WGCA Premier Division – round 14, day 2

By Julian Bayard
JUST 11 of 35 matches in the West Gippsland Cricket Association’s final round at the weekend reached a result after severe wet weather played havoc with the fixtures.
In the Premier Division, all four matches resulted in a draw, with the final four, as well as relegation now decided.
Cardinia, Kooweerup, Officer and Pakenham Upper-Toomuc (PUT) will play off in the finals while Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll will play in District Division next season after finishing at the bottom of the table.
At Pakenham Upper, Cardinia took its score from 3/136 to 9/253 in just 15 overs, with Luke Turner hitting a quickfire 39 to see his side continue to impress in the lead-up to the finals.
In reply, PUT reached 2/63 before the rain set in, with the two sides set to do battle again next weekend in the first semi-final.
The Bulls have outplayed PUT both times the sides met this season, with their round seven one-day encounter seeing the Yabbies dismissed for just 104, before Cardinia surpassed the total for the loss of just one wicket.
E Gunton Oval in Cardinia will be the venue for the first semi-final, played this Saturday and Sunday.
The winner of the Cardinia-PUT clash will take on the winner of Kooweerup and Officer in the second semi-final.
Defending 220 against Beaconsfield, Officer looked set for a win early in the day when Beaconsfield collapsed to be 3/49, before a steady innings of 79 not out from Brad Miles, as well as 34 not out from Don Kerslake, put the Tigers into a potential winning position at 3/135 from 40 overs before the game was called off.
Kooweerup will also take good form into its semi-final after a strong performance against Tooradin, scoring 329 runs before having the Seagulls 5/148 from 48 overs when the rain set in.
Matthew Bright bowled well for the Demons to take 3/42 from his 11 overs, while Tooradin’s Aaron Avery hit a fine 67 not out.
Kooweerup has proven to be too strong for Officer in both of their encounters this season, easily winning their round six one-day clash by nine wickets, before a much tighter battle in round 13 saw the Demons steal a memorable victory after Officer had looked good at 4/180 chasing 248.
The match will be played at Kooweerup Recreation Reserve.
In the other Premier Division match played last weekend, Catani and Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll played out a draw, seeing the Marygoons finish at the bottom of the Premier Division ladder.
Chasing Catani’s 226, Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll reached 6/132 from 47 overs before its hopes of staying in the top tier of the WGCA were washed away.