Too much to bear for Berwick

– Gavin Staindl
NOT even a man-of-the match performance by Berwick’s Ryan Crawford could get the Bears over the line in the grand final of the Dandenong and District Cricket Association Twenty20 championship.
Crawford took three wickets and notched up a half-century but it wasn’t enough as Buckley Ridges won its fourth straight DDCA Twenty20 championship by 27 runs at Arch Brown Reserve last Wednesday.
Despite Crawford’s performance Berwick never looked like chasing down the required 137 runs needed to win.
Winning the toss, Buckley captain Daniel Watson backed his batsmen to get the bulk of the work done.
Watson’s faith was rewarded as first drop Luck Fletcher (36) and second drop Suren Ekanayake (22) posted solid scores.
By the time Fletcher was finally removed, Buckley was 4/108 and setting itself for fireworks.
With eight overs left and the big-hitting Watson (19) at the crease, a score of 160-plus was in sight but Buckley’s momentum began to fizzle when it lost quick wickets.
Berwick’s Cam McDonnell (2/16) and Ryan Crawford (3/24) evened the contest late in the innings and left Buckley’s total of 9/136 vulnerable to the in-form Berwick bats.
But when Col Tucker was run out for a diamond duck and Brad Francis found himself back in the sheds a few balls later, the well-rounded Berwick batting line-up appeared in tatters.
At 3/9, Crawford (52) did his best to provide a batting display on his own but therein was the problem for Berwick.
Crawford carved a lone figure at the crease and despite his half-century, Berwick could muster only 9/109.
Berwick won the inaugural DDCA Twenty20 championship in 2006/07 but since that time Buckley Ridges has taken home four straight championships.