By Tyler Lewis
Message received.
Officer has sent a bold statement on the eve of finals, dismantling fellow front-runners Devon Meadows on Saturday.
The Panthers courageously sent the Bullants in at the toss and – like the Aussies did to Nasser Hussain and the Poms at the Gabba back in 2002 – Officer made the visiting side pay, posting 8/200.
Five of the top six for the Bullants reached double figures, with Jack James pushing around 56 from 76 and Aidan Pipicelli carting 47 from 36.
Pipicelli strolled to the crease at 4/106, a perfect junction in a balanced game, but by the time he departed, a short 32 minutes later, the Bullants were poised well on top.
Panther’s all-rounder Ben Hussey appeared to be in a different game with the ball, capturing 3/23 off eight.
Devon Meadows was in early trouble in pursuit of the Bullants 200, with both openers back in the pavilion with just 10 runs on the board.
That trouble persisted when Jonty Bennie came into the attack. Bennie bowled with conviction in the finals taste-tester, seizing 4/19 off eight.
He wasn’t alone however, as the entire bowling card for the Bullants put their name in the wickets column.
After coming away victorious in the mirrored fixture only weeks ago, the Panthers were bundled out for just 91, losing grip of top spot.
If there is one side that would send shivers down the spine of opposition clubs come finals time, it’s Upper Beaconsfield.
Despite sitting in third, the Maroons have a Cert IV in disassembling cricket sides.
Saturday was no exception, as the Upper Beaconsfield outfit made extremely light work of Lang Lang.
The Maroons castled through the Swamp Tigers for just 91, before reeling it in before drinks.
Scott Pitcher, playing his 300th game for the Maroons, was the pick of the bowlers in the first dig, snaring 5/20 from his allocated overs, while Will Haines was in scintillating touch in the second innings with 56 not out…a knock that incredibly included 11 boundaries.
The Maroons will face a serious test next week in the final round of the home and away season when it travels to take on ladder leaders Officer.
A win for Officer could see it get a leg up on a highly likely semi-final opponent.
Pakenham Upper Toomuc, meanwhile, was also in a mood, destroying Emerald.
It wasn’t a complete performance by the Yabbies, who were forced to chase the Bombers 8/171 at the innings break.
Yabbies skipper Nick Kyval led the way with the ball, with 3/20 off eight.
Kyval and Rajitha Ranaweera got the Yabbies off to a flying start in reply, with 76 on the board before the loss of the first wicket.
Ken McLeod then finished the job, with an exciting 32 that didn’t include an overly large amount of running between the wickets.
It took the Yabbies just 26.5 overs to surpass the Bombers, and it came with just five casualties.
