PREMIER
WEST Gippsland Premier Division Cricket was dominated by bowlers on Saturday who had great pleasure in turning the batsmen’s corridor of uncertainty into the round eight, highway to hell.
Only two batsmen – Beaconsfield skipper Glenn Marinic and Pakenham opener Jack Anning – made half centuries after a heavy atmosphere made conditions conducive for good bowling.
Seventh-placed Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (8/118) turned Cardinia’s (83) first innings into a mockery after Chris Smith (4/32 off 15.5) and Jason Eastwood (4/38 off 16) combined with devastating effect. Only Neil Barfuss (31) could look his Bulls’ team-mates in the eye after Smith and Eastwood, supported by Tyson Carey (2/2 off 3), set up a day-one, first-innings victory.
The Yabbies didn’t exactly exude confidence in reply, with Smith (28) and Nick Black (16) holding a shaky top-order together before Nick Kyval (18) and Paul Dorbolo (15) saw the Yabbies home.
Cardinia under 17s player Cameron Brown (4/27 off 10) stood out with his figures while Danny Diwell (2/3 off 5) threatened to make things interesting.
Tooradin’s (2/48) highly-rated bowling attack struck top gear as the Seagulls put the wind up Kooweerup (150) at Tooradin. Lukas Hoogenboom (4/55 off 16), Callum O’Hare (2/38 off 22), Aaron Avery (2/41 off 10) and Steve Hamill (1/15 off 4.1) proved too hot for the Demons to handle as they slumped to 8/93.
Late order resistance from John Bright (40) and Adam McMaster (16) gave the visitor’s innings some semblance of respectability before Brenton Adams (26) led the home side to 2/48 at stumps.
A spectacular all-round effort from Daniel Brennan (5/17 and 24 not out) has Upper Beaconsfield (2/62) in a commanding position in its local-derby with Beaconsfield (151) at Perc Allison Oval.
Brennan cashed in on the tidy work of Chris Pentland (1/18 off 10) and John Simpson (2/19 off 11) with only a 75-run stand between Glenn Marinic (75 not out) and Jordy Andrews (33) registering as a highlight for the Tigers.
In reply, the Maroons are well placed for victory with openers Julian Bayard (27) and Brennan leading the way.
A herculean spell of bowling from Shannon Mathers (4/91 off 39.3) was the key factor in Merinda Park restricting the normally free-flowing Pakenham (185) at Toomuc Reserve.
Only Jack Anning (74), number four Jason Williams (46) and young number 10 Harley Hulme (22) reached double-figures as the home side struggled to break the shackles.
Mathers tied up one end all day while brother Jess (3/56 off 21) and Adam Newstead (2/26 off 19) did likewise from the other end. From a position of power at 2/122, the Lions crumbled, losing 7/38 as the Mathers boys ran riot.
DISTRICT
Peter Zauner’s amazing career knows no bounds after the evergreen Devon Meadows (0/20) spearhead took 8/75 against St Francis Xavier Old Collegians (197) on Saturday.
Zauner was magnificent and enduring, bowling unchanged for 31 overs as his team-mates struggled to make an impact from the other end. The X-Men did well to scramble to their final score and will look to strike early when the Panthers resume at 0/20.
Emerald (9/303cc) continues to plunder attacks, this time taking Lyndhurst Vikings to the cleaners at Lyndhurst. Tom Baldock (90) and the Alenson boys, Mark (55) and Andrew (47) were in top form against Heath Straughair (2/38), Garry Godfrey (2/46) and Steve Henry (2/64).
Catani (6/67), cock-a-hoop after dismissing Clyde (108) cheaply, caught a dose of the Cougars bad-batting disease late in the afternoon. Josh Miller (4/24), Josh Bethune (3/27) and George Saleh (3/50) had the Blues right on top, before Kyle Brooke (3/23) and Nicholas Sadler (2/6) fought back hard. Veteran Brad McDonald (11 n.o) holds the key to the Blues chances.
Sam Pullen (51) and Ken McLeod (32) steered Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (189) out of trouble against Officer. The Goon looked cooked at 5/74 as Brett Reid (3/44), Andrew Tucker (2/29) and Toyosi Solanke (2/39) worked hard to gain the upper hand. Daniel Glen (25) was the glue at the top of the order.
SUB-DISTRICT
UPPER Beaconsfield’s (33 and 1/53) first innings was destroyed by Lang Lang’s (8/108dec) Bodie Brown (7/17) and Sam Cole (2/9) in just 18.2 overs of carnage. Brown was simply unstoppable against a down-on-depth Maroons line-up.
Brian Christensen (28) then top-scored for the Swamp Tigers as Lachlan Harrison (4/20) and Xavier Gargan (3/45) finally showed some fight from the Maroons. Upper Beaconsfield knocked off most of Lang Lang’s first innings at 1/53 in its second dig.
Cranbourne Meadows (74) fell in a heap against Cardinia (5/90cc) as Chris Remy (4/22) and Matt Celima (3/20) ran rampant. The Bulls already have first innings points locked away, courtesy of Alex Nooy (35), but with Pat Nolen (19 not out) and Celima (12 not out) at the crease will look for maximum points this Saturday. Solid batting from Peter Haxell (42), Brenton Huyskens (30) and Dylan Cameron (24) gave the Marygoons (130) something reasonable to defend against Pakenham (0/34). Aaron Beveridge (4/35) Scott Webster (2/14) and Dale McCraw (2/33) starred with the ball for the Lions while Dene North (13 not out) and Greg Interlandi (11 not out) then backed up their bowlers by seeing off the new ball late in the day.
Fifteen wickets fell at Nyora’s home ground, with the Maroons’ 101 now looking mighty defendable after Tooradin collapsed to 5/22 at stumps. Gavin Hackett (25) and Adam Tagliaferro (19) resisted the early fall of wickets before Nyora fell from 5/76 as Craig Dicks (3/16) and Rick Holland (2/10) bowled brilliantly. Nyora’s Paul Hendry (4/16) then went on a rampage in his six overs, leaving Dicks (4 not out) and Jack Barker (2 not out) as the only survivors.
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