By Nick Creely
WGCA OTHER GRADES
REVIEW – ROUND 9
DISTRICT
Saturday saw an incredible tie play out at Clyde Recreation Reserve, with the Cougars and Emerald unable to be split.
The Cougars won the toss and elected to bat at home, and ultimately notched up 5/175 from its 40 overs, with solid contributions from Glen Tuckwell (35), Zac Davis (35 not out) and Daniel Walton (29 not out) helping the cause.
It looked as if the bottom-placed Cougars would reach its second win of the season when the Bombers slumped to 7/79 and without many answers.
But an inspired partnership from Clint Marsh (57) and Darcy Hellriegel (34) got the visitors back into the contest, as the game drew close with each delivery.
On the brink of victory, and with the scores tied and one wicket left in the shed, Tuckwell struck with just his second delivery of the match to split the points.
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At E Gunton Oval, ladder-leaders Carlisle Park Vikings eased past Cardinia.
It didn’t all go to plan for the Vikings who scratched its way to 6/114 with Ryan Little (3/23) in particular destructive with ball in hand.
But good sides find ways to win, and the Vikings rallied to roll the Bulls for 105, in what nearly proved to be a major upset.
A top-four clash treated Glover Recreation Reserve, with Devon Meadows clinching the points in a vital win against Pakenham Upper Toomuc.
The Yabbies posted 153 after batting first, with the reliable Rajitha Ranaweera top-scoring with a composed 41.
A strong response from Panther openers Kyle Salerno (35) and Lucas Ligt (66) proved the difference, and despite a late rally from the Yabbies, ran down the total with five wickets and five balls to spare.
It was Ligt’s second half-century in a row as he nears 300 runs for the season.
In the final, game second-placed Officer (130) defeated Kooweerup (9/102) at home.
SUB-DISTRICT
Tooradin enjoyed a dominant victory against Cranbourne Meadows at Lawson Poole Recreation Reserve.
The Rebels posted 128 despite a fine half-century to Sukhjit Sekhon (50), with Josh Lownds (4/12) in dominant touch with the ball for the Gulls.
An early wicket mattered little, with Lownds backing up his bowling dominance to crunch an unbeaten 79 not out to guide the side to a nine-wicket win.
There was yet another tie in the WGCA, this time between Pakenham and Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll.
The Lions posted 7/156 off the back of a classy 73 from Sam Webster (73), and the Marygoons – inspired by a 56 not out from Amila Gunaratne – were bowled out on the final ball with the scores level.
In the final game of the round, Lang Lang’s domination continued with a clinical win against Nyora.
It was a struggle for the Maroons, who were rolled for just 68. In total, four bowlers snared multiple wickets in an impressive team effort.
It took just 18.3 overs for the Swamp Tigers to find the runs and with the loss of two wickets.
Skipper Jess Grima top-scored with a classy 35 not out to guide his side to a seamless victory.
Officer had the bye.
B GRADE
Clyde held off Merinda Park in a closely-fought contest at Barton Reserve.
The Cougars batted strongly as a team despite some excellent bowling from Mandhiraj Singh (4/36), with Gavin Adams leading the way with an aggressive 46 from 48 balls as the home side posted 8/190.
The Cobras were in early trouble, slumping to 4/45, but found some momentum through strong knocks from Romesh Jayasundara (36) and Dylan Hand (45).
Ultimately, the visitors couldn’t get the job done, bowled out with a ball to spare on 176.
Youngster Ryan Adams (3/18) was impressive, with Lachlan McGeagh (3/24) also in the wickets for the Cougars.
Down at Chandler Recreation Reserve, Tooradin snared the points against Emerald in an impressive performance.
The Bombers did well to reach 7/174, with Declan Cocks leading the way 40 from number three.
Despite a stumble seeing the Seagulls 2/23, and eventually 4/90, the visitors didn’t make another mistake; with a dominant 82 not out from skipper David Freeman guiding the side home without the loss of another wicket.
Cardinia had to toil hard to bank the victory against Carlisle Park Vikings.
The Vikings were sent in by the Bulls, and reached 9/154 after an entertaining hand from Campbell Furze (56).
The Bulls were led by a strong performance from Matthew Scott (3/21) and Josh Browne (2/13).
A half-century from Daniel Strahan (50) was the catalyst for the Bulls’ victory, guiding the side to victory with four wickets still left in the shed.
In the remaining match in B Grade, Devon Meadows (180) got the better of Pakenham Upper Toomuc (107) at Harry Blackman Oval.
C GRADE
Merinda Park was in dominant touch against Lang Lang on Saturday, winning by eight wickets.
The Swamp Tigers battled hard but were restricted by excellent bowling displays from Sanjay Rakesh (4/34) and Scott Strang (3/15) to reach 128.
Two relatively early wickets mattered little for the Cobras, who ran down the total with eight wickets to spare.
Lahirua Sankalpa crunched 52 not out to be the star of the show for the Cobras.
Upper Beaconsfield also flexed its muscles with a commanding win against Cranbourne Meadows.
The Maroons were set 167 for victory off the back of a classy half-ton from Will Cloney (64) – playing his first game of the season.
There was no particular standout in the outstanding run chase, with each of the top five scoring 20 or more as the Maroons reached the target with seven wickets still left in the shed.
And Kooweerup had the better of Officer in a relatively one-sided affair at Officer Recreation Reserve.
The Demons managed to claw its way to 8/143 from its 40 overs, with an aggressive cameo from Sam Cole (34 not out) helping the cause at the end of the innings.
Youngster Devon Gabriel-Brown was particularly brilliant with the ball for the Bullants, snaring 5/32 from his eight overs.
But despite 36 from skipper Steve Pursell, the Bullants struggled with the bat to be rolled for 85.
Jai Lewis (3/15) was the pick of the bowlers for the Demons.
In the remaining match, Pakenham (4/85) were simply too good for Gembrook (80).
D GRADE
Another tie, yes another tie in the WGCA on the weekend came in D Grade, this time between Officer and Emerald at Worrell Reserve.
The Bullants posted 8/166 from its 40 overs, with Chris Byrne leading the way with 56.
The Bombers came from nowhere to claw back in the contest, with skipper Sebastian Mueller-Schmuki’s 44 breathing life into the game.
Ultimately, the Bombers ran out of time to reach 8/166 from 40 overs to spit the points with the Bullants.
Clyde racked up the runs in a big way against Nyora in a dominant display from the Cougars.
Batting first, Steve Russell belted a memorable 105 not out as his side posted an ominous 3/265 from 40 overs.
The Maroons couldn’t muster up any momentum in the chase, rolled for 71 with Tristan Walton (4/15) proving hard to handle.
And Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll just fell over the line against Gembrook.
The Brookers posted 89 from 36 overs, with the Marygoons falling away through the middle but ultimately claiming a two-wicket win.
In the remaining match, Carlisle Park Vikings (7/116) defeated Cardinia (7/113) in a close game at Rythdale.
E GRADE
Devon Meadows eased past Merinda Park at Junction Village.
The Cobras posted 7/121 from its 40 overs, with the Panthers reaching the target with seven wickets left in the shed.
Tooradin had to work pretty hard at Rutter Park, but got the job done against Officer.
The Bullants batted steadily to reach 4/106 from its 40 overs, with Nick Whitelaw anchoring the innings with 41.
It took 37 overs and the loss of eight wickets, but the Seagulls – led by Jed Ashurst (39 not out) – to clinch the match.
Sean Chamberlain was excellent with the ball to snare 3/21.
In the remaining match, Cranbourne Meadows (4/57) were dominant against Pakenham Upper Toomuc (52).
Pakenham defeated Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll through forfeit.
F GRADE
All eyes turned to the first ever F Grade derby between Devon Meadows Red and Devon Meadows White on Sunday.
The White side won the toss and elected to bat, with Darren O’Brien (70) and Peter O’Brien (51) leading the way to help post 7/212 from its 40 overs.
With an exciting chase on the cards, 400 gamer Lincoln Hepburn clinched a hat-trick to take the fizz out of the game, snaring 4/22 in a memorable day for the club.
The Red side battled valiantly through Rob Worsteling (44) at the end, but were restricted to 9/132.
Clyde Green also enjoyed a strong day at the office, defeating Lang Lang.
The Cougars racked up 6/200 from its 40 overs, before holding the Swamp Tigers to 7/117 in reply.
And Cardinia – led superbly by Chris Remy (83) – got the points against Pakenham Upper Toomuc.
The Bulls posted 8/186 from 40 overs, before restricting the Yabbies to just 8/141 despite the best efforts of skipper Adam Tucker (49).
In the remaining matches, Cranbourne Meadows (3/121) defeated Pakenham (117), Clyde Gold (131) clinched the win against Upper Beaconsfield (127) in a thriller, while Kooweerup (101) did just enough against Carlisle Park Vikings (8/98).
Emerald had the bye.
