Left and below:Cardinia’s embarrassingly rich batting talent was on show against Clyde on Saturday, with Troy DaRose belting and celebrating the feat by kissing the emblem on his cap. DaRose top-scored with 129 and shared a 171-runpartnership with fellow century maker John Nooy.By Ian Ferguson
AN impressive run chase, highlighted by a superb century from Daniel Savage, enabled Officer to gain an unexpected victory over Catani, while Devon Meadows upset the more fancied Tooradin.
Despite the Bullants’ and the Panthers’ excellent performances, Beaconsfield and Cardinia continued to dominate West Gippsland Cricket Association A grade after recording crushing wins over their respective opponents, Pakenham Upper-Toomuc (PUT) and Clyde.
In other round-four games, Pakenham just defeated Emerald by 24 runs and Merinda Park decisively disposed of Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll.
Officer faced the daunting task of scoring 243 for victory at Catani and a superb and undefeated 152 from its emerging all-rounder Daniel Savage gained the visitors a vital first-innings result.
Recruit Brett Reid supported Savage well, scoring a timely 65, while Glen Longmuir contributed a valuable 37 when the Bullants amassed the imposing total of 8/294.
The undermanned Catani attack was found wanting, though Luke McFarlane (4/65 from 23 overs), Brendan Evans (3/76 off 22 overs) and captain Ben Maroney (1/61 off 16 overs), toiled hard.
The Blues, who have cruelly lost the capable duo of Mick Torney and Lionel Sexton with long-term injuries, have a real problem with bowling depth, which they desperately need to remedy.
Tooradin appeared to have control of its home game when Devon Meadows slipped to 4/67, but some fighting partnerships lifted the Panthers to a fighting 32-run victory.
Opener Darren Cooper scored a resolute 70 to be the sheet anchor of Devon Meadows’ batting performance and he was ably assisted by the unorthodox Jason Brzezowski, who contributed a breezy 38.
The experienced Panther pair of Darren O’Brien and captain Danny Diwell then revived the visitors’ chances after they slipped to 8/173 and Tooradin’s total was finally passed with two wickets in hand.
Diwell’s undefeated 37 was crucial in the result and O’Brien’s contribution of 19 was timely.
Young Seagulls Aaron Avery (5/53 from 22 overs) and Rory Alder (3/40 from 19 overs) were the best performers in Tooradin’s attack.
Excellent maiden club centuries from 17-year-old opener John Nooy and seasoned all-rounder Troy DaRose steered Cardinia to a massive 197-run win over the visiting Clyde.
The pair shared a mammoth third-wicket partnership of 171 against the demoralised Cougar attack, DaRose reaching an imposing 129 while young Nooy contributed an impressive 101.
Ben DaRose continued the run rampage with a handy 33 and the Bulls’ 6/327 was an ominous display of batting power for other contenders.
Bryan Guthrie toiled hard in Clyde’s attack, collecting 2/44 from 24 overs, while Jarrod Leontini snared 2/32 from his eight overs.
This was an emphatic win by Cardinia, and on present indications its run of victories was unlikely to be threatened until it opposes the reigning premier Beaconsfield in the second-last round.
Emerald just prevailed against Pakenham at the Toomuc Reserve last season, but the Lions savoured revenge after the Bombers crashed to a narrow defeat at the same venue on Saturday.
The visitors slumped to 2/18 in the early stages, but resolute stands from the Bombers’ middle-order batsmen launched a stirring recovery.
The Lucas brothers, Brodie and Quentin, scored 51 and 43 respectively and their efforts, combined with handy contributions from John Noonan and Wes Wright, kept Emerald in the contest.
A fighting 33 from late-order batsman Clinton Marsh further rallied the Bombers before they finally fell 24 runs short of Pakenham’s 238.
Gary Plunkett completed a promising A-grade debut by claiming 3/55 from 16 overs for the Lions, fellow senior newcomer Ash Bailey collected 1/25 off 16 tidy overs, off-spinner Jason Williams captured 3/39 from 11 overs and skipper Andrew Cooper snared 2/46 from 23 overs.
This was a vital victory for the Lions and they hope to continue this winning mode at Devon Meadows in round five.
Merinda Park controlled the momentum of play all day before resoundingly defeating Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll by 79 runs on the first innings.
The visitors slumped to 7/55 before fighting late-order partnerships restored respectability to their batting performance.
The 15-year-old Brent Hughes top-scored with a resolute 25 in his debut A-grade game, lower-grade regular Scott Musgrove contributed a valuable 22 not out, captain Matthew Lownds reached 21, and number-nine batsman Ken McLeod scored 18.
Darren Morrow continued his impressive bowling form for the Cobras, returning the excellent figures of 4/9 from 14 probing overs, while Chris Shepherdson (2/24 off 14 overs) and Lucas Hoogenboom (3/50 from 16 overs) also performed well.
The hosts reached 4/42 in the final 20 overs.
Beaconsfield appeared destined for a large total when it recommenced on 5/155, but the PUT bowlers tenaciously stuck to their task and only allowed the remaining Tiger batsmen a further 72 runs.
Brad Miles added a rapid 33 to his overnight score and his final tally of 135 included an astonishing 11 sixes as well as three fours.
Yabbie youngster Ben Keane bowled impressively, capturing 4/53 from 16 overs, while reliable all-rounder Chris Buckland snared 3/48 from 12.1 overs.
The Tigers then pressed strongly for outright points and their hopes were high when the Yabbies slumped to 3/39 in their second innings before the tea interval.
The remorseless Tigers continued to stalk their prey in the last session and, when the Yabbies were dismissed for a disappointing 111 in their second innings, Beaconsfield became the first A-grade team this season to gain outright points.
Yabbies opener Glen Kilburn offered greatest resistance, scoring 38, and it was left-arm spinner Ray Cook who took the bowling honours for the Tigers.
Cook captured 4/51 from 19 overs and was well supported by Matthew Meehan and Jason Dodd, who each collected two wickets.
