Merinda Park is currently the team to beat in the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) A Grade competition as the Cobras held off fellow contender Pakenham Upper/Toomuc in round three.
The Yabbies batted first at Lochaven Reserve but things didn’t begin according to plan when Prabath Kobbekaduwa was bowled for a duck in the first over by Matt Dennerley.
Mitch Mibus (13) hung around but was dismissed by Tyson Bertrand before Chris Ryan became the backbone of the visitors’ innings.
Ryan played some class shots on his way to reaching a well-earned 50, supported well by Allan Collins (33).
Pramod Rathnayake (1), Brian Kulasena (17) and Raja Sohail (5) then came and went as the hosts tore through the middle order.
Skipper John Langley (18) was the last bat to provide a double-digit score and Pakenham Upper/Toomuc was rolled for 154.
Bevin Corneille took three poles while Leigh Paterson and Sasindu Perera both bagged two wickets.
Ben McLeod struck early in the second innings, dismissing Corneille for 10.
But opener Jordan King was phenomenal at the crease, batting patiently and efficiently to keep the scoreboard ticking over for Merinda Park.
Cameos from Cambell Bryan (20) and Ashley Slater (16) got the Cobras right on track and once King posted his half-ton, victory was in sight.
The hosts carefully navigated the overs to bring up 5/156 and a five-wicket triumph.
Tooradin also moved to 3-0 with a smashing of Clyde at Rutter Park.
The Seagulls chose to bat first and the decision paid dividends with Bailey Lownds scoring 61 before Michael Ralph dominated with 101 not out off 109 deliveries.
Ralph smashed 11 fours in his knock and was supported well with 60 off 43 balls from Liam Simpson.
The hosts posted 4/277 after the 40 and turned and did damage with the ball.
The Cougars managed to see out the overs but fell well short of the total, finishing at 9/171.
Luke Adams bagged three wickets while Luke Townsend and Tom Rodgers nabbed two each.
Nar Nar Goon’s batting was a masterclass against Kooweerup with four Marygoons bats posting scores over 30.
Dimantha Fernando (50), Liam Hill (55) and James Markland (31) were all outstanding in pushing Nar Nar Goon to 5/243.
Christopher O’Hara’s 63 in retaliation for the Demons wasn’t enough as they fell short at 8/167.
Russell Perry posted 3/31 off six overs in victory for the Marygoons.
Carlisle Park got off the mark with a comfortable win over Pakenham at home.
Steve Insall (34) and Sendhil Naidu (31) top scored for the Lions in the first innings but ultimately they were rolled for 139.
Adam Hollingworth recorded figures of 3/29 off his seven overs while Tanvir Singh and Jaan Balasuriya both snagged two poles.
Rising star Ethan Davies posted his first half-century of the campaign with a fine innings of 53 before Singh blasted his way to 63 not out from just 41 deliveries.
The Vikings got over the line with a score of 4/143 after 27.1 overs.
Cardinia picked up a confidence boost with a versatile performance against Emerald.
The Bombers took to the crease first but struggled with Michael Nell (22) the only bat providing a big score in the top order.
Bodie Hughes (29) made a good contribution before he was caught off the bowling of Jye Shaw-Remy.
Trent Rolfs (35) played a handy knock in the lower order with James Sheerin (15), Oscar Dempsey (13 not out) and Lawson Cocks (11) adding some much-needed scores to the tail before Emerald was all out for 168.
Shaw-Remy and Ryan Little took three scalps each.
In the chase, the Bulls lost Bradley Remy (9) early but Brandon Mackie (46) was excellent as an opener.
Bradley Reiner (2) was trapped in front by Jack Raukola but Cardinia was unfazed as Justin Berry raised the bat and brought the hosts within the grasp of a triumph.
Trent Wheller (35 not out) and Brayden Browne (21 not out) got the Bulls past the target at 4/172.
Raukola claimed three of the four Cardinia wickets in a notable effort despite defeat.
In round four, Emerald hosts Merinda Park, Pakenham visits Clyde, Tooradin travels to face Kooweerup, Pakenham Upper/Toomuc welcomes Nar Nar Goon to Harry Blackman and Carlisle Park stays at home to play Cardinia.
