Cardinia’s demolition job of Pakenham reached outright status on day two of round 13 of the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) Premier Division.
The wounded Lions had already lost on first innings and resumed at 1/28 with their season slipping away.
And once wickets began to fall the second time around, Pakenham couldn’t stop the tidal wave that was the Bulls eyeing extra points and the Lions completely fell apart; an epitome of their second half of the season.
Pakenham was bowled out for just 103, with a fighting 42 from promising youngster Mitch Varty being the lone shining light that is hopefully a glance into the future for the Lions.
Lachie Volpe claimed another two wickets which brought his game tally to six, while Matt Welsh finished with five for the match after two in his second spell.
Cardinia made light work of the required total, quickly recording 3/60 to roll into the bonus points.
Kooweerup rebounded and created some much-needed momentum as the Demons comfortably handled business against Devon Meadows.
Picking up from 1/37 was Luke McMaster and Brannon Harrison, but not for long as McMaster (12) was quickly undone by Ben Marsh.
Harrison and Chris Bright responded with a match-winning partnership, spearheaded by Harrison bringing up his first 50 of the season.
Bright (44) also came close to a half century of his own but then became Marsh’s third victim.
At that point, the Demons were cruising at 3/104.
Harrison (58) came close to guiding Kooweerup the whole way home, but fell with just 10 more runs needed when he was stumped by brilliant glovework from Chris Cleef, marking Marsh’s fourth straight wicket.
The Demons had no issues from there, posting 8/218 as Shiran Rathnayake (28) and Cooper Davey (39) provided scoring in the middle and lower order.
Marsh’s four wickets led the Panthers.
Officer’s gamble didn’t come back to bite it as the Bullants pulled off a 64-run triumph over Upper Beaconsfield.
At Rob Porter Reserve, Officer bowled extremely tidily to keep scoring at a minimum and the Maroons struggled mightily, finding the fence just four times for their entire innings.
Captain Will Haines (36) and opener Josh Westra (24) were the only two standouts for the visitors as Lachie James (three wickets) got the hosts home.
Upper Beaconsfield was knocked over for 127 from 64.3 overs, with a run rate of under two an over.
Belief is building on a positive conclusion to the summer for the Bullants, who have won four out of their last five games after starting the season 0-7.
