Tigers’ tail sinks Vikings

Beaconsfield took the District Division premiership over Lyndhurst Vikings. Tigers' players (in no particular order) Chris Kelf, Ryan O'Connor, Brendan Johnson, Brad Miles, Troy McDermott, Glenn Marinic (captain), Jarrod Williams, Jason Dodd, Matthew Brown, Matt Meehan, Glen Scales and Angus Bunnell (12th man). 117338 Picture: JARROD POTTER

By JARROD POTTER

WGCA District Division review – grand final

BEACONSFIELD (9/243) maintained its top billing in District Division, sinking the Lyndhurst Vikings (143) to regain its place in the WGCA’s top tier.
Muhammad Asim (1/26) made sure the early going for Beaconsfield would not be easy as Chris Kelf’s (0) grand final innings came to a close quickly.
Unearthing Brendan Johnson (15) from the crease and Brad Miles (5) left the Tigers treading water at 3/55 before the fight-back started.
Ryan O’Connor (78), one of the four Tigers to play in the successful 2003/04 B-Grade campaign, knuckled down and saw off the worst of the Viking offensive.
A resolute captain’s stand by Glenn Marinic (45) gave Beaconsfield something to fight with as the pair knocked in 54 for the fifth wicket. Akin to a real life Tiger, Beaconsfield had quite the long tail and used it to great effect as Jason Dodd (36) kept the innings alive as he batted down the tail with Matthew Brown (17) and Matt Meehan (13 not out). The last few overs proved fruitful for Beaconsfield as the tail whacked its way to 9/243 from 80 overs.
Ammar Bajwa (5/66) feasted on the lower order after taking the crucial top-order scalp of O’Connor.
The task at hand for Lyndhurst on Sunday was gargantuan to say the least – chasing the best part of 250 runs against the league’s powerhouse and the chase started poorly as Lesley Howell (0) failed to faze the scorers after edging O’Connor to Brown.
It left the heavy lifting to opener Bajwa (25) – who batted and batted and for something different, batted a bit more. He couldn’t make it to tea though as Dodd (6/39) struck to claim the first of his sextuplet of scalps. Jason Hameeteman (15) couldn’t replicate his form from last week to leave the batting initiative to David Spencer (57).
Spencer weathered everything Beaconsfield threw at him for the best part of 35 overs and raised the bat on his fifth score above 50 for the season late in proceedings as Lyndhurst wickets started to spiral. Matt Meehan (2/45) would finish off Spencer – dispersing the Vikings’ stumps to all corners of Perc Allison Reserve, leaving the last scalp to man of the match Dodd – a simple caught and bowled off Shannon Henry to cap off the season.
Keen to get off the ground and into the post-season celebrations, Beaconsfield captain Glenn Marinic said the efforts of his entire group – from one to 11 – showed all season the Tigers were the top side.
“We’re always pretty solid – we’ve got a lot of depth in the side – so I was reasonably confident if we worked hard we’d get the result,” Marinic said.
“We had some plans before the game started and we followed the plans and it all worked out well, so it’s a terrific effort from the boys in general and Doddy… a great day.”
“Just very happy and we’re going to celebrate.”
Beaconsfield will now resume its spot in WGCA Premier Division after a one-year sojourn in District Division while Pakenham Upper-Toomuc will join District Division in 2014/15.