WGCA A grade round 4

THE rampaging Beaconsfield team continued its early dominance of A grade by securing first-innings points against an undermanned Pakenham Upper-Toomuc (PUT) on the opening day of matches.
In other fixtures in the West Gippsland Cricket Association, Cardinia was strongly placed to defeat Clyde, Merinda Park amassed a challenging total against Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll and Pakenham held the upper hand against Emerald. Catani posted a formidable first innings opposed to Officer, while Tooradin was strongly positioned against Devon Meadows.
PUT only managed the modest total of 117 when it hosted the reigning premier Beaconsfield at Pakenham Upper. Promising youngsters Dean Blake and Josh Bardwell scored 30 and 29 respectively, but overall the Yabbies’ batsmen showed little bite. Matthew Meehan returned the best figures for the Tigers, collecting 3/32 from 14 overs, and the rest of the wickets were evenly shared among the other bowlers.
Brad Miles was again the dominant player of the day, scoring a superb undefeated 102 in the remaining 29 overs. The consistent Don Kerslake chipped in with 43 and the competition leader finished the day’s play on 5/155. Skipper Luke Sibley appeared likely to press for outright points this week, which would provide Beaconsfield with a massive points boost.
Cardinia surprisingly offered Clyde the opportunity to bat after the Bulls’ skipper Cameron Knight won the toss, but the host team made early inroads into the opposition batting. The Cougars slumped to 2/24 before brief middle- and late-order stands enabled the Cougars to reach the modest total of 130. Shane Jack’s hunger for runs saw him reach 35, while Jarred Leontini scored a stylish but brief 29.
It was the second-change bowlers who led the Bulls’ attack. Knight collected 3/16 from his five-over spell, while ace spinner Dwayne Doig captured 3/10 from 7.2 overs.
Cardinia then continued its convincing performance with the bat, reaching 2/80 from 34 overs before stumps were drawn. Young opener John Nooy remained 32 not out, while Troy DaRose will resume at the crease on 18 when hostilities resume.
Merinda Park produced a dour batting display in the opening session on its slow Donnelly Park Reserve, scoring no better than a run a ball in the first 21 overs against an accurate Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll attack. Brendan McGrath captured 1/13 from 16 frugal overs in his opening spell, while co-opener Ken McLeod only conceded 15 from his first 15 overs.
The Cobras produced a more convincing batting display after tea and finished the day with the competitive total of 4/201. Goon bowler Adam Cooper suffered the misfortune of having Brett Armitage dropped three times and the hard-hitting veteran made the most of his good fortune, scoring 57. Club captain Gary Davidson top-scored with 69, while Michael Quieros remained not out 29.
The game between Pakenham and Emerald at Toomuc Reserve was evenly poised in the first session and the Lions reached 3/79 by the tea interval. However the host side dominated the final session and ended the day with the convincing total of 238. Pakenham’s captain-coach Andrew Cooper scored a fine 98 not out, the Lions’ rising star Jason Williams totalled 46 and two debut players, Gary Plunkett and Ash Bailey, contributed 31 and 12 respectively.
Emerald showed a vast improvement in the field, three run outs being effected by direct hits, while bowling honours were shared among five of its six bowlers.
An excellent opening stand of 133 between Brad McDonald and Nic Close enabled Catani to post a formidable 242 against Officer. McDonald celebrated a late start to the season by scoring 81, while Close continued his good form by notching 50. Late-order batsmen Luke McFarlane and Brent Demamiel also weighed in with some useful runs, scoring 41 and 38 respectively.
Officer suffered a severe setback when its captain Ben Tivendale was forced from the field with what may be a serious injury after completing his fourth over. In his absence Daniel Savage became the leader of the Bullants’ attack and the burly all-rounder responded well, capturing 6/45 from 22 overs. The visitors did not help their chances by spilling three vital catches, including one offered by McDonald when he had only scored 20.
Tooradin was sent in to bat after losing the toss and notched the competitive total of 197 before being dismissed in the 74th over. In a solid team batting performance from the Seagulls, skipper Trevor Johnston top-scored with 33, under-16 debut player Sean Wilson reached 25 and two other batsmen added 20s.
Travis Canavan was again the bowler of the day for Devon Meadows, returning the outstanding figures of 7/70 from 33.3 overs. The Panthers marred a reasonable day’s play in the final three overs when promoted opener Glen Fairbrother fell to Seagulls paceman Paul Ferrari for a duck and the visitors resume this week on a shaky 1/0.