By Julian Bayard
AFTER not winning a game before Christmas, Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll has now won three in a row to move from the bottom four and now has a chance to remain in A-grade division-one next season.
The Marygoons are now one game clear from ninth position on the ladder after easily defeating Kilcunda-Bass on Saturday on the back of yet another half-century from their inspirational leader Mathew Lownds.
Lownds has made scores of 43, 64 and 57 in Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll’s respective victories over Cardinia, Devon Meadows and Kilcunda-Bass since Christmas and, along with Neil Rankin (56 runs), guided his side to a comfortable victory over the Sharks, with the Marygoons eventually dismissed for 249 chasing 151.
Shane O’Keefe and Cameron Davidson were the best of the Kilcunda-Bass bowlers, each taking two wickets for their side that is stuck on the bottom of the ladder with its win against Officer in round six the only highlight of the season to date.
Officer sent a shock through the top four after it upset Cardinia at E Gunton Oval, dismissing the Bulls for just 139, being 37 runs short of the Bullants’ total.
Resuming at 0/6, Cardinia immediately lost the wickets of captain Mark Cooper for a duck and John Nooy for three to slump to 2/8.
A mini-partnership of 39 between Steve Paterson (29 runs) and Daniel Strahan (10 runs) ensued to move the Bulls to a competitive position before they lost three quick wickets to be 5/56.
Then, just before tea, Andrew DeLange (16 runs) was controversially given out lbw to turn the game in favour of Officer.
From there the Bullants never looked back, ripping through the Cardinia tail to move to within one game of a top-four position.
Unfortunately, there were again no statistics available from Officer at the time of writing this report.
After Kooweerup Recreation Reserve was topsoiled during the week and apparently resembling Bondi Beach, the match between Kooweerup and Catani was moved to Kooweerup High School, where the home side gained a relatively comfortable victory.
Controversy continued early in Catani’s innings when young-gun Russel Lehman was adjudged lbw, despite comments from the bowler and fielders alike that the ball had hit his bat first.
Craig Stone then joined Damien Bounden (20 runs) and Brad McDonald (34) to put the Blues into an extremely competitive position at 2/105 before Jeff Walsh dismissed him for 61.
Walsh then proceeded to dismantle the Catani middle-order, claiming the figures of 4/44 from 12.5 overs in a match-winning performance.
Fresh from the birth of his second child, Maggie Dawn Close at 9.30am that morning, Catani captain Nic was out for a duck before Michael Damon hit the stumps from side-on to pick up the vital wicket of Lionel Sexton.
Ross Korthholt hit a fine 51 that included seven boundaries and a six before he became Chris O’Hara’s only wicket of the day, while Damon combined his excellent work in the field with a great performance with the ball, taking 3/61 from 20 overs as Catani was dismissed for 221.
Beaconsfield kept its finals hopes alive after it knocked over Devon Meadows for 138, chasing the Tigers’ score of 155.
Augustine Patti and Ryan O’Connor ripped through the Panthers’ batting line-up, taking the figures of 4/42 from 18 overs and 3/34 from 16 overs respectively, while Donald Kerslake’s run-out of Darren O’Brien was a critical moment in the match.
Captain Bill Loudon was the only Devon Meadows’ player to take advantage of the conditions at Cranbourne Racecourse, top-scoring with 31, but the loss means his side remains in the bottom four of the ladder.
Pakenham Upper-Toomuc (PUT) returned to the winner’s list in emphatic style, dismissing Merinda Park for 115, with David Grainge taking four wickets, while Chris Smith claimed three in an impressive display.
Seven Merinda Park batsmen failed to reach double figures, with only the experienced head of Brett Armitage (46 not-out) able to offer any resistance to the Yabbies’ attack.
Tooradin’s total of 8/328 was far too good for Pakenham, with the Lions dismissed for 153 in the 55th over on the back of three wickets to both Callum O’Hare and Mathew Finch.
O’Hare capped off a brilliant game for his side after scoring 71 the previous week, claiming the figures of 3/49 from 14.2 overs, taking his season tally to 15 along with 398 runs.
Lions’ skipper Ben Maroney was the only Pakenham player to post any significant score, reaching 42 before he became one of Finch’s scalps in an afternoon that saw the first-change bowler take 3/41 from 14 overs.
