday, being 4-24 chasing Avenel’s 151, and those odds soon drifted even further.

A couple of early blows had reduced the visitors to 6-31 as the Avenel attack looked well on top.

But that was about it for the home side as first Nathan Blackwell (34) and Mitch Collier put on 61 for the sixth wicket to give Broadford some hope.

Collier (59) then combined with Jake Martin (56 not out) to steer the visitors past Avenel’s first-innings total.

Jared Smith (2-28), Jackson Wheeler (2-33) and Shaun Pearce (2-40) were the best of the Avenel attack.

Tallarook v Seymour

Seymour’s batting has often let down some good work by the bowlers this season and so it was again on Saturday.

Chasing Tallarook’s modest 164, the visitors were dismissed for just 82.

Jason Tarran (5-28) and Jarrod Flint (4-46) were the chief destroyers, with wicketkeeper Travis Muir reckoning Flint’s spell was as fast as anything he’d seen this season. Ben Tarran (1-3) was the only other bowler required to turn his arm over.

Skipper Brett Gordon (26) was the only Seymour batsman to offer much resistance.

Tallarook reached 5-95 in a second turn with the bat.

Nagambie v Alexandra

A brilliant spell from Mark Nolan gave Nagambie the points against Alexandra in a game that looked evenly poised before play began.

Second-placed Alexandra would have fancied its chances chasing 164, but Nolan’s 6-21 soon put an end to that.

The visitors were rolled for just 74 with only Michael Heyes showing much resistance with 20.

Just when it appeared to be over, there was another twist. In a stunning collapse, Nagambie was 6-15 batting again, and with plenty of time remaining an Alexandra outright looked a possibility.

But two 15-year-olds had other ideas as Jayden Gleeson (52) and Kyle Winter-Irving (28 not out) steered Nagambie to safety.

Justin Leary (4-16) did much of the damage early with Ben Cooper (2-20), while Mitch Sanders (3-24) picked up some late wickets.

Twenty20 finals

Avenel is the SDCA Twenty20 champion for 2011-12 after thumping an under-manned Alexandra in the final at Chittick Park.

Batting first, Alexandra struggled to 8-75, with only Ben Cooper with a quick-fire 38 not out and James Kidd (11) getting to double figures.

Chris Tingay took 3-2 off three overs for Avenel, with Jared Smith (3-16) also having a good day with the ball.

Alexandra’s cause wasn’t helped when opener Scott Whitehead had to retire hurt with a back injury early, leaving the side with only 10 fielders. Later, wicketkeeper Ben Wallis injured his left arm while diving for the ball and had to leave the field.

Avenel made short work of the target as Tingay (19) and Kasey Duncan (21) put on 44 for the first wicket, and despite losing a few quick wickets, got to 6-78 off just 11 overs, ensuring it won the HG Turf Shield.

Leary was Alexandra’s best with the ball, taking 2-9 while James Kidd finished with 2-17.

Earlier, it was a one-horse race in the Chittick Park semi-final as Avenel piled on 5-178 against defending champion Nagambie.

Duncan led the way with 53 off 47 balls and had a 66-run second-wicket partnership with Willie Wheeler (34 off 33).

Steve Donovan blasted an unbeaten 36 off 23 late to give Avenel a total which Nagambie never threatened. The latter’s cause wasn’t helped by bowling 22 wides.

In reply, Nagambie reached 119 in 19.5 overs. James Noonan top-scored with 35 off 29 balls, while five others got to double figures but not much further.

Cody Hogan took 3-32 for Avenel, with Adam Layton (2-16) and Jacman Hinss (2-16) giving solid support.

Alexandra batted first in the other semi-final at Bennett Oval and it was Cooper who performed best with 40 off 37 balls, while Ross Malcolm struck 27 off 12 in a total of 8-148.

Tim Rudd-Schmidt (3-31) and Danny Dawson (2-27) were the best of the Eastern Hill bowlers.

In reply, Eastern Hill couldn’t capitalise on a good start, ending at 7-101 after being 0-36 off the first six overs.

Justin Bassett was best of the batsmen, with 31 off 48 deliveries, while Ross Malcolm took 4-18 and Kidd 2-17.Country Week

SDCA’s first game was a 122-run loss against Wangaratta at Box Hill on Monday.

Wangaratta won the toss and batted, and after 50 overs was 7-288 with Sam Stewart 148 not out (147 balls), Lakypira Perera scoring 58 and Daniel Vihm 42.

Luke Brennan took 5-41 off 10 overs to be clearly the best of the Seymour bowlers.

In reply Seymour managed 8-166 with Mitch Winter-Irving top-scoring with 62 (97 balls), Brennan backing up with the bat with 26 and Jac Smith-Williams making 21.

A full report on Country Week will appear in next week’s Telegraph.

■More cricket photos from the weekend’s action are on the Telegraph’s website at mmg.com.au/seymoursport