By Nick Creely
DDCA TURF 3
REVIEW – GRAND FINAL
Lyndale provided an incredible shock in the Turf 3 decider at Lois Twohig Reserve on the weekend, stunning highly credentialed favourites Beaconsfield to claim a whirlwind premiership.
The Dales almost looked defeated after they won the toss and elected to bat, with Callan Tout (4/29) and skipper Matt Golding (4/38) shredding the top order apart to leave them 4/13 and soon after 5/33, struggling to put bat on ball.
But Yohan Soyza (51) and Chanaka Wijewardena (40) battled hard to soak up the pressure and eventually forge into a vital partnership, putting on 91 runs to put the underdogs back into the game, and a late surge from skipper Ben Montgomery (21) lifted the Dales to an incredibly competitive 159 in a tick over 71 overs.
The Tigers started just as poorly to their chase, with Kane McConchie (4/32) completely decimating the top-order, and suddenly, with all of this expectation, they sat at 4/39 and in dire need of a steadying partnership.
While Matt Golding (36) provided the threat, the Tigers continually lost wickets to slump to 8/82, but the skipper combined with Jake Cutting (25) to breathe life into a contest that appeared to slip away.
But the wicket of Cutting, sparked by Soyza (3/24), who played a defining role with both bat and ball, meant the Dales needed just one more wicket to seal it, and it was only moments later that the game came to a close.
Trapping Golding in front LBW, the Dales had done it, springing arguably the biggest upset of the season in the biggest stage of them all, and will know get to test themselves in Turf 2 next season, with Dandenong West the side to make way.
Other grand final results
Turf 4 – Springvale 258 (B.Janith 76, S.Silva 46, H.Sohal 27, N.Malikzada 26, J.Kalsi 25, J.Whiting 3/66, H.Whitehead 2/11, J.Amsterdam 2/33) defeated Berwick Springs 141 (K.Tissera 53, A.Vora 34, J.Kalsi 5/23, S.Lindsay 2/22, S.Rajapakse 2/34)
Turf 1 Reserves – Buckley Ridges 4/299 (S.Pradeep 102*, D.Hunt 68, R.Jayathunga 57, J.Hobbs 32, M.Healey 2/48) defeated Springvale South 9/298 (A.Staude 139*, B.Stephens 76, J.Hobbs 3/57, R.Jayathunga 2/43, C.Silva 2/64)
Turf 2 Reserves – Dingley 311 (L.O’Halloran 96, M.King 91, T.Jordan 37, T.Morecroft 30, R.Wijesinghe 3/63, J.Hinds 2/86) defeated Narre South 236 (B.Wilson 90, J.Hinds 31, M.Guruge 29*, C.Butts 5/80, T.Jordan 2/32)
Turf 3 Reserves – Parkfield 285 (T.Bone 119*, D.Binney 44, B.Edirippulige 38, I.Shariffie 3/58, M.Dala 2/51, D.Hayes 2/66) defeated Lynbrook 104 (R.Chaudhary 30, D.Linton 4/4, B.Edirippulige 4/24)
Turf 4 Reserves – Berwick Springs 5/135 (V.Mudumbi 43, V.Virk 2/23, M.Otto 2/37) defeated Dingley 118 (N.Gough 49, B.Paroissien 3/10, J.Valentine 3/15, C.Roberts 2/14)
Turf 5 – Heinz Southern Districts 8/238 (G.Hamilton 65, S Sandhu 51, G.Wiramanaden 26, N.Thomas 26, J.Kearney 25, M.Hovey 2/32, S.McDonald 2/44, D.Fabien 2/52) defeated Narre South 106 (S.McDonald 38, G.Hamilton 5/31, P.Gibson 4/36).
Turf 6 – Berwick 185 (M.Binns 42, M.Quinlan 31, L.Bowles 4/47) defeated Mordialloc 49 (M.Binns 3/9, T.Cross 3/21, J.Siritunga 2/13) and 7/78 (K.Jacobs 33, Y.Moolchandani 3/14, T.Cross 2/21)
