By David Nagel
BEACONSFIELD (7/259) continued its recent resurgence and kept its finals hopes alive with a gritty run chase against the visiting Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (9/257cc) in Premier cricket at Perc Allison Reserve on Saturday.
A good start was imperative for the home team and Ray Cook (16) and Brendon Lloyd (24) built the platform with a solid 51-run opening stand. Chris Smith (2 wickets) looked like backing up his century from last week with a bag of wickets when he captured Lloyd, then Cook in quick succession, but two crafty customers then got together to get things back on track.
Don Kerslake (63) and Brad Miles (46) have seen it and done it all before and the two put on 104 for the third wicket to give the Tigers the upper hand. As happened at the start of the innings, one wicket brought another quickly – and from 2/156 the Tigers were all of a sudden 5/170 and staring down the barrel.
Captain and regular opener Justin Stanton (20) dropped himself to the middle order and along with Jordy Andrews (19) the two put on valuable runs. When Stanton fell with the score on 7/226 the Tigers still needed 32 runs for victory and the match could have gone either way.
Jason Dodd (20 not out) guided the Tiges to victory against Officer in round five and he was the perfect man to have at the crease. Tim Vrevc (20 not out) joined Dodd and the two saw the team home with five overs up its sleeve.
Smith, Peter Richards and Lucas Plozza all claimed two wickets and were the best of the Yabbies’ bowlers.
PUT is still in dangerous territory in second last place on the ladder.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:CARDINIA v PAKENHAM
THERE was one major certainty and one major question that needed answering when Cardinia (131) took to the field against the chasing Pakenham (85) at Rythdale on Saturday.
The certainty was the Bulls’ bowlers would be at their miserly best, the question was, how would Pakenham respond? The answer is they didn’t respond well at all.
Lions’ skipper Mick Torney might be right, his top six batsmen are dangerous and can match it with anyone, but if they don’t fire the Lions look vulnerable. In two, second-day run chases this season the Lions’ lower order have lost 5/32 against Tooradin in round five and 7/30 against the Bulls on Saturday. Jason Williams (31) kept up his recent form and was the only batsman worthy of note.
It’s almost like the Lions’ aggressive line-up is still working out how to pace an 80-over inning, the 40-over format suits them perfectly. But let’s take nothing away from the Bulls – this win was full of character.
After being smacked around the park by the Lions in the previous round, defending 131 must have seemed a tough ask, but the Bulls’ attack was out for revenge. Craig Boswell (4/26 off 24 overs) and Dwayne Doig (4/35 off 25 overs) did most of the damage, their economy rates almost beyond belief, while Neil Barfuss (1/22) claimed the crucial wicket of Torney.
The win gives the second-placed Bulls a two-game buffer over third-placed Upper Beaconsfield, who they meet first up after Christmas.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:OFFICER v KOOWEERUP
KOOWEERUP (4/90dec and 1/45) claimed outright points against a desperately undermanned Officer (89 and 45) on Saturday and as a result sits atop the Premier Division ladder heading into the Christmas break.
The gaping chasm between top and bottom was clearly evident with the Demons batting for a combined 23.3 overs to secure maximum points.
Having secured a first-innings victory on day one, the Demons were ruthless in their approach, smashing aside the Bullants’ batting order before knocking off the required runs inside 10 overs.
In a game where the Demons run rampant, it was a youngster and an experienced campaigner who stole the show. Under-15s player Adam McMaster (4/20 and 5/15) was superb on both days, backing up his four-wicket first-innings haul with five wickets in the second dig.
McMaster’s dominance was indicated by his match figures of 25 overs, 11 maidens, 9 for 35, an amazing performance from one so young. The experience came from Matt Davey (5/16) whose five-wicket haul continued a consistent season for the Demons.
Peter Quinn (14) was the only Bullant to make double figures in the second innings and he can hold his head up high with his performances prior to Christmas, providing solid support to Ollie Brown and skipper Brett Reid.
Kooweerup hosts Beaconsfield after Christmas while Officer travels to Pakenham for another daunting assignment.
