Sensing stability at three

Anthony Craddock’s Cobras won comfortably on Saturday, and the wicket-keeper batsman is fresh off an excellent 83 in the Round 4, but he didn’t have it all his own way against Pakenham as he watched his stumps fly after being bowled by left-armer Jack Ryan for 15.

By RUSSELL BENNETT

WGCA PREMIER DIVISION
REVIEW – ROUND 5 (DAY 2)

TOORADIN v KOOWEERUP
JUST in case anyone needed reminding just how crucial Chris O’Hara is to the Kooweerup Premier side, he delivered a trademark innings against the old enemy Tooradin on Saturday.
Chasing 189 for victory, the Demons opened with teenager Cody Miller alongside skipper Michael Giles, with one eye set towards the future.
O’Hara (62), after batting at number five in his only other Premier innings so far this season, came in at an uncustomary number three on Saturday.
The two-time Lex Duff medalist (as the player of the match in the Premier grand final), and one-time Eric Winter Medal (as the player of the match in the 2006 B Grade, now District, decider) played the role of the steadier that great mate Shane Dole made his own.
He and long-time opening partner and Giles put on a 50-run stand after Miller was removed by Ash Adams for 11. The Demons captain made a quickfire 36 with plenty of fours before he was dismissed by Brenton Adams.
From 2/59 O’Hara and Paul Bright (22) combined for a 50-run stand but Ash Adams claimed Bright and wicket-keeper brother Chris both with the score on 109. From 1/58 to 4/109, the Demons were suddenly looking vulnerable.
But as they’d done so many times before, O’Hara and Matt Davey (43) put on a strong showing for the fifth wicket – for the most part both decisive and confident.
While Chris Bright continued his run of quick dismissals from Wednesday’s T20 game between the same sides at the same venue, Davey carried his form over – pouncing on anything short. Neither his, nor O’Hara’s innings’ were chanceless – both given multiple lives before they were eventually dismissed – but they were match-winning.
O’Hara, in particular, played a smart innings. Having come to the crease at 1/26, he used his feet, showcased his soft hands and constantly pushed for quick singles – combining with Davey to show the importance of strong running between the wickets.
Tooradin was missing that one quality strike bowler in their attack – speedster Steve Hamill took a sensational 8/31 in Sub-District on Saturday, while player-coach Cal O’Hare is not yet up to bowling in Premier.
But just as O’Hara and Davey were set to steer their side to victory, former Lang Lang duo Ross Douglas and Bodie Brown combined for a particularly tight bowling partnership – bogging the Kooweerup pair down. Douglas, specifically, was very full and gave Davey nothing to free his arms and unleash with.
Gulls all-rounder Aaron Avery finally caught O’Hara hitting out off Thompson for 62 and not long after Davey was out stumped by Hussey off the round-arm off-spin of Thompson for 43. From 4/109, the Demons had slipped again to 5/171, and then 6/179.
Dananja Madushanka started his innings with a big four straight down the ground but was out the very next ball – caught by Sutton at point off Thompson. With John Bright catastrophically run-out while batting with his brother Matt, Tooradin’s chances of what would have been a remarkable comeback were well and truly alive.
It’s amazing what tight bowling can do – the Demons really only needed one run per over for the last 10 overs of their innings to clinch the win.
But Douglas gave up just four runs in his first eight overs and finished with the figures of 1/12 off 10 overs.
Kooweerup was eventually dismissed for 210 with O’Hara and Davey top-scoring. The win-loss column won’t show just how close the reigning champions’ season came to being in real jeopardy – a win is a win. Jarred Thompson finished with 4/45 from his 12 overs – his best figures in Premier – while Ash Adams claimed 3/39 from 16 overs.
Giles admitted that, with his side at 1-3 heading into Saturday’s play, a loss would have made it hard for his side to make the finals.
“I’d say we would have struggled,” he said.
“But it’s always good to beat Tooradin, especially away.
“190 is a pretty tricky total but clearly Tubsy (O’Hara) and Matty did the job for us in the middle order.”
After taking 3/55 on day one, O’Hara capped off a strong all-around game with Saturday’s half-century – prompting Giles to once again describe him as “one of the best players in the competition”.
“It’s not without reason,” he said.
“Today he just showed his temperament out there and pretty much won the game for us.”
As for what could potentially be a new two-day opening combination between himself and young Miller, Giles said; “It’s pretty much us starting to look towards the future a little bit. You have to start to do that because Tubsy and I aren’t getting any younger. Perhaps Tubsy will stay at three, who knows?”
There is the theory that the batsman at three is a side’s most important. He’s the stabiliser and if his team loses an early wicket he can come in and steady things up.
“Obviously without Doley there this year, where he’s batted the past six or seven years, maybe we had to make a change at the top with Tubsy and I,” Giles acknowledged.
“After a few guys left last year a few guys had to step up.
“These kids are the future and there are a few other guys getting a go with the ball too – a few new guys.”
But it was another old hand in Davey who saw the Demons home on Saturday.
“On Wednesday night (in the T20) we just winged it because he usually doesn’t bat that high but we just said nah bugger it you can bat at three,” Giles said.
“He went out and smashed 30 or 40 and that seemed to have worked, and he carried that into today. He’s obviously in pretty good form with the bat but he’s not bowling really because he’s been a bit sore in the ribs so he’s been playing as a specialist batsman and he’s really been working on that.”
Giles knows that his team may have escaped with the points on Saturday, saying; “They bowled really well after tea – really straight. We’re lucky they didn’t bowl like that to start with, to be honest but as long as we got the 12 points that’s all that matters.”
While the Demons have shown they can beat a quality side twice in a week (following their midweek win in the Kookaburra Cup) they still need to be much more consistent, particularly with the willow.
“We have a lot of stroke-makers on the list and sometimes that can be a little bit of a downfall for us but today was good,” Giles said.
“We batted a long time today and the temperament from the top order was really good.”
Kooweerup is still sixth on the ladder but with games against Beaconsfield, and two against a shaky Upper Beaconsfield, their season could be right back on track. They can’t afford to ease off though – they lost four in a row heading into last season’s Christmas break, for example.

CARDINIA v UPPER BEACONSFIELD
IN WHAT can only be described as an utter pantsing, Cardinia claimed the most one-sided Premier win since November 2012 when Kooweerup smashed Beaconsfield.
In fact, it was one of the biggest wins in Premier history with the Bulls declaring on 161 and still winning outright.
After winning the toss and electing to bat last week, Upper Beaconsfield was skittled for just 55 in its first innings with Jayden Joyce (24) the only batsman to reach double figures. The Bulls used just three bowlers to bowl the 31 overs with Dean Henwood (5/22) and skipper Neil Barfuss (4/28) starring.
Cardinia then responded with 7/161 declared with wicket-keeper batsman Luke Turner top-scoring with 59. Opener Daniel Strahan and Travis Wheller added 30 apiece while Kyle Gibbs was the pick of the Upper Beac attack with 3/14 from his five overs.
Entering day two already on 2/24 in their second dig, the Maroons barely fared any better the second time around. The under-rated Henwood was again unbelievable – delivering the spell of his life to finish with 9/30 from the match and 4/8 from 16.3 second innings overs. Travis Welsh (2/29) and Brayden Browne (2/34) were the other multiple wicket-takers.
Cardinia player-coach Simon Parrot simply described it as “an outstanding effort after a lacklustre performance against Pakenham”.
“Our bowling was almost perfect,” he said.
“They actually bat particularly well and in many cases were just knicked off to good deliveries.
“Moose (Henwood) deserved every single one of his wickets – that was the best bowling I’ve seen from an individual in quite some time.”
As for the one-sided win, Parrott said; “We just had one of those games.
“We’re trying to play good, attacking cricket and if the bowlers don’t bowl to our plans they won’t bowl.
“To win by an innings is a great result but we’re not getting carried away.
“We won’t allow complacency.
“Guys have to keep performing to hold their spots in the side and that probably hasn’t been the case in recent seasons.”
The Bulls now lead by more than a game over the second-placed Cobras, but the two sides are set to face off in a showdown at Donnelly Reserve beginning this week.
“Merinda Park will be really tough and a real challenge for us,” Parrott said.
“They’ve displayed a lot of unity and are really backing themselves in.
“If we win that, it opens up a gap to second spot but if they win the rest of the pack stays in touch.
“We really won’t know the makeup of the top two or three until Round 10 or 11… but I still see Kooweerup and Tooradin as the two sides to beat.
“The way I look at it we’re still chasing them and probably Merinda Park despite where we are on the ladder.”
In addition to the Cobras, the Bulls will face Emerald twice prior to the Christmas break. Things don’t get any easier for the Maroons, with clashes with Tooradin and Kooweerup before the break.

MERINDA PARK v PAKENHAM
DESPITE resuming on day two on 1/16 and sliding to 2/31, the Cobras did it easy against the struggling Lions on Saturday.
At 1/2 when Andrew Martin was caught by Matt Welsh off Jack Ryan without scoring, and 2/31 when Craddock was bowled by Ryan for 15 the Cobras seemed in desperate trouble.
But Glen Ward and Daniel McCalman seemed comfortable right from the start of their innings. Ward was loving the short stuff, while McCalman was strong with anything too straight or trailing down leg.
As he continued to gain confidence, it’s clear Ward was in fine touch – pouncing on anything over-pitched.
Pakenham youngster Zac Chaplin bowled an excellent first over – making both batsmen play and drawing them into loose shots wide of off-stump. But outside of he and Ryan, Pakenham had no answer for McCalman and Ward, who reached their 50 partnership by drinks.
McCalman was almost run out just shy of his 50 but the throw in from point hit the edge of the pitch en route to the stumps – typifying Pakenham’s luckless day.
From 2/152 at tea – and with the Lions particularly quiet in the field – the Cobras piled on another 60 in the final session – winning by six wickets (4/212).
McCalman (84) notched up his second half-century of the season so far, at the top of a surprisingly potent batting lineup, while Ward was all class with his 80.
Ryan bowled with plenty of purpose for the Lions, finishing with 3/81 from his 25 overs but he was Pakenham’s sole multiple-wicket taker.
The Lions, now seventh on the Premier ladder with just the one win from their five games, will take on Emerald at Haileybury this week in an absolute must-win fixture, before facing Tooradin twice before the break.

EMERALD v BEACONSFIELD
THE Bombers will enter Round 6 full of confidence after an excellent all-around performance against the Tigers.
Emerald declared on 8/274 with 13 overs left to play on day one after Julian Scott (98) and Ian Litterbach (59) shone in the Bombers’ middle order.
But with Beaconsfield resuming on day two at 1/50, the match was far from decided.
Enter Clinton Marsh and Darcy Hellriegel. Marsh (4/67) was involved in the Tigers’ first five dismissals – taking four either caught behind, bowled or leg-before; and running the other out.
Big Hellriegel, meanwhile finished with 3/47 as the Tigers were rolled for 159.
With the Bombers still a chance of an outright win, they then sent Beaconsfield back in and had Don Kerslake’s side at 5/153 at stumps with Hellriegel taking another three scalps. Jarrod Williams stood tall with the bat, finishing undefeated on 72.
After taking 14 wickets in an afternoon, and with Scott and Litterbach’s form with the willow, the Bombers are primed to take on Pakenham this week. They’ll need it before their back-to-back games with the ladder-leading Bulls. Beaconsfield faces a brutally tough task against Kooweerup at Lakeside, before taking on Merinda Park twice before the break.