By RUSSELL BENNETT
WGCA PREMIER DIVISION
REVIEW – ROUND 13 (day 1)
ALTHOUGH Cardinia has already sewn up top spot on the Premier ladder, the race is well and truly on for the all-important second spot and the right to host a final along with an insurance policy against bad weather.
Kooweerup is in the box seat, eight competition points clear of both Merinda Park and Tooradin, but the Cobras are in a commanding position after day one against the Seagulls and could yet vault over the Demons.
Their game was the only one in town in Premier on Sunday, and the strong crowd that turned out to Donnelly Reserve saw the home side’s bowling attack weave its magic against one of the competition’s most imposing batting lineups.
Dylan Cuthbertson continued from where he left off in Country Week, snaring 4/58 from a massive 27 overs. Jess Mathers (2/41) and Jamie Smith (2/23), meanwhile, were also crucial with two wickets apiece.
Tooradin’s top four – skipper Tom Hussey (33), Brenton Adams (22), Michael Ralph (21) and Cal O’Hare (30) – all got starts but couldn’t convert them into that one, big decisive score.
“At the start of the day I would have taken that,” said Cobras skipper Danny Diwell after day one.
“They were hot and hard conditions out there, and we’ll take the position we’re in, but it’s only half the job done.”
The Cobras haven’t defeated Tooradin in years, but they’re on the right track to changing that this week.
“The way we went about it with our bowling was fantastic and we can really take something out of it,” Diwell said.
The Cobras faced the final 10 overs of the day and are sitting on 1/15 at stumps. They’ve got the full 80 overs to bat this week but they know they’ve got plenty of work ahead of them.
After losing opener Peter Jessop early – run out for just two – Smith strode to the cross in a kind of nightwatchman’s role.
“We spoke about that situation the game after Christmas and Twig (Smith) put his hand up,” Diwell said.
“But he can definitely hold a bat in his own right – he’s no mug.
“He’s made plenty of runs in the MPCA and he really deserves some runs this week.”
Smith has already made his influence felt in the match with a huge first over – knocking over Ralph and Aaron Avery (0) in a double-wicket maiden. Avery copped an absolute peach – a ball that seemed to be heading down middle and leg, before collecting the top of off.
“If luck is going your way as a batsman that ball is missing the stumps and you might go on to make 50 or 60,” Diwell said.
“Getting those quick wickets was the key.
“The thing with Cal, Azz and Huss is that when they get starts at least one of them will normally go on and make a big score.”
O’Hare was the victim of a calamitous run out, which the umpires carefully deliberated over before he was finally sent on his way.
His dismissal for a hard-earned 30 seemed to be the straw that broke the Seagulls’ back for the innings.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t make a bigger score,” O’Hare said after the first day’s play.
“We were 0/50 and kept losing wickets in the middle order.
“I thought we’d improved lately with our batting but 160 is not a great score.
“Having said that, we believe we can win.
“They haven’t beaten us in quite a while.”
O’Hare said Steve Hamill “bowled a treat” in the final overs of the day but he needed to pitch it up a bit more on day two. He and Avery both had close LBW appeals turned down, and O’Hare predicted the Cobras would give them more chances this week.
“We’re definitely going to do a lot of bowling in the nets this week,” he said.
“It’d be nice to play for a home final.
“If it rains in those weeks it’s pretty hard to win.”
UPPER BEACONSFIELD v PAKENHAM
FRIDAY night’s rain washed out play at Kooweerup and Beaconsfield before it even began on Saturday, meaning the only other play of the Premier round was in the Maroons’ clash with the Lions.
After losing half an hour due to a damp pitch, Lions openers Russ Lehman (24) and Sam Webster (19) – promoted from Sub-District – put on a near half-century opening stand.
But from there, Pakenham lost four quick wickets to slide to 4/54. With Tommy Tyrell taking 3/17 from his first 11 overs and nipping them both ways, it was up to Lions skipper Jason Williams (40) and Josh Gonzalez (62 not out) to embark on a rescue mission.
And the visitors’ middle and lower orders stood tall – something that hasn’t been seen often enough this season – as the side ultimately reached 8/206 from their 80 overs.
Gonzalez showed stellar concentration after a cautious start to his innings on a dead pitch and, after two quick wickets to Maroons skipper Chris Savage, youngsters Matt Welsh (14) and Zac Chalpin (30) provided plenty of support. Chaplin, in particular, looked sublime. He was dismissed in the final over of the day skying a ball to mid-on, but he’d already done his job – piercing gaps with a series of impressive drives.
Tyrrell, one of the best seam-up bowlers in Premier this season, finished with 4/50 from 23 overs, while Savage took 2/35, and Will Haines (1/4) conceded just four runs in seven overs.
