WGCA Premier Division – round 11, day 1

By Julian Bayard
THREE glorious centuries from three of the West Gippsland Cricket Association’s (WGCA) finest cricketers proved the highlight of round 11 matches in the Premier Division.
Cardinia captain Mark Cooper’s unbeaten 145-run knock was particularly special, being the left-hander’s third consecutive ton after scoring 112 and 106 not out in the two previous rounds.
Officer’s Mick Torney scored his second century of the season with a brilliant 123 against Pakenham Upper-Toomuc (PUT), while Kooweerup opening batsman Michael Giles also scored his second ton of the season, 106 against Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll.
The three centuries from Torney, Cooper and Giles prove why the three left-handers are the three leading run scorers in the WGCA, with totals of 558, 514 and 390 runs so far this season.
But it was at Catani where the WGCA’s Country Week captain put on an absolute show.
Cooper hit 13 boundaries in his innings of 145, carrying his bat throughout the Bulls’ 80 overs for the second consecutive innings, helping his side to 3/314 against the Blues.
Cooper combined with John Nooy for an opening partnership of 147 before Nooy departed for a classy 83, while Ben Darose also batted well to score 40 not out.
For the Blues, Luke McFarlane toiled hard throughout the afternoon, taking 1/68 from 20 overs.
At Pakenham Upper Recreation Reserve, the visiting Officer side was determined to post a defendable total to allow itself to retain a one-match gap over the Yabbies on the Premier Division ladder.
With Torney’s innings the backbone of the total, the Bullants posted 266 runs before being dismissed in the 68th over.
Chris Savage provided much of the support for Torney with a well-made 36. Bowling statistics were not available from the Yabbies at the time of writing.
PUT then lost a late wicket to be 1/14 overnight, with Savage providing the goods for his side, taking 1/7 from two overs.
The runs continued to flow at Kooweerup Recreation Reserve as the Demons smashed the Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll attack to all parts of the ground on their way to 3/414 from 80 overs.
Opening batsman Michael Giles was the stand-out performer for the Demons, receiving significant support from his fellow top-of-the-order batsmen.
Opening partner Chris O’Hara scored his second consecutive innings in the 70s to make a fine 73 runs, combining with Giles for a 183-run opening partnership.
Captain Shane Dole continued his recent good form with 69 runs, while Travis Canavan hit a fine 61 not out.
Wicketkeeper Chris Bright joined Canavan at the end of the Kooweerup innings and blasted nine boundaries and three sixes in his outstanding innings of 86 not out to see the Demons past 400.
For the Marygoons, under-17 bowler Sam Vanderzalm bowled well to take 2/40 from seven overs.
Tooradin bounced back to form in its must-win match against Beaconsfield, scoring 7/276 from 80 overs at Perc Allison Oval.
Opening batsman Callum O’Hare was again in good form for his side with an excellent 70 runs, including three boundaries and two sixes, while captain Brenton Adams scored his first half-century of the season with 53 runs.
Beaconsfield under-17 bowler Jordan Andrews was the only Tiger bowler to taste any real success, with his eight overs delivering 3/39.