Not within cooee of outing Chris

By Kane Latham
A SECOND ton in as many knocks to Chris O’Hara and a century to Pakenham Upper/Toomuc’s Jamie Somers were the major highlights as three of the four batting teams scored more than 300 runs in the WGCA Premier Division.
At Officer Recreation Reserve, O’Hara was the rock of Kooweerup’s innings, as they reached another massive total, all out in the 79th over for 384.
Winning the toss and electing to bat, O’Hara and Mick Giles went about business as usual, and reached 107 before Giles was given out, handled ball, for 62.
That brought Trav Canavan to the crease, who smacked the ball to all parts, reaching 42, which included three fours and two sixes, before he was dismissed.
Chris Bright continued his good form, reaching 30 before being removed, when the score was 3/215, with O’Hara, the anchor, still at the crease.
When he was finally dismissed for a fantastic 137, the score was 8/346. Some late hitting from John Bright took the total nearer to 400.
Shane White was the pick of the bowlers for Officer, taking 3/71 runs from 22 overs.
Kable Dowsett and Brett Reid also chipped in with two wickets apiece.
At Perc Allison Reserve, it was a team effort to get Beaconsfield to 6/306 at the close of the innings against Upper Beaconsfield.
Justin Stanton and Wayne Staniforth got the home side off to a great start, reaching 76 before Staniforth was removed by Daniel Brennan for 53.
When Brad Miles was bowled by John Simpson, also for 53, the score was 2/163. Two more quick wickets, and with the score at 4/185, the game was swinging back.
Jordan Andrews and the returning Luke Sibley then took the game away from Upper Beaconsfield. Andrews finished with 43, while Sibley would have been happy with his 58.
For the visitors, Brennan was the best of the bowlers, taking 2/50, while Scott Pitcher and Chris Pentland each picked up a wicket.
At Catani Recreation Reserve, Pakenham Upper/Toomuc sent out a message to the rest of the league to not write them off, when they reached 8/303 at the close of their 80 overs.
After Robert Coupe got the early breakthrough, Pakenham Upper/Too-muc were able to consolidate and build a big score.
It was largely thanks to a brilliant century to Jamie Somers, who batted most of the day to finish with 117.
He was well supported by young skipper, Chris Smith, who made 49. Justin Harris and Shannon Price also batted well, making 28 and 29 respectively.
For the home side, Coupe was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/51 from 16 overs, while Matt Thompson also bowled well. taking 2/32 from 14 overs.
While big scores were the pick of the day, Tooradin struggled to score 148 in 65 overs against Cardinia, thanks to a brilliant spell of off-spin bowling from Dwayne Doig.
The premier spinner in the competition once again showed why he is so highly regarded, proving almost impossible to get away.
For Tooradin, Brenton Adams and Dave Freeman batted well, scoring 27 and 20 runs respectively, and some late order hitting from Matt Finch restored some respectability to the score.
He smashed 35, which included four sixes and two boundaries.
Before Finch’s big hitting cameo, Doig’s had figures of 4/24 from 25 overs, including 17 maidens.
Cardinia, with 12 overs bat, set about the task as they always do. John Nooy and Mark Cooper survived two confident lbw shouts and finished the day on 0/39.