By Nick Creely
WEST GIPPSLAND CRICKET ASSOCIATION
DISTRICT DIVISION
REVIEW – ROUND 4 (DAY 2)
The District Division ladder is beginning to take shape with four rounds of cricket completed, with Devon Meadows once again the pacesetter with an undefeated first month to the season.
Resuming at 0/8 after the Panthers racked up 260 on day one, the Bullants had a perfect start to the day, with opening batsmen Tyler Clark (73) and Ash Smith (24) digging in to put on 75 runs for the first wicket.
A few quick wickets courtesy of Jason Dodd (2/46) and Lucas Carroll (1/56) stunted the Bullants’ progress momentarily, before some more excellent batting by Peter Quinn (35) and James Parnall (24) lifted the home side to 4/157 and a decent launching pad.
But the class of Matt Hutchinson (5/50) shone through, with the left arm quick picking up three wickets in a matter of minutes to completely turn the game on its head.
Eventually the Bullants scratched its way to 191 off 73.3 overs, with the last six wickets taken for just 34 runs.
Skipper Ash Adams (2/34) was also a handful in what was a brilliant comeback from the Panthers, who have started the season with a point to prove.
Down at Lineham Oval, an absolute thriller was played out between Clyde and Cranbourne Meadows, with the Cougars escaping with a nail-biting win after a remarkable finish.
The Rebels resumed at 1/37 in pursuit of the Cougars’ strong total of 210, and were moving along nicely with the score at 5/190 after strong knocks by Veerpartap Singh (38), Ash Uppal (43) and skipper Chris Hauselberger (67).
After Damasara Menuwara (5/80) broke through to remove Pankaj Goyal (2) with the score at 6/201, the Cougars completely shocked the visitors by taking the last four wickets in only a few overs to bowl them out for 205 – six runs short of victory.
It was a collapse of 5/15 after cruising through the first half of the day.
Apart from Menuwara – who turned the game with two of the last four wickets – Harry Singh (2/42) and Matthew Bayliss (1/17) were valuable support with the ball while the fielders forced two late run outs.
Carlisle Park Vikings, meanwhile, fought out a gritty win over Tooradin at Tooradin Reserve after a brilliant century by Jason Hameeteman (111).
Things weren’t settled as the Vikings needed a further 104 runs for victory after finishing day one on 2/30, but Hameeteman stole the show with his fourth century for the club, a knock that included 11 fours and two sixes.
A late cameo by Heath Straughair (34) saw the Vikings lift well beyond the Gulls’ 133, declaring at 8/199 only moments after Hameeteman was finally dismissed.
The Gulls – off the back of Kane Latham (68) – managed to get through to stumps unscathed, finishing on 5/138.
Jason Insall (3/4) impressed in the second innings with tidy figures.
And Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll have broken into the top four after cruising through the final day of their clash with Pakenham Upper/Toomuc.
After claiming first innings points on day one, the Marygoons went from 6/93 to 130 all out – taking a 59 run lead.
With outright a genuine possibility, the Yabbies dug deep and played out the day, finishing on 2/118 off 50 overs, with Matt Southall scoring 52 not out.
Skipper Chad McKie kept his strong form up with 34 at the top of the order.
But it was a significant win for the Marygoons regardless, who creep into the four with a 2-2 record ahead of a massive clash with Carlisle Park on Saturday.
SUB-DISTRICT DIVISION
Lang Lang and Aura Vale emerged out of the weekend as the biggest winners with both sides banking crucial outright points against Tooradin and Cardinia respectively.
The Swamp Tigers – resuming at 1/42 in pursuit of Tooradin’s 124 – did it with ease in the end after an early scare with Jess Grima (59) and Sam Cole (63) striking half centuries to lift them to 204 off 58.5 overs.
Tooradin openers Peter Stone (10) and Mitch Halstead (22) got the Gulls off to a solid 30-run partnership but less than an hour later the Swamp Tigers completely blew them away.
With Ron Bright (3/11) and Jackson Pawsey (3/10) in fine touch, the Swamp Tigers eventually helped bowl the Gulls out for 44 – albeit with one player retired hurt and another missing – to claim the maximum 20 points in a stunning display.
After the two opening batsmen, only three other players scored a run, with three players making ducks.
The Lakers also won outright over Cardinia at Narre Warren East Reserve after dominating both days.
With a deficit of 97 runs heading into day two after the Lakers banked first innings points on day one, the Bulls were rolled in 30 overs for just 88 despite some strong resistance by Brad Remy (39).
Mark Sarlija (5/41) was the star once more and finished with nine wickets for the match in an incredible bowling display and completely tore apart the Bulls’ top order.
Zach Buckland (2/1) and Nathan Phillips (1/23) also bowled well for the Lakers in one of their best performances in years.
Gembrook also secured a simple victory over Nyora by a whopping 245 runs at Gembrook Sports Ground.
After Ryan Scott (211 not out) inspired the Brookers to 364 on day one, the Maroons stood very little chance when they walked out to bat.
With an even bowling performance by the likes of Daniel Tigges (2/11), Will Davis (2/14), Jack Burchill (2/28), James Hulbert (1/25) and Tim Gray (1/30), the Brookers rolled the Maroons for just 119 in 44.1 overs to bank the huge victory.
Gavin Hackett’s unbelievably consistent start to the season continued with the top order bat making 50 for the Maroons after scores of 36, 46 and 42 in the opening three rounds.
Keith Linford (21) also played a nice cameo at the end of the day.
The win lifts the Brookers into the top four after four rounds while Nyora sits down with Tooradin near the bottom.
In the round’s other match, Catani (232) defeated Pakenham (106) with ease after an astonishing 7/20 by Daniel Glover.
Luke Jackson (36) and Dwayne Noyahr (32) tried in vain to help the Lions over the line but were overcome by last year’s runners-up.
