WGCA District Divisions – round 14, day 1

By Julian Bayard
IN the match to decide the District Division minor-premiership, Upper Beaconsfield reached 9/241 from its 80 overs against Merinda Park on a slow Donnelly Reserve on Saturday.
After being sent in to bat by the Cobras, Upper Beaconsfield got off to a solid start, with opening batsmen David Taylor and Julian Bayard taking the score to 75 before Taylor was dismissed for 31.
Steady wickets then began to fall as Shannon Mathers produced a fine spell of off-spin bowling to deceive several Maroons’ batsmen, on his way to the fine figures of 4/57 from 19 overs.
Craig Boswell also bowled superbly for the Cobras, with several chances being missed off the left-arm bowler, taking 1/60 from 25 overs.
For the Maroons, Bayard hit a patient 55 runs before he was dismissed in the 55th over, while John Simpson again showed his talents with an excellent 57 runs.
Merinda Park may rue a wicket that came off a no-ball late in the day, with Upper Beaconsfield’s number-11 batsman Kyle Gibbs being given a life with the score on 214, before a fighting last-wicket partnership pushed the score to 9/241.
Clyde gave itself every opportunity of producing the outright victory it needs against Devon Meadows to sneak into the finals, dismissing the Panthers for just 99 before reaching 6/92 at stumps on turf at Cranbourne Racecourse.
After sending the Panthers into bat, Clyde’s opening duo, Adrian Buller and Daniel Waite, both took three wickets, while under-17 bowler Nick Sadler also bowled well to take 3/24 from nine overs.
In reply, Clyde looked to be in all sorts of trouble when it lost five wickets before the score had reached 50 runs, with 19 not-out from Shane Webster and 22 not-out from Bradley Goodman seeing the Cougars into a winning position.
A fine innings of 81 runs from Nyora skipper Nick Fairbank saw the Maroons post the formidable total of 9/275 from just 65 overs in their match against Kilcunda-Bass.
Fairbank was well supported by youngster Paul Pattison who continued his excellent start to senior cricket with 49 runs, while James Watts also batted well to score 47 runs.
Unfortunately, there were no bowling figures available from Kilcunda-Bass at the time of writing this report.
There was no play in the match between Emerald and Pakenham.

@BT Sub Sport Gaz:SUB-DISTRICT DIVISION

Cranbourne Meadows has shown it will be more than making up the numbers if it does reach this year’s finals series, dismissing ladder-leaders Tooradin for 192 before stumbling late on day one to be 2/15 at stumps.
Only captain Richard Holland (51 runs) and number-four batsman Matthew Walker (40 runs) posted significant scores for the Seagulls, with Rebels’ bowlers Mel Le Gallienne and Shane White each taking three wickets in an impressive display.
In reply, Holland and Mathew Finch both picked up one wicket to leave the Rebels perilously placed at 2/15 from 19 overs.
In a rain-affected match at Gembrook, Lyndhurst posted 6/152 from its 46 overs, with captain and run-machine David Nutting again doing the job for his side with 57 runs, while number-three batsman Mike Chapman also batted well to score 54 not-out.
For the Brookers, Jeremy Everett produced a superb spell of bowling to take 5/46 from his 16 overs.
St Francis Xavier Old Collegians (SFX) appears to be in an even position in its match against Beaconsfield, with the Saints scoring 184 from their 65 overs before Beaconsfield reached 2/24 at stumps.
Aaron Warn batted superbly for SFX on his way to 84 runs before he was run out, while Tigers’ bowler Rhys Miller bowled well to take 3/29 from his 11 overs.
Lang Lang will be hard-pressed to score the outright victory it requires to reach the finals in its match against Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll, with the Marygoons scoring 296 from 78.5 overs.
After being sent into bat by the Swamp Tigers, Sam Pullen (51 runs) and Ken McLeod (67 runs) produced fine batting performances for the Marygoons to ensure they posted a formidable total.
For Lang Lang, Stephen Douglas (3/38 from 15 overs) was the best of the bowlers.