By Julian Bayard
CARDINIA has all but wrapped up top position in B Grade after a strong victory against Merinda Park.
The Bulls scored 5/175 chasing the Cobras’ total of 127, with Ricky Campbell (52 runs) and Ryan De Reus (44 runs) the best of the batsmen.
Emerald won a tight contest in its match against Clyde, with the Bombers dismissed for 123 chasing the Cougars’ total of 113.
After Rod Smith scored a fine 53 runs at the top of the order, the visitors looked comfortable at 2/87, however, they proceeded to lose 5/10 before 17 runs from number eight batsman Ali Semaiha saw the Bombers to victory.
Clayton Blair (5/24 from 12 overs) and under-17 Nicholas Sadler (4/26 from 16.1 overs) were the best of the Clyde bowlers.
Beaconsfield also won a classic contest in its match against PUT, with a 19-run last wicket partnership between Ben Martin and Aaron McDermott guiding the Tigers to a memorable victory.
Chasing the Yabbies’ total of 198, wicket-keeper Andrew Mercier scored an excellent 47 runs for the Tigers to put them in a winning position, before the home side lost several quick wickets to be 9/192, with seven runs still required for victory.
Ben Clough was the best of the PUT bowlers with 3/24 from eight overs. Richard Light scored an excellent 74 runs for Kooweerup as the Demons easily accounted for Upper Beaconsfield’s total of 165, scoring 9/249 from 61.4 overs.
Light was well supported by opening batsman Peter Blew who scored 64 runs, while under-17 pair Jayden Joyce and Kyle Gibbs each picked up two wickets for the Maroons.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:C GRADE
PUT batsman Chris Sharpe blasted a remarkable 195 runs as the Yabbies scored 5/289 from just 44 overs to easily defeat Beaconsfield at Tynong Recreation Reserve.
Beaconsfield then batted for a second time with Craig Jennings backing up his 60 runs from last weekend with an excellent 89 runs in the second innings.
Officer’s total of 9/282 proved to be too strong for Devon Meadows, with the Panthers being dismissed for just 161 in reply. Both Adam Reid and Andrew Tucker were the pick of the Officer bowlers, each taking three wickets. Pakenham was unable to reel in Emerald’s total of 193, with the Lions being dismissed for 144.
Paul White and Jason Hildebrand were the best of the Bombers’ bowlers with three wickets each, while Broderick Selby top scored for Pakenham with 35 runs. Catani won a tight struggle in its match against Tooradin, with Seagull Peter O’Hare claiming 6/45 from 14 overs to almost single-handedly win his side the match.
The Blues were 6/63 at one stage chasing 119 before David Spierings scored a fine 40 runs, while respective number 10 and 11 batsmen Ben Koopman and Bill Purvis combined for a vital 25-run last-wicket stand after the Blues had slumped to 9/112.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:D GRADE
Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll batsman Geoff Ball scored a blistering 117 runs in the Marygoons’ victory over Kilcunda/Bass, with the visitors scoring 5/262 from 70 overs to easily overcome the Sharks’ total of 161.
Ball was well supported by opening batsman Michael Jennings (57 runs), with the pair sharing in a 177-run partnership for the second wicket.
Pakenham won a nail-biting finish to its match against Lyndhurst, with the Lions surviving a late-order collapse to win by just one wicket.
After looking comfortable at 6/205 chasing 211 for victory, the Lions lost 3/2 to slump to 9/207, before James Mott and Edward Duiker guided the Lions to victory.
Earlier, captain Matt McCormick batted well for his 62 runs, while James Gilbert claimed five wickets for the Vikings.
Cardinia fell short of Kooweerup’s total of 147, being dismissed for 128 from 47 overs.
Demons’ bowler Daniel Hawken was the pick of the bowlers with 3/5 from four overs, while Bulls’ opening batsman Jeffrey Bailey top scored with 47 runs.
Merinda Park’s Dhamira Fernando bowled a great spell of 8.3 overs to take 5/19 as Nyora was dismissed for just 91 chasing the Cobras’ total of 151. No statistics are available from Nyora at the time of writing this report.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:E GRADE
PUT proved to be too strong for Pakenham, with the Yabbies scoring 8/240 on the back of a half-century from Chris Gunton and 49 runs from Blake McGrath.
Officer was unable to reel in Tooradin’s total of 271, with the Bullants being dismissed for just 165, with Ed Thomas (61 runs) and under-13 batsman Jesse Longmuir (54 runs) the best of the batsmen.
Seagulls’ bowler Ross Simpson was the stand-out player on the day with 4/24 from 10.3 overs.
Clyde was dismissed for just 93 in its match against Emerald, falling well short of the Bombers’ total of 8/265, with Emerald bowler Travis Lloyed picking up a fine 3/33 from 12 overs.
Merinda Park’s total of 138 wasn’t enough to defend against Cranbourne Meadows, with the Rebels scoring 7/225 on the back of an excellent innings of 80 runs from Cameron Phillips.
Josjua Colomer continued his excellent form with the ball, backing up his round 10 effort of seven wickets with 5/53 from 15 overs this week.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:F GRADE
Beaconsfield narrowly missed out on outright victory in its match against PUT, with the Yabbies being dismissed for 126 and slumping to 6/116 from 40 overs at the end of play.
Greg Butler was the pick of the bowlers with match figures of 3/24 from 14 overs.
Gembrook won its match outright against Lang Lang after dismissing the Swamp Tigers for 61 in both their first and second innings.
In between, the Brookers reached 8/149 (declared) with Ruth Bardwell top-scoring for her side with 25 runs.
Unfortunately, no bowling statistics were available from Gembrook’s second innings with the ball.
Upper Beaconsfield won its match against Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll after a half-century from Pete Astle and 48 runs from veteran Richard Edwards guided the Maroons to victory. Marygoons’ bowler Ashley Bailey was the pick of the bowlers with 3/32 from 15 overs.
Seventy-five runs from under-17 batsman Arthur Churchill helped Devon Meadows to a narrow victory in its match against Lyndhurst.
The Panthers were in trouble at 9/166, however, a fighting last-wicket partnership between Chris Floyd and Joshua Walker saw the home side to a memorable victory.
Vikings’ bowler Robert Lyons was almost the match-winner for his side with 5/35 from 18 overs.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:G GRADE
Beaconsfield easily won its match against PUT, with the Yabbies being dismissed for just 80 before the Tigers’ passed the required total for victory without the loss of any wickets, as Ben White scored a fine half-century.
Cardinia’s total of 138 wasn’t enough to hold off Devon Meadows, with the Panthers scoring 4/147 in reply after Bret Vance earlier claimed five wickets for the Panthers.
Cranbourne Meadows batsman Hussan Mehmood scored a fine half-century in the Rebels’ victory over Officer, while there is no official result available from the Emerald v Merinda Park clash at the time of writing this report.
Kilcunda/Bass proved to be too strong for Nyora, with the Maroons being dismissed for 100 chasing the Sharks’ total of 135, while three half-centuries from Matt Swinkels, Paul Firth and David Edmunds were the highlight of Lyndhurst’s victory over Kooweerup.
Brendan Derozario and Gavin McGuinness both scored half-centuries as Clyde defeated Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll, while Anthony Shepherdson scored 42 and claimed 3/12 as SFX proved too strong for Upper Beaconsfield.
