Marygoons pounce on Cougars

By Nick Creely

WGCA DISTRICT AND SUB-DISTRICT REVIEW
ROUND 6 (DAY ONE)

DISTRICT
Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll continue to make a genuine splash in this year’s District Division finals race after a crushing first innings victory over Clyde at Lineham Oval on Saturday.
The Marygoons are well and truly on their way to an outright victory, after a day in which the in-form side took 12 wickets.
Winning the toss and batting, the Cougars could only muster up 100 in 34.5 overs, with Ash Meade (4/23), Sean Somers (3/34) and Daniel Salmon (2/4) providing headaches for the home side.
The Marygoons took an aggressive approach their batting, with Brannon Harrison (26), Kyle Dorman (20) and Dean Henwood (20) helping guide the visitors over the first innings total of the Cougars, declaring at 8/134 in just 34 overs.
Daniel Glen (2/6) then took two late wickets to leave the Cougars in a world of trouble at 2/11 in their second dig.
Cranbourne Meadows, meanwhile, are on the verge of inflicting Devon Meadows with its first loss of the season after edging ahead after the first day’s play at Lawson Poole Reserve.
The undefeated Panthers elected to bat without star bat Brad Miles in the side, and immediately felt the effects of his loss, with the visitors succumbing to some brilliant new ball bowling by Iftikhar Ahmad (4/43) to be 4/24 early in the piece.
A sensational fighting knock from skipper Ash Adams (70 not out) lifted the Panthers back into the game, recovering from 7/57 to be all bowled out for 156 in 49 overs.
Luke Hamilton (34) also chimed in with a 61-run partnership with Adams for the eighth wicket.
Sunny Paul (37 not out) and Veerpartap Singh (23) navigated the new ball with ease to put on 49 runs for the first wicket, with Panther bowlers Matt Hutchinson (0/20) and Mick Floyd (0/9) unable to snag an early wicket.
Adams (2/25) once again dragged the Panthers back in the contest to leave the Rebels 2/52, but Ash Uppal and Paul steadied the ship late in the day to finish day one on 3/95, still 61 runs short of victory.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc is also in a strong position to sing the song for the first time this season, after a solid day of cricket against Tooradin.
After Gulls skipper David Freeman elected to bat at Pakenham Upper Reserve, the visitors scored at almost four runs per over to score a solid 201 in 52.2 overs.
But no Gulls were able to convert their starts, with eight players scoring between 10 and 50.
Lucas Plozza (3/57) charged in admirably to take some vital wickets, while Luke Gunton (3/32) bowled tight and got some well-deserved reward.
The Yabbies dug deep for 24 overs with the bat to keep all their wickets in tact at stumps, with skipper Ben Clough (19) and Matt Southall (28) playing out the day to finish on 0/49.
In the final game of the day, Carlisle Park put up a sizeable total of 8/242 against Officer at Carlisle Park Reserve, in a vitally important match.
The Vikings couldn’t have got off to a more perfect start to the day, with Ammar Bajwa (96) and David Nutting (52) compiling a 118-run opening partnership to set up the innings.
Bajwa unluckily fell just four runs short of victory, but found some of his vintage touch after a lean opening five rounds.
Before Bajwa’s 96 on Saturday, the all-rounder had scored 12, 8,0,6,6 and 5.
Shaun Weir (1/57 off 31 overs) put in a marathon effort with the ball for the visitors, while Anthony Galley (4/28) stuck some vital wickets in the middle order.
The innings sets up what will be an intriguing run chase, with the Bullants needing to start winning against teams in a similar position.

DISTRICT LADDER

SUB-DISTRICT
Yet another brilliant performance by Aura Vale’s Nathan Phillips has the Lakers in a strong position against Pakenham at Toomuc Reserve.
It was only last round that the club champ struck an extraordinary 201 not out against Tooradin, this time he showed off his wares with the ball.
The Lions had a bat first, and Phillips snared the mind-boggling figures of 7/33 off 19 overs to help roll the home side for 201 in 66.4 overs.
The outstanding spell also included 10 maidens.
Paul Gramc (63) was the glue that held the Pakenham innings together, with a well-crafted half century ensuring the Lions would post a competitive total.
At stumps, the Lakers are 0/22 off 10 overs, with Phillips (13) and Zach Buckland (5) the not out batsmen.
Down at Rutter Park, Cardinia batsman Daniel Salvato has almost solely got his side into a winning position against Tooradin.
Opening the batting, Salvato carried the bat to make an outstanding 87 not out, with the Bulls managing to just make 137 in 49.5 overs, as only one other player scored in double figures.
Bodie Brown (7/64) was the star with the ball, bowling from one end the entire innings and proving a real handful for the Bulls.
But it was Salvato’s knock that is proving to be the decisive factor in the context of the game, with the Bulls having the Gulls 7/58 off 27 overs at stumps, with David Kingston (4/11) on song with the ball.
Lang Lang and Gembrook are battling out a close contest, with the match set to go deep into day two.
The Brookers won the toss and elected to bat, and despite losing two early wickets, Ryan Scott (36) and skipper Geordie Scott (69) ensured the visitors would reach a competitive 179 in 61.5 overs.
Sam Cole (4/17) and Aaron Creasey (2/37) were the multiple wicket takers for the Swamp Tigers.
The Swamp Tigers lost the early wicket of Jess Grima (6) late in the day, but steadied through Ross Douglas (11) and Creasey (9) to be 1/28 at stumps.
In the final match of the day, the clash between Nyora (114) and Catani (4/61) is set to go down to the wire down at Lakeside Oval.

SUB-DISTRICT LADDER