Koowee killers

By Julian Bayard
A BRILLIANT team performance from Kooweerup saw the Demons overcome Cardinia by 54 runs at the weekend to become the first winners of the new Premier Division of the West Gippsland Cricket Association.
After heart-breaking losses in the semi-final two years ago, as well as the grand final last year, the premiership is just reward for a side that has been so talented for so long.
Batting first at Perc Allison Oval in Beaconsfield, the Demons got off to a flying start, with Chris O’Hara and Mick Giles taking the score to 88 before Giles was run out for 42 runs.
Shane Dole was the next man to go for 19 runs, with the Demons 2/124.
However, a superb partnership between O’Hara and Travis Canavan took the score to 240 before O’Hara was dismissed agonisingly close to a century.
In an innings that would eventually win him the man of the match, O’Hara hit seven boundaries and a six before being trapped lbw for 98 runs.
Canavan was dismissed shortly after for an excellent 75, with his innings including five boundaries and a towering six.
Some late hitting from the Demons eventually took the score to 8/278 from 80 overs and with Kooweerup having runs on the board in the grand final, the Demons went into day two as favourites.
For Cardinia, off-spinning superstar Dwayne Doig bowled 40 overs unchanged to take 6/93 in a brilliant performance.
On day two, Cardinia’s innings got off to the worst possible start when John Nooy was trapped lbw for just four runs, before Steve Paterson was out for 16 shortly after.
However, a defiant innings from captain Mark Cooper kept the Bulls in the match, with the gritty left-hander scoring 79 runs to give his side every chance of victory.
Ben Darose chipped in with a well made half-century to score 54 runs, while Luke Turner also batted well in his innings of 36.
But with seven Cardinia batsmen failing to reach double figures, the match was always going to go in favour of the Demons, with Cardinia eventually dismissed for 224 in the 72nd over.
Shane Dole and Matthew Bright both bowled well for the Demons to take four wickets each, with Dole picking up 4/52 from 17.2 overs, while Bright claimed 4/57 from 18 overs.