By JARROD POTTER
WGCA DISTRICT DIVISION
REVIEW – ROUND 5 (Day 2)
CLYDE v ST FRANCIS XAVIER
BRADLEY Birkhead (100 not out) established his credentials in District following a maiden WGCA century in Clyde’s (8/300) runaway win over St Francis Xavier (174). Dave Denton (66) picked up where he left off last week – bludgeoning his way to his first half-century of the year. John Simpson (24) helped push the Cougars towards triumph, but was trapped in front by Todd Roscoe (2/86) with 24 still to attain. That was left to the Yorkshireman Birkhead who added those runs and then some to push through his early season lull and show off the talents you’d expect of an import player. He finished off the ton to get Clyde to 300 and earn the emphatic win at Lineham Oval and maintain its top billing in District Division. Clyde will host Devon Meadows in Round 6 while St Francis Xavier is off to Lyndhurst.
DEVON MEADOWS v OFFICER
TOP order hiccups aside, Officer (230) worked its way to a convincing victory over Devon Meadows (149 and 1/102). The Bullants were squashed early by the Panthers’ attack as Michael Floyd (2/57), Lucas Carroll (2/27) and Chris Morrell (1/39) tore through the top order. Resilience finally arrived half way through the Officer innings as Adam Reid (55) and Marcus Sattler (28) stabilised the chase. Their antics were derailed by Carroll and Ben Hussey (1/25), leaving the last hoorah to captain Shane White (76 not out) and the tail. Pushing the run rate along, White and David Collins (25) finished the job. Since his return from Doveton, the Bullants’ skipper has been on a steady upward trajectory – with a 42 not out and 35 showing his well-renowned chops, even if he is batting himself low in the card. Sharing the scalps, Matt Hutchinson (2/37) and Floyd rolled over the majority of overs and showed the move of Peter Zauner to B Grade hasn’t hurt the new ball tandem at Glover Reserve. Bryce Ingram (69 not out) and Kyle Salerno (23 not out) made the most of the last 25 overs, batting out the day and getting some crucial time at the crease. Devon Meadows is now off to face top-of-the-ladder Clyde while Officer heads out to Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll.
NAR NAR GOON/MARYKNOLL v CRANBOURNE MEADOWS
A LOWER order fade away cost Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (213) the points against Cranbourne Meadows (9/249). The Marygoons had the chase well under control as Josh Lownds (59), Austin Van Strijp and captain Craig Lewis (36) started chipping away. Every wicket for the Rebels from the staunch Marygoon top order was challenging, but once the middle order was exposed, the rest of the match was a cakewalk. Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll’s later batsmen added nothing tangible to the chase and left the home side 36-runs short by the final wicket. John Emery (1/51) and Geoff Bradshaw (1/53) toiled for 42 overs between them to keep the Marygoons from dictating terms. Captain’s scalps from Brent Murdoch (2/43) sealed the deal in retrospect as he knocked off Lewis and Jason Skobia (3) to trigger the collapse. Chris Hauselberger (4/44) finished a strong all-round match to add to his half-century from last weekend. A tantalising clash between the Rebels and Yabbies is set for this round at Lawson Poole Reserve while Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll will look for its first win in over a month as it squares off against Officer.
LYNDHURST VIKINGS v PAKENHAM UPPER/TOOMUC
AN EARLY raid from Lyndhurst (238) left Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (125 and 8/192) on the backfoot as the Vikings charged to their third win of the season. Lyndhurst set out to knock off a modest Yabby tally and push itself away from the middle of the ladder, pushed ahead via the cannon fire off David Nutting’s (84) bat. Knocking around 16 fours and a six in his quickfire knock, Nutting and Jason Hameeteman (49) combined for 89 and also claimed first-innings points. Their antics spelled an effective end to the best of the Vikings’ innings as the tail-end showed little wagg. Trevor McGeachin (0) halved his District average this year and continued to be more supportive of the Vikings’ effort from the sheds than actually at the crease. He left it to the captain Jesse Fitzgerald (9) and Aaron Straughair (13 not out) to push the Vikings along to 238 as Nicholas Kyval cleaned up the tail with the last five wickets on the scorecard. The Yabbies fired off in the second innings – belting their way to 8/192 by stumps. Ammar Bajwa (4/63) found his usual few victims while Darren Warne (45) was best for the visitors. Pakenham Upper/Toomuc clashes with Cranbourne Meadows at home this round while Lyndhurst hosts St Francis Xavier.
