WDCA – Round 12 (day 2)
PREVIEWING the WDCA District 1 finals, Western Park (243) revived itself after a monumental collapse to send a message to Drouin (142) and the rest of the competition.
The high flying Parkers knocked off the Drouin tally not without major concern as the visitors slumped to 6/93 following a collapse caused by Simon Gardiner (3/41) and Dale Weller (3/58).
The stark turnaround was spurred on by a sensational century from Sanjaya Gangodawila (100) – his first WDCA ton – in tandem with captain Allan Chandler (33). Gangodawila and Chandler notched a match-winning 125-run stand, which was only brought to a close after the centurion raised his bat proudly.
Hallora (7/326) reigned supreme with a triple-century challenge barely too much for Bunyip (292). Glenn Vandeligt (71) and Zane Harper (56) led the Bunyip chase, but once they fell the order coughed and spluttered, getting starts but not cashing in to find the remaining 34 runs needed for an amazing triumph.
Yarragon (214) went fishing and reeled in a monster tally to knock off Neerim District (207) – with the heavy lifting provided by Gamini Kumara (69) and John Allsop (60).
Buln Buln’s (9/332) gargantuan tally proved enough to stop Ellinbank (238), despite a rear-guard century from Daniel Pandolfo (106) in a 133-run stand with John Reid (53). Jeff Walsh (5/38) was the best of the bowlers.
In Division 2 Jindivick (218) blitzed Warragul (128) on the back of an immaculate bowling spree from Ian Berry (7/43), while Longwarry (142) could not hunt down a strong total set by Garfield-Tynong (8/202) and Iona (227) was able to take the biscuits against Drouin (213).
WDCA ONE-DAY GRAND FINAL
Western Park (5/182) took the trophy with a five-wicket chase down against Buln Buln (181). Led by Lasitha Amarasooriya (4/34), Western Park managed to restrict Buln Buln to a sub-200 total, before the fireworks started in earnest. Kade Burns (68) and a swashbuckling half-ton from Gangodawila (50) led the charge before Chandler (33 not out) and Jason Croft (10 not out) finished the job.
