By David Nagel
B GRADE
The battle for a place in this year’s finals series is going down to the wire with Emerald and Tooradin set for a nervous last round of competition.
Tooradin (86) dropped from fourth to fifth on the ladder on Saturday after the Seagulls were comprehensively outplayed by Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (139).
The Marygoons did nothing exceptional with the bat, just setting a modest total courtesy of fighting knocks from Jaswinder Gill (42) and Akash Chhetri (20).
James Thompson (4/23) and Riley Willis (2/25) had given the Seagulls the upper hand at the dinner break.
But a collapse of epic proportions was soon to follow with Tooradin free-falling to 6/38, with Peter Stone (18) and Bob Simpson (24) the only players worthy of mention.
Abhi Sharma (3/37) and Ash Bailey (2/10) were the pick of the bowlers for the Marygoons – who remain in second place on the ladder.
Emerald (4/187) has its destiny in its own hands after the now fourth-placed Bombers won a delicately tight tussle against Carlisle Park (176).
The Bombers were sent in at Chandler…a telling mistake from the Vikings who were forced to chase leather.
Several Bombers got going with Jaxon Burdette (42), Tony Flint (26) and Clinton Marsh (22) setting things up at the top before Jake Santini (45 not out) and Nick Karman (32 not out) polished things off with an unbeaten 78-run stand.
Iqbal Soi (48) and Campbell Furze (35) then had the Vikings going along nicely at 1/90 before the Bombers regained the ascendency.
Santini (2/31) and Burdette (2/34) fought their way back in to the contest before Seb Mueller-Schmuki (3/7) finished things off in style. The Vikings were on track for victory…needing 12 from two overs…but ran out of batters in the end.
The battle for fourth place will be enthralling this week with Emerald (4th) taking on Devon Meadows (1st) and Tooradin (5th) taking on Clyde (3rd).
Clyde (5/243) has locked away a place in this year’s finals series after the Cougars were far too strong for Cardinia (126).
The Cougars were devastating with bat in hand, with Gavin Adams (68), Steve Russell (52), Nick Miles (42) and Shem Smith (32) all despatching multiple balls to the boundary.
That quartet of stars then watched on as the Jai Seers (6/24) show rolled in to town after the dinner break.
Seers was super-impressive in a great confidence builder ahead of finals.
Max Adams (2/19) and Ross Elston (2/27) offered great support while Andy Ciantar (24) and Kobe Boswell (24) were best with the willow for the Bulls.
And top-team Devon Meadows (8/256) is in a good space after a mammoth batting performance against a brave Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (223).
Billy Loudon (63), Bill Halton (60), Callum Cavanagh (33) and Mitchell Kleinig (30) were all terrific for the Panthers, who did have to overcome some great bowling from Mitch Mibus (4/34) before tea.
The Yabbies had their moments in reply, with Mibus (45) and James Stevenage (31) seeing off the new ball before a late rally from Nipuna Rajapaksha (55) and Nipun Hewagamage (36) pushed the Yabbies to a respectable score.
Trent D’Alton (5/41) continued his stunningly-consistent form this season, taking a five-wicket haul in a man-of-the-match performance. Arthur Churchill (2/17) provided the back-up.
C GRADE
Fifth-placed Pakenham will need to unleash its full fury if the Lions are to boot Gembrook out of fourth spot on the ladder in the final game of the season this weekend.
If the Lions defeat Gembrook they’ll join the Brookers on 90 points, but the Lions percentage is much poorer.
If the Lions win the toss and bat, they would need to make 4/200 and then steamroll the Brookers for 100…that equation would see them make finals!
But good luck with that one.
The most likely scenario is that Gembrook (1/86) locked away its place with a dominant victory over Lang Lang (9/80) on Saturday.
The Brookers had too many weapons for the Swampies, with Daniel Welsh (2/3), Cam Williams (2/12), Dean McPherson (2/18) and Willie Davis (2/32) maintaining a good hold on the Swampies throughout.
Only Hayden Diehl (32) would be happy with his effort with the bat for Lang Lang.
Timmy Gray (48 not out) and McPherson (27 not out) then made light work of the chase…even before drinks were scheduled to be taken!
One of the champions of the Merinda Park Cricket Club (4/206) celebrated his 300th game in style, with Martin Donaldson (88 not out) leading the Cobras to a strong victory over Kooweerup (8/165).
Donaldson came in at number four – after the loss of two quick wickets – and steadied the ship as he has done so many times before.
Donaldson shared a 145-run partnership with Chris Smith (74) and saw off the best that Paul West (2/20) and Campbell Wood (2/33) had to offer.
The Demons’ fought hard in reply, with Adam Wilkinson (55) and Brent Wilson (38) showing their usual spirit, but the Cobras had the celebration of a champion in mind.
Brenton Huyskens (3/33) and Jamie Smith (2/17) made sure the beers tasted very nicely indeed on Saturday night.
As mentioned earlier, Pakenham (3/159) has a slim, mathematical chance of playing finals after the Lions sprung a surprise against second-placed Officer (8/156).
The Bullants won the toss and batted and relied heavily on Chris Byrne (76) and Shane White (50 not out) to build a respectable figure after being decimated in the early overs.
The Bullants were exposed by a beautiful spell of bowling from David Auld (5/10) who took five of the first six wickets to fall to leave the Bullants reeling at 6/23.
The Lions were calm and composed after tea, with Paul Kezik (61), Dene North (40) and Hiren Patel (25 not out) chasing down the total with four overs left in hand.
And Upper Beaconsfield (7/123) has done what it was expected to do and defeat Clyde (8/118) at Selandra Reserve.
Craig Chapman (3/19) and AJ Claxton (2/28) bowled the Maroons into a winning position before Marcus Gehling (43) played a fine captain’s knock after the break.
Simon Bates (21) was also important for the winners, while Aaron Woolley (4/17) and Stuart Williams (3/13) gave everything they had for the Cougars.
D GRADE
Two veteran performers who still love to hit the ball extremely hard shared a special milestone on Saturday with Brad Remy (133) and Kane Latham (115) making match-winning hundreds for Cardinia and Tooradin respectively.
The tight confines of Rythdale Reserve were no match for Remy, who hit 13 fours and seven sixes in 77 balls and 101-minutes of pure madness against Cranbourne Meadows (8/70).
Remy was first to go with the score on 178…dominating his opening stand with Janitha Hettiarachchi (27).
Anthony Ponweera (28) and Hettiarachchi (27) then built things steadily through the middle overs, before Tim Jeffrey (67) and Vishal Sharma (30 not out) smashed their way to the finish line.
The Bulls scored at over eight runs per over…Remy inspired…and that was despite the great efforts of Chris Sullivan (3/25) and Kelvin Walters (2/10) for the Rebels.
Sharma (2/3) and Jeffrey (2/31) then bowled the Bulls to victory, with Shash Natarajan (24) and Kaiden Kilpatrick (15) showing plenty of pride for the Rebels.
Cardinia sit fifth, but with Emerald (4th) playing Tooradin (1st) may only need to defeat Carlisle Park (6th) this week to earn a spot in the semi-finals.
Kane Latham (115) did what Kane Latham does best, smashing balls to and over the boundary at Rutter Park against Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (9/171) on Saturday.
Latham has one of the best eyes in the minor grades of the WGCA and has developed a habit of causing complete carnage over the years.
The hard-hitting opener was at his best on the weekend, sharing dashing partnerships with Shaun Tongue (30) and Adam Splatt (18) before handing over the reins to Glenn Michie (34).
Ryon Tocknell (3/52) never took a backward step and was top pick for the Marygoons.
Nar Nar Goon showed some promising signs in reply, with Mansoor Ahmad (68) and Tocknell (24 not out) doing their best, but the likes of Tongue (3/23) and Jeremy Bodley (2/15) had too many weapons to fire.
The win was timely for the Gulls…overtaking the Marygoons at the top of the ladder.
Devon Meadows (6/192) is not 100-percent safe…but is well on the way to playing finals after the fourth-placed Panthers rolled third-placed Emerald (8/143) on the weekend.
The Panthers had many fine contributors, with David Fisher (47), Harry Spierings (40), Shane Fisher (26), Spencer Churchill (24) and Wayne Martin (17) doing well with the bat, before Rob Worsteling (5/34) took complete charge with the Kookaburra in hand.
Worsteling struck early and often, with Abhishek Iyer (2/28) his main support cast.
Harrison Closter (2/27), Ian Crosher (2/33), Mitchell Starling (32 not out), Sam Booth (30), Jackson Acott (21 not out) and Dale Street (20) were best of the best for the delicately-poised Bombers.
And a brilliant bowling performance has seen Carlisle Park (4/96) prove way too good for Officer (90).
Ryan Zeally (3/15), Dylan Anderson (3/25) and Mick Perry (2/6) paved the way for the Vikings, with Blake Henderson (38) the only Bullant to make his way into double figures.
The Vikings were a little bit messy in reply, but Mridul Joy (36) and Perry (20 not out) made sure there were nasty surprises to play out.
E GRADE
Emerald (7/238) skipper Warwick Marsh (109) has had the last laugh after a brilliant individual battle with Clyde (5/226) number-three Kevin Baldsing (138) at Worrell Reserve on Saturday.
Baldsing’s second century for the season had the Cougars on the front foot prior to tea, before Marsh exploded with a brilliant innings of his own.
Baldsing shared some valuable time at the crease with Shane Jack (22) and Laurie Lane (30), guiding the Cougars into a winning position.
Marsh then took the bit between his teeth, opening the innings and getting the Bombers off to a flyer.
He shared steady partnerships with Ryan Appleby (19) and Kunal Nanda (10), before turning the match the Bombers’ way with an 81-run stand with Ryan Burdette (34). Marsh departed the scene with some serious work left to do…with Raj Singh (34 not out) taking up the slack and getting the Bombers across the line.
Clyde’s bowlers could not have done more with Michael Johns (2/12), Jack Watson (2/36) and Baldsing (2/36) giving their all until the battle was done and dusted.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (6/129) still has faint hopes of playing finals after the Yabbies emerged victorious over Merinda Park (128).
The Yabbies bowled well in the early part of the match with Alfie Howat (3/18) and Ben Tivendale (2/5) doing most of the damage as the innings unfolded, while Stu Langley (1/10) was most impressive in his cameo performance.
Ben Dalton (31) and Paul Humphrey (28) were best of the Cobras’ batters.
The Yabbies lost a couple of quick pegs in reply before Paul Howat (47 not out) and Tivendale (25) got together to settle things down.
Howat was the rock, defying some damaging bowling from Josh Hargreaves (4/23) and Russell Alison (2/20) to get the Yabbies across the line.
And ball was certainly on top of bat at Heatherbrae Reserve where Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (6/103) survived a tough battle against Officer (8/95).
Officer batted first and can thank some wayward Goon bowling – 35 extras to be exact – for getting anywhere near triple figures…Harnoor Singh (15 not out) was top scorer batting at 10!
Hamish Stewart (2/10) and Mark Thomason (2/22) claimed multiple wickets for the Goon…who stumbled very hard early in their run chase.
Senula Wijesekara (2/10) and Dylan Aluthwatta (2/26) were on fire for Officer – the Goon slumping to 4/22.
The saviour for the Marygoons was Jake Caisley (56 not out)…who made 41 more runs than any other player in the match.
Now that’s the definition of a match-winning knock!
Ladder-leaders, and red-hot premiership favourites, Pakenham, had the bye.
F GRADE
Mick McLaren (117) walked on to the Hunt Club Oval on Saturday and did exactly what you would expect at such a ground …he hunted down a brilliant century for Pakenham (3/235) against Devon Meadows (7/191).
McLaren has been a stalwart at Pakenham for many years.
He is a punishing right-hand batter who can take a game apart – and that’s exactly what he did on the weekend.
McLaren cracked 15 fours, and two towering sixes as he and Craig Hart (78 not out) made batting look easy.
The pair put on a magnificent 193 runs for the third wicket after the Lions had lost early scalps.
The chase was always going to be difficult for the Panthers…who had a real crack!
Mick Hawkins (70 not out) was pretty impressive, as too were Jason Brzezowski (44) and Peter Zauner (34) who never gave up without a fight.
On a tough day for bowlers, Pakenham’s Deepak Gusain (2/25) was the only player to claim two wickets for the match.
Lang Lang (3/96) will definitely play finals this year after the Swamp Tigers proved too strong for Kooweerup (95) at the Kooweerup High School.
Tangata Dean (4/6) set things up for the Swampies, ripping through the Demon’s middle order, with earlier assistance from Kalin Giacco (2/14) and Keith Halden (2/16).
Ash Haque (21) was best of the Demons’ batters.
Lang Lang lost early wickets, as Harry Herbert (2/20) hit his straps, but Giacco (35 not out) and Luke Halden (33 not out) put on an unbeaten 76-run stand to steer the Swampies to victory.
Cardinia (6/145) is looking good ahead of this year’s finals series after the Bulls ruined Pakenham Red’s (142) finals hopes at Toomuc Reserve.
Pakenham batted first and looked good with Rob Blackwell (57) and Hiren Joshi (26) at the crease, but there was clearly not enough support from other batters.
The reason for that may have been Cardinia’s bowling, with Chris Thompson (3/25), Ash Jones (2/18), Tyler Oates (2/21) and Ben Monckton (2/36) all having a say in proceedings.
The Bulls were never entirely comfortable in reply, but the efforts of Ben Monckton (38 not out) and Lucas Eades (36) provided enough ammunition to get them home.
Joshi (3/32) completed a fine all-round performance while Bakhtayar Zalmay (2/53) also had a couple of reasons to cheer.
And we round out this week’s report at Lakeside Oval where a stunning bowling display from Zac Claxton (4/8), Tyler Astle (3/21) and Luke Myers (2/28) has guided Upper Beaconsfield (7/93) to victory over Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (88).
Mark McDonald (28) and Addison Tucker (18) were the only Yabbies to reach double figures as the Maroon’s bowlers went to work.
The Maroons almost gave it away, with Tucker (3/24) and Wayne Webb (3/46) reducing things to 6/44 at one stage before skipper Peter Astle (27) piloted his team home.
