Cooper’s six wickets helps snare outright

As always, there was plenty of feeling in the clash between famous rivals Kooweerup and Cardinia on the weekend. 174436 Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

By Russell Bennett

WGCA PREMIER DIVISION
REVIEW – ROUND 4 (DAY 2)
Looking back over the WGCA’s Premier era to this point, it almost seems inconceivable that Kooweerup would be in the position to snare an outright win over Cardinia with the two perennial league heavyweights often fighting it out for the premiership.
But the Bulls seem a long way off that now after surrendering maximum points to the Demons at E. Gunton Oval on Saturday and sliding to sixth on the ladder with just one win from its first four games.
It’s not that Cardinia doesn’t have the talent within its ranks, but the Bulls must rely on each and every one of their first XI players to get their season back on course.
After resuming their second innings at 0/38 after 20 overs at the start of day two on Saturday, the Bulls survived just another 23.5 overs before being dismissed for 94. Openers, and not out batsmen overnight, Ben Parrott (28) and Brad Reiner (22) were the only Cardinia batsmen to reach 20 – in their 52-run stand – as former Bulls skipper and now Demons leader Mark Cooper snared a remarkable 6/29 from his 15 overs, while Jess Mathers (4/34) claimed each of the other wickets to fall.
The Demons shook their batting order up in their second dig, with Cooper, Mathers and Chris O’Hara not required. They lost six wickets before snaring full points, but the result was never in doubt. Matt Welsh took 3/16 from his nine overs while Dwayne Doig snared 2/33.
Separate incidents involving Travis Wheller and Te Ahu Davis weren’t taken any further by the officiating umpires in the wake of the match.
Emerald, meanwhile, was spurred on by a fighting lower-order century from favourite son Clinton Marsh (109) to reach 252 in its chase against Upper Beaconsfield’s 326-run day one total.
The Bombers had their backs to the wall from the outset – losing 2/0 – but a host of the visiting batsmen ultimately got starts before Marsh converted his to triple figures.
Though current Emerald skipper Mitch Daley hasn’t been at the club all that long, it’s obvious to him just what Marsh means to the playing group.
“Marshy is one of the most competitive and passionate blokes I’ve ever played with,” he said.
“I think that’s why the boys love playing with him.”
Daley said Marsh’s knock included “some of the cleanest hitting you’ll see” and deserved to be a match-winning innings.
Though the Bombers have endured their struggles to start the season – and currently sit 0-4 on the bottom of the ladder – the mood amongst the group is still bullish.
“We, as a group, know it’s not far away (a change in fortunes),” Daley said.
“We’ve played good (cricket) in patches this year – our focus now is to put it together with both bat and ball instead of just one or the other.”
At Toomuc Reserve in Pakenham, Tooradin capitalised on its strong opening day’s play by dismissing the Lions for 265 in a touch over 70 overs on day two of their clash.
Pleasingly for the Gulls, they managed to snare a host of wickets at crucial times throughout the Pakenham innings just as the Lions’ batsmen seemed to take control.
Nic Close (18) and Chris Smith (67) put on 41 for the opening wicket for the Lions and both showed plenty of positive intent from the outset.
Smith, in particular, looked in superb touch before he was ultimately caught for 67 by Aaron Avery off his fellow co-captain Cal O’Hare.
Rob Elston (23), Dom Paynter (39), and Sean Gramc (34) all had the potential to change the course of the game, but each fell just as they seemed set – Elston holing out to 12th man Ricky Holland in the deep off a high full toss from Kade Burns.
Though it was the Lions’ second loss of the season, and they currently sit in unfamiliar territory outside the top four, there was plenty to be optimistic about for Paynter and his men – particularly with the bat.
“It was a really good feeling to beat Pakenham on their home deck,” Avery said in the wake of the contest.
“We’ve had a really tough time there the last few years so to get one back on them was good.
“We’re both very evenly-matched teams so it’s always a tight game between us. They bat deep and you can’t relax for a second or the game slips away from you.
“Smitty (Smith) is a class act. Right from ball one you could see he was on – he only gave us one chance and we were lucky enough to take it otherwise he was in for a big one.
“Dom is a champion and he always makes runs when his team needs him to and again he gave us one chance so it could have been a different story.
“Sean Gramc and McDermott (37 not out) probably had us to be honest. They needed five runs an over with the field spread (and) they were cruising.
“Sean Gramc playing the shot he did probably won us the game, really.”
Avery said the feeling at the moment around the currently undefeated Gulls group was an upbeat one – confident, yet mindful.
“It’s probably more the fact we haven’t bowled very well in all our games so there is a lot of improvement with the ball (to come),” he said.
“To think we’re 4-0 after the draw we had early with a heap of improvement in us gives us a lot of confidence and keeps us working hard.
“There’s still a long way to go though, but we’re on the right path.”
In the other game of the round on Saturday, Clyde capitalised on its strong start with the ball to defeat Merinda Park on the first innings. In response to the Cobras’ 109 all out, the Cougars reached 162 just inside 64 overs with Shane Webster starring with his second half-century of the season to date.
Sent in for the final 19 overs of the game, the Cobras finished on 2/76 in their second innings with opener Daniel McCalman continuing his impressive start to the season with the willow – with his 30 not out taking his season tally to a Premier-leading 213 runs at an average of 71.

PREMIER FIXTURE
Round 5 – Saturday 4 and 11 November
Kooweerup v Merinda Park – Kooweerup Rec Reserve (Sat 4, Sun 5 Nov)
Clyde v Pakenham – Lineham Oval, Clyde
Tooradin v Upper Beaconsfield – Tooradin Rec Reserve
Emerald v Cardinia – Chandler Reserve, Avonsleigh