By RUSSELL BENNETT
WGCA PREMIER DIVISION
REVIEW – ROUND 13 (Day 2)
KOOWEERUP v EMERALD
DEMONS skipper Michael Giles said it was as clean as he’d seen anyone hit the ball “in a long, long time” and his long-time opening partner Chris O’Hara was even more emphatic – calling it one of the best tons he’d ever seen.
Emerald skipper AJ Walker couldn’t draw any higher praise from his peers after his stunning 108 against the Premier powerhouse Kooweerup at their first home game back at Denhams Road for the season.
He brought up his half-century off just 20 deliveries and the Bombers were on just 1/55 at the time. Doing his best Brendan McCallum impression, he then brought up his century with consecutive sixes.
But Walker was dismissed on 108 and his side was on just 134. It’s long been known that his wicket is the key to tearing through the side, as Saturday proved once again – from 2/134, to 187 all out chasing Kooweerup’s 260.
In a 40-over per-side, rain-shortened match the Demons showed just why they have the standing they do in the competition and why they’re well on track to winning consecutive flags.
Koowee won the toss and elected to bat, with Clinton Marsh and Lachie Gleeson combining to remove both O’Hara and Chris Bright. But Giles remained and showed the sort of form that is sure to scare the life out of his finals’ opponents. He pounced on anything short with a range of belligerent pulls and hooks. Ominously, he was also particularly strong off his pads. He was eventually caught for 40 on the cover fence looking for another boundary, but he showed more than enough to suggest he’s regained some strong form at the right end of the season.
Yet Giles’ dismissal came at 4/63 and the Bombers seemed right on top. That is, until Matt Bright and Matt Davey piled on 178 for the fifth wicket – the second largest partnership in Premier this season.
“The difference between the really good sides and the rest is that the good sides bat down to nine or 10,” Giles said after the game.
“Mush (Bright) came out when we were in a bit of trouble at 4/70-odd and he made 96 off 50 balls.
“His straight hitting (with the long boundaries at Kooweerup) was a real standout, and it took him probably 14 balls to get off the mark, so he went from nothing to 96 in 40-something deliveries.”
Bright again came agonisingly close to his maiden century for the Demons – having been dismissed caught, also for 96, against Beaconsfield in Round 6.
It would have been a truly deserved ton on Saturday. With three half-centuries now this season, he’s Kooweerup’s leading run-scorer in Premier with 382.
“We were all standing up (waiting to applaud the century),” Giles said of Bright’s untimely dismissal.
“He’s struggled a little bit to get a crack at it in the past with guys like Doley (Shane Dole) and Clarky (Scott Clark) in the side, but he’s clearly been the best batsman in our team this year.”
At the other end of the wicket for almost all of Bright’s knock on Saturday was the evergreen Davey (80). With yet another half-century, he never ceases to amaze.
“He’s got every shot in the book and he just bats according to the situation – he can graft out an innings, or he can smoke them,” Giles said.
On Saturday, he did the latter – launching into some massive bombs square of the wicket.
“He’s nearly 40 and he’s our best trainer – it’s pretty amazing,” Giles said.
“It all comes down to preparation with him.”
“Matty has won plenty of premierships but he’s also lost plenty over the journey so he’s still really motivated.”
Giles knows just how blessed he is to skipper the Demons in a golden era for the side, and in his own words; “We’ve just got to keep making hay while the sun’s shining”.
As for Walker’s take on Saturday’s result – he was particularly measured.
“Chasing 260 in a one-dayer, you have to be aggressive right from the start of the innings,” he said.
“Koowee backs their middle order. They’ve got the age, maturity and experience that we’re probably lacking as a side right now.
“Right now this is about us sticking together over the next three to five years, but we do need another middle-order batsman.
“A lot of our guys don’t weigh up the situation as quickly as they perhaps should sometimes – we just need more match awareness.”
Walker said the future was bright for the Bombers, which he said had made big strides forward since their District Premiership win and would be looking at securing a Premier finals’ spot next season.
“We’ve made real inroads since last year but even being 1/130 on Saturday we still needed seven runs an over and we were only halfway there.”
Walker said the club would be looking to pick up another player and coach to take the next step in their development next season.
“We’ve had some really good performances against the top sides but we’ve probably been a bit complacent against the sides in a similar position to us.
“Losses against the likes of Upper Beaconsfield and Pakenham have really hurt us.”
MERINDA PARK v TOORADIN
THE Cobras clinched their first win over Tooradin on Saturday since winning their way into the Premier tier and man of the moment Jamie Smith played a huge role in the home side’s victory.
The Merinda Park player-coach strode to the crease as a night-watchman late on day one, but as Cobras captain Danny Diwell said in these pages in our last edition: “He can definitely hold a bat in his own right – he’s no mug.
“He’s made plenty of runs in the MPCA and he really deserves some runs.”
Resuming at 1/15 at Donnelly Reserve on Saturday, chasing Tooradin’s modest 166, Smith (59) and opener Daniel McCalman (78) put on a 129-run stand to essentially guide their team to victory. But from 2/141, the Cobras lost another four wickets before eventually wrapping the contest up at 6/170. There’s clearly still plenty left to work on with willow in hand, but McCalman – Merinda Park’s best batsman this season – said the result proved the side could beat any opponent on its day.
“We know we have what it takes now,” he said.
“The conditions were tough out there (on Saturday) – it was pretty hot – but the longer we stayed out there the easier it became.
“Twig (Smith) and I wanted to get through the first five or 10 overs to start with but we really had to dig in against Hammer (Steve Hamill) and Azz (Aaron Avery) as long as we could.
“It was tough work out there for the bowlers too and I thought they bowled well.”
McCalman said his side was wary of falling into the trap of getting too defensive in chasing a smaller total.
“Against Upper Beac we were chasing 90 and we were all out for 70-odd,” he said.
“You have to be positive – no matter what the total you’re chasing is.”
After starting off the season well from a personal perspective, McCalman went through a rough patch of form either side of Christmas and he’s hoping Saturday’s innings has him back on track.
“I just try to keep it simple and play straight,” he said.
Hamill finished with 3/50 from 18 overs; while importantly for the Gulls, Avery – who has battled injuries throughout the season – opened the bowling and got through 20 overs to finish with 2/50.
UPPER BEACONSFIELD v PAKENHAM
“THE Great Russell Lehman”… a saying that’s been doing the rounds over recent weeks, and there’s a damn good reason why.
The gun Pakenham all-rounder is compiling a brilliant season with both bat and ball, with 459 runs and 35 wickets to his name. And that’s only the Premier competition – not counting his recent Country Week heroics, which included both a hat-trick and an undefeated century.
His purple patch continued on Saturday as he sliced through the Upper Beaconsfield batting lineup like a hot knife through butter. He snared a career-best 7/17 from 19 overs (which included 10 maidens) as the Lions dismissed the home side for just 107 in response to their own 8/206 from day one.
Only Maroons skipper Chris Savage (27), wicket-keeper batsman Jake Serong (26) and Taylor Joyce (24) offered any real resistance, and Lehman removed both Serong and Joyce.
Pakenham president Phil Anning gave Lehman the highest of praise after the game, describing him as one of the top-five players he’s seen at the club… ever.
“From a personal point of view, I think Russ has matured a lot as a cricketer and he’s clearly made a decision that he wants to do really well,” Anning said.
“He’s hardly missed a night at training this season and his work ethic has been fantastic.
“He’s a real leader in a young side and he’s pretty much been faultless all year, as far as I’m concerned.
“I made a comment to a bloke at the (club) function on Saturday night that, as far as I’m concerned, Russ’ performances this year have him in the top-four-or-five cricketers I’ve ever seen at the club.”
Anning said Lehman had taken his consistency “to a whole new level”, adding “he’s taken a more hands-on role at training and he’s got a really good cricket brain.
“I know Boof (skipper Jason Williams) and Jack (Anning) speak very highly of him and the ideas and suggestions he has out on the ground.”
As proof of Lehman’s work ethic, Anning pointed to his refusal to be left out of Pakenham’s recent Vivian Shield T20 clash with Devon Meadows – which was played the day after a Premier game, and didn’t carry with it any competition points.
“He played cricket on seven out of eight days at one point, and that’s just a reflection of where he is at the moment,” Anning said, tipping Lehman as a huge chance to take out the Glasscock Medal (for the WGCA’s best Country Week player), and the Don Jackson award (Pakenham Cricket Club’s best and fairest) this season. He was already named best on ground in the Vivian Shield clash, and we’re tipping he’s also a huge chance to take out the Terry Stephenson Medal for the best player in Premier this season.
BEACONSFIELD v CARDINIA
WHILE the likes of Giles and McCalman look to have struck some form right at the business end of the season, one of the league’s most dangerous hitters notched his first half-century since a T20 Kookaburra Cup clash in November.
Bulls’ coach Simon Parrott (64 not out) put on an undefeated 129-run stand with Alex Nooy (also 64 not out) to steer their side to a strong 3/195 in 40 overs from their rain-shortened match against Beaconsfield at Holm Park Road.
Nooy’s half-century was his first score over 30 this season, which shows just how impressive the Bulls have been as a team – given they remain undefeated. He’s one of their most important, and potentially most lethal batsmen, and if Saturday’s knock brought him to life at the crease, then opposition bowlers had better look out come finals’ time.
The visitors contained Beaconsfield to just 8/122 in their reply, with Brendan Johnson – who dominated District last season – scoring his first 50 of the season.
For the Bulls, Dean Henwood finished with 3/10 – taking his Premier tally to 30 this season, at an average of just 11.7.
For more on the WGCA finals’ picture, turn to page 67.
