By David Nagel
B GRADE
When a team has a player take a hat-trick – following on from a 112-run opening stand – it is pretty much guaranteed victory and that was the case for Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (8/194) who travelled to Rythdale to take on Cardinia (110).
Due to the varying strength of clubs in the WGCA, it was the Goon’s 1st -XI that took on the Bulls’ thirds in a contest that – on paper – probably should have been one-way traffic.
And that’s the way it played out with Nathan Phillips (73) and Jaswinder Gill (58) crunching a century opening partnership to set up a match-winning score.
The Bulls fought admirably, with skipper Matt Scott (3/55) and Lachie Boswell (2/15 off 8) toiling hard to reduce the impact of the opening stand.
Brad Remy (26) and Branden Thompson (23) then had the Bulls going along nicely at 2/67, before the Bulls lost 7/14 to collapse to 9/81.
The highlight for the Marygoons was the bowling performance of Nick Mueller (4/10) – who took the club’s second hat-trick in a week after the claiming the wickets of Vishal Sharma (0), Zach Kruiskamp (0) and Lachie Boswell (5) – to enter one of the most exclusive clubs in the game.
A mesmerising spell from Ben Knowles (6/9 off 6) has guided Clyde (3/81) to a thumping victory over Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (79).
Knowles initially let his teammates have some fun, but then took six of the last seven wickets to fall – and was involved in the run out of the other!
Nathan Perkins (26) and Aman Arora (22 not out) were the only Yabbies to fire as Knowles produced his own impression of Scott Boland (6/7) on day three at the ‘G’.
Shem Smith (26 not out) and Steve Russell (24) then played like they had a plane to catch…the Cougars home in just the 12th over.
Tooradin (4/162) has leap-frogged Emerald (5/158) into fourth place on the ladder after a nifty run-chase at Chandler Reserve.
The Bombers had three major contributors with Caleb Lobbe (28) building an early platform for Nick Karman (45 not out) and Jake Santini (44 not out) to build on….which they did in fine style with an unbroken 67-run stand.
The Seagulls then took to the crease and went about their work in impression fashion.
Bob Simpson (33), Owen Johnstone (11), Shane Somers (10) and Adam Splatt (16) all played roles in the win, but it was the effort of skipper Peter Stone (58 not out) that saw the Gulls reverse the result of seven days earlier.
And Devon Meadows (2/107) has continued its dominance over Carlisle Park (8/103), with a frugal bowling performance proving too much for the Vikings at Carlisle Park.
The Panthers had three bowlers claim two scalps each with Mick Floyd (2/11), Callum Cavanagh (2/12) and Trent D’Alton (2/12) all amongst the early action.
Vikings’ skipper Campbell Furze (34) dug deep for his side…who had no answers after the tea break.
Cavanagh (35 not out), Billy Loudon (29) and Captain Floyd had 23 overs in the tank when stumps were pulled from the ground.
C GRADE
It’s difficult to celebrate too hard in the current Covid environment, but Kooweerup (5/154) was in party mode on Saturday night after the Demons scored their first win of the season over Clyde (149).
Clyde won the toss and batted and made a decent fist of things with Sukhmanjit Singh (45), Jai Seers (39) and Scott Burnett (20) all batting well.
Nick Cameron (3/11) and Cooper Davey (3/24) struck some telling blows for the Demons, who lost Davey (4) early in reply. But Brent Wilson (26) and Lachie Wasley (26) refused to lie down, building a solid partnership, before Darcy O’Hehir (66) played an absolute blinder to steer the Demons home.
O’Hehir faced just 46 deliveries, with six fours and four sixes a perfect indicator of his aggressive mindset. Locki Terry (2/17) and Seers (2/22) were the most successful bowlers for the Cougars.
Pakenham (2/124) has also pulled off a surprise victory with the seventh-placed Lions downing second-placed Upper Beaconsfield (122) at Toomuc Reserve.
Bowling first, the Lions’ trundlers just wouldn’t allow the Maroons to get away with Hiren Patel (3/19), Gunjan Patel (2/25) and Ethan Faull (2/27) proving a lethal combination.
Josh Westra (20) and Bimal Nair (20) battled hard for the Maroons, who got belted after tea.
The Lions three and four, Paul Kezik (75 not out) and Faull (32 not out), were in no mood for niceties, hitting the winning runs in the 26th over. Kezik cracked a dozen boundaries in the pair’s unbeaten 82-run stand.
Gembrook (8/168) made it a perfect day for the bottom three teams in the comp after the Brookers proved too strong for Merinda Park (5/143).
Donnelly Reserve held no fears for the Brookers with keeper Timmy Gray (49) and skipper Jeremy Everett (39) making major contributions to a winning score.
Merinda Park, who had Jacob Perger (3/42) and Russ Jenkin (2/7) bowl well in the first part of the day, then challenged the Brookers in reply.
Jenkin (30), Michael Coull (28 not out), Chris Smith (23) and Dylan Hand (20) all threatened to take the game away from the visitors…but the efforts of Geordie Scott (2/20) would prove the difference in the end.
And top-team Officer (5/164) continues to roll along nicely after the Bullants crushed Lang Lang (71) at Officer.
Dave Gibbs (55 not out), Daryl Hargreaves (31) and Taj Beddows (22) set the scene early against a 10-strong Swamp Tigers bowling outfit.
Brent Pullen (4/13) and James Quinn (4/15) – who claimed his 500th wicket for the club – then rolled the Swampies in clinical fashion.
D GRADE
Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (9/140) remains undefeated after the Goon overcame a tough challenge from third-placed Cardinia (8/130) on Saturday.
The early contest was hot with Daniel Rodger (34) the best of the Marygoon batters as Bulls’ opener Ryan Webster (4/26) tried to lift his side to victory.
The Bulls’ skipper was well supported by Ryle Watts (2/13) who chimed in with two late wickets.
Now chasing, the Bulls looked set for victory after Tyson Browne (60) and Janitha Hettiarachchi (21) had the score looking good at 2/90…before Aaren Corrin (5/25) had his say!
Corrin, who took a hat-trick on debut for the Marygoons last week, triggered a mammoth collapse that saw the Bulls fall 10 runs short of victory.
A hard-working innings of 79 not out from Devon Meadows (8/173) opener Mark Hosking has led the Panthers to victory over a competitive Carlisle Park (8/163).
Hosking carved eight boundaries in his innings, which was ably supported by Shane Fisher (29) with the pair putting on 59 for the second wicket.
In reply the Vikings had six players make double figures but couldn’t quite get the job done.
The best of those were Garry Godfrey (37 not out), Mick Perry (35) and Martin Davies (21).
The bowling of Fisher (2/19), Dylan McMahen (2/28) and skipper Luke Martin (2/28) saw the Panthers bank the 12 points.
Just 45 overs were needed for second-placed Tooradin (2/65) to crush bottom-team Cranbourne Meadows (64) on Saturday.
Jeremy Bodley (3/4) and Brock Goldberg (3/25) started the rout for the Gulls, with Cody Mannix (23 not out) and Joel McCorkell (20) finishing off the job.
On a tough day for the Rebels Jacob Arnel (20), Shash Natarajan (18) and veteran Adrian Buller (2/16) could at least hold their heads high.
And Emerald (3/140) has made a somewhat difficult task look easy after a comfortable run-chase against Officer (7/137).
Dale Street (3/30) and Harrison Closter (2/19) got the Bombers off on the right foot, despite some determined batting from Chris Byrne (27) and Matt Lucas (26).
The Bombers were then clinical in reply with Glenn Tucker (50 not out), Steve Kapahnke (42) and Harrison Closter (23) ticking off the win with 13 overs to spare.
E GRADE
Pakenham and Emerald continued their domination of E Grade on Saturday – with four other teams battling it out for the two remaining spots in this season’s finals series.
Pakenham (0/99) was absolutely ruthless in its win over Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (91), with Terry Smith (2/0), Dale McCraw (2/4), Bryce Nay (2/5) and David Searle (2/48) tearing through a patient home-side batting line up before tea.
Brandon Interlandi (27), Cam Watts (24) and Russ Perry (20) tried their best for the Marygoons…but 91 was never going to be enough.
Daniel Williams (60 not out) and Lions’ skipper Scott Webster (29 not out) then made a mockery of the run chase…winning with 30 overs to spare.
Emerald (4/139) was also impressive – thrashing Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (118) at Harry Blackman Oval.
The Bombers were kick-started by Colin Steggelman (4/26), who rode on the back of some terrific opening bowling from Warwick Marsh (1/9 off 8) and Nick Govaars (1/20).
Paul Howat (44) and Dale French (28) were the only Yabbies to put up a fight.
The Bombers then powered to victory with Ryan Burdette (40), Kunal Nanda (32 not out) and Govaars (23 not out) making little fuss of the run chase.
Phil Brook (2/15) and Chathura De Silva (2/36) were best of the bowlers for the Yabbies.
And seventh-placed Merinda Park (3/151) is on the same amount of points as the fourth team in the competition after the Cobras chased down Clyde (7/149) at Selandra Reserve.
Clyde had two mainstays with the bat with Shane Jack (67) and skipper Joel Driver (25) in impressive form, while last week’s century maker Kevin Baldsing wasn’t so fortunate on the weekend…being run out for five!
The Cobras were then ruthless with the willow with Marty Donaldson (67), Brett Irvine (35) and skipper Craig Robertson (23) leading their side to a very important win.
Officer had the bye.
F GRADE
Pakenham Red (2/151) is still clinging on to hopes of playing finals this year after the Lions toyed with Upper Beaconsfield (6/148) at Heatherbrae on Saturday.
The Lions initially did their damage with the ball with Thomas (3/27) and Cooper Lambert (2/18) making it a very good day for the family.
Thesara Hirimuthugoda (37 not out), and Ben (23) and Luke Myers (23) were best for the Maroons…who struggled to make an impact with the ball.
The main reason for that was the return to the crease of talented Lion Rob Newell (77 not out), who was returning to the crease after surgery to both knees!
The now bionic-man received great support from Tarrant Millar (25) and Fletcher Davis (19) to lead the Lions to victory in just 23 overs.
Devon Meadows (158) has consolidated third place on the ladder after it dug itself out of a hole against Kooweerup (130).
The Panthers had many fine contributors with Jason Brzezowski (39) and Mark Cosgriff (22) playing fine knocks, but it was the last-wicket heroics of Lincoln Hepburn (37 not out) that would prove crucial to the final outcome.
Hepburn shared a 39-run stand with Paul Fulton (7) to drag the Panthers from 9/119 to 158 all out.
Harry Herbert (5/27 off 7) was the supreme bowler for the Demons…who just couldn’t capitalise by claiming that last wicket!
The Demons had a fine start in reply with Ash Haque (49) and Chy Rehan (42) threatening to take control, but the Panthers had too much to offer with Anthony Brown (4/5), Hepburn (3/7) and Peter Zauner (2/26) bowling their team to victory.
Cardinia defeated Pakenham Upper via forfeit while the game between Pakenham and Lang Lang was declared a draw without a ball being bowled.
