On a soft Warrawee Park wicket the Oaks won the toss and bowled first, but despite bowling Brighton out for 127 still had to work for their runs.

At 4-31 the Oaks were battling to stay in the game against the sixth-placed Brighton team.

But Oaks captain Jarrod Travaglia (73 not out) then teamed with Brent Warren (18) and Barry Ensil (19 not out) to get his side to 5-128 and a much-needed victory.

"It was one of those wickets that you were never really in on," Travaglia said.

"As a batsman, you had to accept you were going to miss some balls or mishit some balls. The key was to stay in and make sure you put away the bad balls.

"We always had enough time. It was about sticking around."

Oaks teenager Patrick Roberts (3-25), playing in his second game, was the best of the Oaks bowlers while Michael Splatt (2-12) and Warren (2-13) also took important wickets.

Travaglia said playing desperate sides like Brighton and the Oaks' upcoming opponent, Malvern, would make his side tougher leading into the finals.

■ Anyone who turned up late to Mt Waverley's VSDCA one-day clash with Croydon on Saturday may have missed the whole match.

The Cockatoos batted first and were knocked for 51 in just 20.2 overs with opening bowlers David Jensen (3-22) and Roy Paterson (4-18) the chief destroyers. In response, Mt Waverley didn't even get to its first drinks break, making 1-54 from 12 overs.