By Tyler Lewis and Nick Creely
WGCA OTHER GRADES
REVIEW – ROUND 2
B GRADE
Devon Meadows (9/178) recorded a telling one-wicket victory in the final over against Emerald (8/175).
Lachlan Crnogorac starred with both bat (60) and ball (4/32) for Emerald but his heroics weren’t enough to secure his side victory.
It was a team performance for the Meadows and six players reached double figures, but it was a critical 11 not out by number 11 Nathan Fenner that proved to be match winning.
In an absolute run fest at Carlisle Park, the Vikings (4/225) held on for a tight two-run victory over Aura Vale (7/223).
Rahil Gandhi was brilliant for the Vikings with 102, while eight of the top nine for the Lakers reached double figures in a tight run chase.
Despite a tremendous individual performance by skipper Jake Abel, his Pakenham Upper/Toomuc side (98) was unable to get the set runs from Clyde (9/157).
Abel claimed 5/17 with the ball and top scored with the bat with 40.
The decision to send Maryknoll in by Gembrook threatened to be a masterstroke when the Marygoons were 6/89.
But some late order runs from Ken McLeod (36) and Anand Sikri (20) put the Marygoons in a strong spot at the innings break with 9/177 from their 40 overs.
In reply, Gembrook was unable to chase down 178, bundled out for 143 in the 38th over.
It was a team bowling performance by the Marygoons as four players collected multiple wickets.
C GRADE
Officer (6/216) moved on from its scratchy start to set a total too great for Cranbourne Meadows (8/163).
The Bullants were 3/87 before Andrew Tucker (89) and Kable Dowsett (51) put on an unbeaten century stand to guide their side to a strong total.
In reply, the Rebels had too many stragglers to make up the total while Dowsett again was brilliant with the ball 2/12 from his eight overs.
Tooradin (10/70) fell to Nyora (5/73) in a low scoring affair.
Shane Warren (4/12 from eight overs) and Keith Maclure (3/16 from eight overs) ran riot with the ball for the Maroons.
In reply, the Gulls made a good fist of the total defence collecting five wickets and restricting the Maroons until the 36th over to chase down the target.
Cardinia (6/180), meanwhile, continued its undefeated run when it chased down the total of Pakenham (7/179).
The Bulls sent Pakenham in and Matthew Scott (2/27) relished in the opportunity with two early wickets.
In the chase, Brad Reiner was in blistering form, guiding his side home with 86 not out, including nine boundaries and one maximum.
And Upper Beaconsfield still sits atop of the table with a successful run chase of the winless Merinda Park.
After being sent in, the Cobras set a defendable 7/125 from their 40 overs – Robert Strang leading the way with 41.
Despite an extremely shaky start where the Maroons were 3/17, a sublime 42 not out from Sam Melwood drove his side to victory.
D GRADE
A Will Selleck (5/11) bowling masterclass guided Kooweerup to its second win in as many games against Emerald.
The Bombers won the toss and elected to bat, and after being bundled out for only 92, it loomed as an easy win for the Demons.
But it was far from easy for the Demons as they took all 11 batsmen to get the job done.
An unbeaten better than run a ball 22 from number 10 Sam Cole was critical in the victory while Bombers Andrew Kapahnke (4/14) was impressive with the ball in the well fought defence.
Carlisle Park (4/128) cruised to victory over Aura Vale (9/120) to secure its first win of the season.
In reply, the Vikings surpassed the total in almost half the innings with Mike Chapman making a quick fire 42.
Likhesh Mahajan blasted the ball to all parts Maryknoll’s effortless chase of Cranbourne Meadows 187.
Mahajan walked to the crease at 4/14 and with 110 to his name and victory secured in the 28th over.
E GRADE
A starring performance from Pakenham Upper/Toomuc president Stuart Langley guided the Yabbies to a comfortable win against Officer at Lakeside Oval.
Langley crunched 38 in the first innings for the Yabbies, helping rescue his side from 3/29 to a competitive 5/121 after its 40 overs, with great mate Brett Carey also finding some runs with 27 at the top of the order.
With 122 to defend, the Bullants struggled for momentum and slumped to 5/56 after a terrific spell from Lee Harris (4/27) set the tone, before Langley cleaned up the late and lower order with 4/13 off his six overs to cap off his brilliant match as the visitors were rolled for 102 in 37 overs.
Down at Lyndhurst Secondary College, Tooradin easily accounted for Cranbourne Meadows.
The Rebels were in deep trouble at 6/29 after winning the toss and batting, before recovering somewhat to post 84, with some late runs by Shashikumar Natarajan (24) helping the cause late in the innings.
The Seagulls lost an early wicket in the chase, but still comfortably got the job done in the 20th over and with six wickets still left in the shed, with skipper Wayne Mannix crunching an unbeaten 35.
In the remaining matches in E Grade, Merinda Park (8/176) held off Pakenham (8/159) at Donnelly Reserve, while Devon Meadows (7/137) got the better of Gembrook (101) in their clash ay Junction Village.
F GRADE
Clyde was on song in a dominant performance against Lang Lang at the primary school, winning by more than 150 runs.
The Cougars posted an ominous 3/231 from their 40 overs, with Ryan Sebastian belting 75 and Sam Manujith (41 not out) also sending them to all parts in the dominant showing.
The Swamp Tigers were bundled out for just 59 in the 33rd over, with Jai Seers (4/7) and Chevy Dyall (3/2) proving near impossible with the ball.
Merinda Park, meanwhile, won by eight wickets at Toomuc Reserve against Pakenham.
The Lions lost two early wickets after winning the toss and electing to bat, but managed to scramble to 127 after a timely knock from Bakhtayar Zalmay (51).
The Cobras were well served by Mitchell Forbes (4/14) and Dion Olszewski (4/10), who combined for eight wickets to trouble the Lions.
Despite the Cobras charging in and desperately looking to defend its score, Gerard Healy (51 not out) and Michael Blaby (52) ensured there would be no stumbles, with the visitors getting the points with eight wickets and five overs to spare.
In the remaining F Grade matches, Devon Meadows (9/129) won a thriller against Carlisle Park Vikings (127), while Officer (6/157) got the job done against Cardinia (8/130) at Rythdale Recreation Reserve.
ONE-DAY (ROUND 1)
Cranbourne Meadows got its one-day season off to a terrific start, defeating Kooweerup at Cora Lynn Recreation Reserve.
The Rebels were sent in to bat, and racked up an impressive 7/182 off their 35 overs, with Andrew Clappers (57), Craig Grant (48 not out) and skipper Shannon Marrell (38) in the runs, while with the ball Paul West was the clear standout with 4/41 off seven overs.
Despite batting manfully – largely through Wes Wright (70 not out), the Demons fell short, finishing on 7/155.
Brendan Marrell was vital with the economic figures of 2/18 off seven overs.
Upper Beaconsfield also picked up a strong win at O’Neil Road against Pakenham Upper/Toomuc.
The Maroons scrambled their way to 101 off 26 overs, with Brad Trembath leading the way with 46 opening the batting, before managing to roll the Yabbies for 74, with Lachlan Burfurd (3/28) and Scott Ricketts (3/6) doing the bulk of the damage with the ball.
Nyora and Aura Vale forfeited its clashes against Emerald and Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll respectively.
