By David Nagel
B GRADE
Sunday cricket may be the kryptonite for the super-team in B Grade after previously undefeated Devon Meadows (181) succumbed to a fired-up Clyde (6/251) at Glover Reserve.
The Cougars turned the battle of last season’s grand finalists into a procession, bashing the ball to all parts before restricting the Panthers after tea.
Ryan Adams (51), Adrian Buller (50), Steve Russell (36), Nick Miles (34 not out) and Beau Hawkins (33) gave the Panthers plenty to think about in the first session, defying the best that Trent D’Alton (3/48) and Mitchell Kleinig (2/34) had to offer.
Shem Smith (3/18) then tore through the Panthers top-order before Ross Elston (3/22) finished off the job. Arthur Churchill (60) was the clear standout for the vanquished, while number-11 Kleinig (33 not out) fought things out to the bitter end.
The top-order of Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (158) was the clear difference in the second-placed Marygoons’ away victory over Carlisle Park (91) on Saturday.
Nathan Phillips (64) and Jaswinder Gill (23) set the visitors alight with a 51-run stand before an aggressive Phillips and number-three Tom Medwin (9) repeated that exact dose in a second-wicket stand.
But from 1/102, the Marygoons lost their way as Vikings’ Doug Knowles (4/17) and Tom Clappers (2/23) produced their very best work.
The visitors lost their last nine wickets for 56 runs…but need not have worried.
The Marygoons’ attack, led by Darcy Taylor (3/13), Abhi Sharma (3/21), Nick Mueller (2/4) and Sam Koch (2/25), ripped through the Vikings inside 29 overs.
Emerald’s (8/125) finals hopes are still well-and-truly alive after the Bombers survived a thrilling finish against Cardinia (120).
The Bombers looked short of the mark after Declan Cocks (30) had piloted them to a modest score, compiled against some honest trundling from Craig Boswell (3/11) and Matt Scott (2/29).
But the Bombers lifted as a unit after tea, with Cocks (4/21) completing a magnificent all-round performance and Jake Santini (3/15) and Hunter Wardale (2/25) coming along for the ride.
Kobe Boswell (23) was the Bulls’ best…with extras (33) also playing a key role in the tight finish.
And Tooradin (156) remains in fourth place after a solid victory over Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (108).
Skipper Peter Stone (46), Luke Townsend (33) and James Thompson (20) put the score on the board for the Gulls before Thompson (3/18), Tim Huguenin (3/32) and Riley Willis (2/27) put the Yabbies batters to the sword.
Ryan Mibus (3/22), Nipun Hewagamage (2/18) and Mitchell Mibus (2/24) were solid in defeat for the Yabbies.
C GRADE
A shining century from Upper Beaconsfield (6/240) number-three Josh Trembath (111) has locked in a finals berth for the Maroons after a blazing home-ground victory over Lang Lang (126).
The Maroons are now two games and percentage inside the four, while the sixth-placed Swampies can now kiss their finals hopes goodbye.
Trembath and skipper Marcus Gehling (77) were the heroes for the Maroons, sharing a 160-run partnership after the early loss of Josh Westra (3).
Trembath carved nine deliveries to the boundary, and smacked one Dorothy Dix, in a master-class of batting.
Srijith Jayatunga (3/38) and Glen Easton (2/34) toiled hard for the Swampies, who had little chance in reply.
Easton (33) and Rithik De Silva (28) dug deep for the Swampies, but the bowling of AJ Claxton (4/39), Craig Chapman (2/10) and Trembath (2/21) guided the Maroons home to victory and a precious 12 points.
Kooweerup (137) has chalked up just its second win for the season after an upset victory over Gembrook (127).
The Demons can thank Lachlan Wasley (32), Dan Tannahill (24) and Curtis Eddington (20 not out) for building a defendable score against some tidy bowling from Dean McPherson (3/2) and Matt (2/25) and Mitchell Candy (2/42).
The Brookers were long odds-on to win at the break, and did get a solid start.
But the efforts of McPherson (27) and Josh Hawkins (24) would soon go to waste as Eddington (4/25) and Max Monckton (2/12) bowled the Demons to a rare victory.
Officer (5/166) remains locked at the top of the ladder with Merinda Park after the Bullants earned a hard-fought win over Clyde (7/136).
Steve ‘Pup’ Pursell (50), Wayne Duke (33), Chris Byrne (29 not out) and David Gibbs (22) did the bullocking work for the Bullies, before Brent Pullen (2/12), Pursell (2/16) and Parker Lucas (2/24) rolled the Cougars after tea.
Clyde, second last on the ladder, put up a good fight with Aaron Woolley (37), Anuveer Parma (36 not out) and Brett Whittingham (30) keeping the Bullants at bay at key moments of the match.
And ladder-leading Merinda Park (3/93) has put Pakenham’s (91) finals hopes in clear perspective after trouncing the Lions at Donnelly Reserve.
Russell Little (34) and David Auld (19) were the only Lions with answers as Brock Jenkins (3/25), Brenton Huyskens (3/27) and Jamie Smith (2/16) bowled with clinical precision.
The Cobras were never in trouble in reply with Glen Ward (42) and Michael Coull (24 not out) taking their time to win with seven wickets in the tank.
D GRADE
There were two massive games in D Grade cricket this week and it was the lower ranked teams in both matches that came out on top.
Third-placed Emerald (7/143) brought Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll’s (8/138) undefeated run to an end with a determined run-chase at Worrell Reserve.
Nicholas Closter and Alex Barbour claimed multiple wickets for the Bombers as they had the better of all players except Mansoor Ahmad (64) before the break. Brett Jackson (17 not out) and Jordan Downes (10 not out) also added some late runs to keep the Goon’s chances alive.
Ahmad (4/22) then turned destroyer, pushing the Bombers to the limit, but the Bombers prevailed in the last over.
Devon Meadows (9/255) has bounced impressively into the top four after a brilliant display against Cardinia (4/211) at a fast-running Glover Reserve.
The Panthers were up for the crucial battle from the outset, with David Fisher (95) and Harry Spierings (45) putting on 139 for the first wicket.
Fisher faced just 70 balls, with 15 of those hitting the boundary and one flying into orbit.
Fisher’s heroics left plenty of time for others to join in the action, with Spencer Churchill (40 not out) and Luke Martin (26) building on the early platform.
Brad Remy (3/21), Evan Webster (3/34) and Bailey Edwards (2/31) battled hard for the Bulls.
Cardinia made a good fist of things after the break with Anthony Ponweera (55), Jake Jeffrey (50 not out), Webster (38 not out) and Janitha Hettiarachchi (36) making runs…but the huge total…and the bowling of Abhishek Iyer (3/40) proved too much for the Bulls to handle.
Second-placed Tooradin (7/156) thrashed Officer (51) at Starling Road.
Shaun Tongue (80) and Glenn Michie (20) built the winning score before Riley McLeod (3/15), Michie (2/1), Matt Simpson (2/12) and Brock Goldberg (2/22) went on a Bullant-crushing session after tea.
Reece Campbell (2/8) and Greg Henderson (2/24) were best with the Kooka for the Bullants, while Agamjot Dhindsa (18) and Campbell (16) made it to double figures with the bat.
And Carlisle Park (2/60) made short work of Cranbourne Meadows (57).
Michael Perry (3/8), Ryan Zealley (2/3), Ben Edwards (2/8) and Ehsan Khalid (2/16) paved the way for the Vikings before Andy Grayson (21 not out) and Garry Godfrey (17 not out) polished off the job.
Adrian Savage (17 not out) top scored for the Rebels.
E GRADE
Pakenham (0/114) is now the only undefeated team in the WGCA this season after the Lions destroyed Merinda Park (9/109) on the back oval at Donnelly Reserve.
The Lions have a wealth of experience – and a large chunk of talent – and are going to be mighty hard to beat when finals come around.
The Cobras won the toss and batted…well Andy Hathaway (32) and Rod Morrison (19) did anyway…with no other players really getting a start.
Hat-trick taker from last week, Zac Downes (2/9), and spinner David Searle (2/21) were the standouts with the ball for the Lions.
Scott Webster (72 not out) and Daniel Williams (41 not out) then wasted little time, 11 overs in fact, to boot the Lions three games clear at the top of the ladder.
Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (6/144) may yet be the biggest threat to Pakenham after an impressive win over second-placed Emerald (137).
Russell Perry (3/17), Jake Caisley (3/19) and Jarratt Eastburn (2/17) bowled the Goon into a winning position before things got sticky after tea.
Ross Jackel claimed four wickets to have the Marygoons reeling at 5/52, before Brendan Kroon (56 not out) and Jarratt Eastburn (28 not out) dug the home side out of a hole.
The small boundaries on the Goon number-two ground were punished as Kroon and Eastburn saluted with four overs left to spare.
And Clyde (6/101) has virtually locked away a finals berth with a comfortable win over Officer (4/94).
Kevin Baldsing (2/8 and 35 not out) was a clear top pick for the Cougars, with Cam Davidson (23) offering solid support. Kieren James (40 not out), Senula Wijesekara (23), Sean Chamberlain (2/15) and Thomas Purcell (2/25) battled their hearts out for the Bullants.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc had the bye.
F GRADE
A stunning century from Mitchell Kezik, a near miss from Chris Remy, and a handful of four-wicket hauls meant F Grade cricket was brimming with highlights on the weekend!
The impressive innings of Kezik (111) was made against familiar faces with his Pakenham (7/251) side taking on Pakenham Red (9/163) on the athletics track at Toomuc Reserve.
Kezik cracked 14 boundaries during his epic knock, that included a 165-run stand with Rob Newell (77).
Pakky Red was well served by Fletcher Davis (4/29) and Hiren Joshi (2/45)…and then went in to bat to chase down the imposing target.
It didn’t eventuate, despite top knocks from Cooper Lambert (56) and Davis (36), with left-handed whiz Les Jones (4/29) and Deepak Gusain (4/18) bowling the second-placed Lions to victory.
Devon Meadows (6/194) has joined Cardinia (2/188) and Pakenham on equal points at the top of the ladder after chasing down the Bulls at Selandra Reserve.
Cricket can be a cruel game sometimes and Chris Remy (99 not out) now knows all about it after falling one short of a classy century.
Remy shared a 108-run partnership with Chris Thompson (27) before joining forces with Tony Cianter (22 not out) to lead the Bulls to a competitive score.
But the Panthers showed their class with Tony Brown (54) and Lee Thomas (21) building the innings nicely before Peter Zauner (37 not out) and Lincoln Hepburn (23 not out) finished off with just two balls left to spare.
Remy (3/11) backed up his batting prowess with fine figures with the ball.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (4/199) has pulled a surprise, hunting down Lang Lang (8/183) at Caldermeade.
The Yabbies were kept in the contest by Santosh (4/38) and Harry Tivendale (2/29), who battled hard against the best efforts of Dave Fisher-White (76) and Tangata Dean (57) before the dinner break.
The Yabbies then started well with Mark McDonald (71) and Jonathon Rewell (47) in ripping nick, before Ben Tivendale (25 not out) and Adam Tucker (29 not out) polished off the total in style.
Steven Stern (2/28) and Kalin Giacco (2/43) snagged two wickets each for the Swampies, who narrowly hold on to fourth position.
And Kooweerup (3/152) has finally broken the ice, winning its first game of the season against Upper Beaconsfield (4/148) at Heatherbrae.
Tanbir Joarder (3/37) kept the Demons in the hunt in a great battle with Scott Ricketts (43), Tyler Astle (28 not out), Zac Claxton (23) and Luke Myers (21).
The Demons then made no mistake in reply with Chy Rehan (50), Tanzil Hoque (41 not out), Gerhard Krauser (24) and Joarder (17 not out) knocking things over inside 32 overs.
Myers took 2/29 for the Maroons.
