By Tyler Lewis
WGCA DISTRICT AND SUB-DISTRICT DIVISION
REVIEW – ROUND 9
Upper Beaconsfield has knocked off ladder leaders Officer in the first match after Christmas to move only two points from pole position in the District competition.
The Bullants won the toss and sent the visitors in and did some early damage with the ball, having the Maroons 2/18, but consistent starts through the middle order had the Maroons fight to 7/180 from its 40 overs.
Imesh Jayasekera (56) led the way with the bat, notching his third half-century for the season.
In reply, the Bullants got off to a horror start, losing opener Peter Symons with only two runs on the board.
Bathiya Perera ran riot with the ball, ultimately winning the match for the Maroons on his way to claiming 4/31.
Some late order added to the scoreboard for Officer but the horse had long bolted as the Bullants concluded its innings 34 runs short of its target.
Emerald, meanwhile, shook the top four with an impressive win over Pakenham Upper Toomuc.
The Yabbies were bowled out in the second last over of its innings, posting the Bombers 132 for victory.
The Bombers had no trouble in tracking down the low total, passing the Yabbies inside 30 overs with eight wickets in hand.
Skipper Mitchell Daley put any doubt to bed in the early stages of the innings with a scintillating 60 from 58 deliveries, finding the fence six times and clearing it on three occasions.
Carlisle Park handed Clyde an embarrassing loss to kick start the year.
The game had a result after an hour of cricket as the Vikings secured the points in just 88 balls.
The Vikings won the toss and sent the Cougars in, not much more could have gone worse for the Cougars as they were bundled out in 12.5 overs for just 23, with the extras top scoring on six.
James Gietz claimed 6/17 and Chris King 4/5 as the openers spared no sympathy with the ball.
In reply, the Vikings used just 11 balls to chase down its target.
SUB-DISTRICT DIVISION
Jess Grima had a day out for Lang Lang as the Swamp Tigers notched another win over Merinda Park.
The opener notched a mesmeric unbeaten 125 for the Swamp Tigers as they posted 5/202 from 40 overs.
Grima did the brunt of the work with the next highest score just 17.
In reply, Cobras got closer than the Swamp Tigers would have liked, notching 8/191 after being 1/6.
It was Grima again with the ball, snagging 3/15 to again snatch hope from the Cobras.
A Daniel Salvato all-round masterclass was not enough for Cardinia to claim victory over Cranbourne Meadows.
The Bulls captain carried his bat through the innings for a splendid 74 not out as his side posted 5/183 from 40 overs.
In reply, the Rebels were in extreme trouble early at 2/2, before a clinical 76 from Sibghat Ullah secured the points for Cranbourne Meadows.
Salvato gave his side a sniff with the ball, jagging 3/16, but it wasn’t enough as the Rebels passed the Bulls total with just one wicket in hand.
Kooweerup, meanwhile, flexed its muscles over Officer with a strong four wicket win.
The Demons bundled the Bullants out for just 108, with the Brights, Ronald and Paul creating chaos.
Ronald claimed 3/18 and Paul 3/14 in a powerful performance.
The Demons made light work of the chase, passing the total with four wickets in hand in just 25 overs.
Tooradin remained a win clear inside the top four after handling Pakenham with ease on Saturday.
The Gulls opted to set for the Lions and didn’t miss their opportunity with the bat.
Michael Ralph fell only a stroke away from triple figures, departing on 97, while stablemate Ned Harrison also notched a half-century.
The Lions faced an uphill battle in reply having to score at almost a run a ball to take home the points.
Shane Somers demolished the Lions middle order, jagging 4/8 from six overs.
Pakenham held firm to not be bowled out (9/119) but were well short of the target.
