By Jarrod Potter
NAR NAR GOON-MARYKNOLL (8/199cc) beat the man and became the man as they knocked off Devon Meadows (171) to regain first position in District Division.
In line with standard proceedings, Peter Zauner (2/13) sent the Marygoons’ openers back to the sheds for a pittance at 2/33. Craig Lewis (42) and Jamie Glen (24) put on 42 for the third wicket, before Lewis had his pegs rearranged by Lucas Carroll. Lewis, Sam Vanderzalm (35) and Daniel Glen (35) kept the run rate ticking over, and at the end of their allotted 40 overs Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll had thrown down the gauntlet to Devon Meadows. Mick Floyd (3/41) was the best bowler for the Panthers.
The reply started on shaky ground, with Darren O’Brien, Steve Robinson and Jason Holman all coming and going in quick succession. At 3/28, the chase looked in shambles before Carroll (34) made some quickfire runs before holing out against Lewis. Carroll’s demise triggered another collapse, and Devon Meadows had forced themselves into a corner at 6/87. Cue Bill Loudon (45) and Floyd (35). The tailenders set about bringing back the deficit and in the process, put on WGCA season-record 82-run partnership for the eighth wicket. Their fight back came to an end with Loudon’s dismissal to Vanderzalm. The white flag was waved soon after as Sam Pullen ran out James Howard to finish off the Panthers for 171. Steve Lewis, Craig Lewis, Vanderzalm and Joey Sweeney picked up a pair of wickets each in the victory.
The Marygoons’ win pushes them back to first in District – two points ahead of Merinda Park and 12 ahead of the vanquished Devon Meadows.
Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll faces Lyndhurst Vikings in a two-dayer, starting Saturday and Devon Meadows will need to get the points against St Francis Xavier if they want to get a home semi-final.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:MERINDA PARK v NYORA
Merinda Park (1/90) emphatically thumped Nyora (89) at Donnelly Reserve. In a move designed to get them home early to watch the tennis, Nyora won the toss, elected to bat and was bundled out well within their allotted overs.
The Mathers – Jess (5/26) and Shannon (2/18) – sent the Nyora batsmen back to the sheds in droves as they flew through the top order with ease. Jess Mathers’ devastating spell was only cut short when he bowled out his designated eight overs. Troy Ferguson continued to burden all of the Maroons’ batting aptitude, putting 37 to his name before he became Jess Mathers’ fourth victim at 4/68.
The fun then shifted to Adrian Slater (3/9), who cleaned up the tail quickly to see the Cobras exit the field after only 22.3 overs bowled.
The Cobras’ kept their big weapons in the shed and shifted part of the batting order around against the Nyora quicks. Daniel McCalman (50 not out) did the lion’s share of the work, while Chris Smith (27) and Uma Rattan (3 not out) sat back and watched the carnage from the other end. Rob Mulvahil took the only wicket for Nyora. Merinda Park will look for a big victory against Catani away, while Nyora invites Emerald around to hopefully see a more competitive match up.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:EMERALD v ST FRANCIS XAVIER
Emerald (6/153cc) kept their finals aspirations intact, with a 69-run victory over St Francis Xavier (94). While wickets fell at the other end, Bombers’ opener Ryan Scott (41) peppered runs all over Chandler Reserve. Despite his compatriots contributing only 19 runs, Scott kept the run rate ticking and was dismissed at 5/72. The workload shifted to Matt Livermore (40 not out), Alex Cann (22 not out) and Don Alenson (15) as the lower order pushed Emerald along. St Francis was unable to break enough partnerships to get the job done with the ball – Chris Shepherdson was the only SFX bowler to claim a pair of scalps.
St Francis started poorly with Clint Marsh (3/27), Cam Williams (2/14) and Anthony Flint (2/14) ripping through the top order. The X-Men were left to look like X-Boys in the face of good bowling from the Bombers. Through the grit and determination of Chris Shepherdson (29) and Darren Morrow (25), some respectability was put into the St Francis Xavier scoresheet. When they were both bowled by Marsh, the resistance fell, and the visitors succumbed to their first sub-100 score for the season.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:CATANI v LYNDHURST VIKINGS
Catani (3/194) knocked off the Lyndhurst Vikings (192) in a squeaker at Catani Reserve. The Coupe coup – Rob (3/38) and Thomas (2/38) – claimed five wickets between them, as the Blues kept Lyndhurst just shy of the double century mark. Thirty-six and 26 were the popular numbers for Catani – with David Williams, Ross Kortholt (not out) and Stephen Shuttleworth knocking in 36 and team mates Brad McDonald and Nick Close (not out) making 26 to help guide Catani to victory. The number to worry Lyndhurst the most will be 34 – the extras total as they bowled waywardly, including a whopping 22 wides. (No Lyndhurst Vikings results available).
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:SUB-DISTRICT
LANG LANG v GEMBROOK
Gembrook (5/169cc) put up their gloves and fought hard against Lang Lang (5/176) to deliver their best performance of the season.
The Brookers batted out their overs and set a competitive total on the back of captain Jeremy Everett (31 not out), Dean McPherson (31) and Daniel Woodd (29 not out) in his first Sub-District match. The opening stand between Darcey Johnstone (20) and McPherson was the best of the season for Gembrook, and the batting continued to hold strong against a Lang Lang attack without Sub-District Division’s leading wicket taker Bodie Brown. The Swamp Tigers’ bowling troupe couldn’t break through the Brookers, with Aaron Creasey (3/23) the only bowler to claim multiple wickets.
Will Davis broke the opening partnership in the first over, with Ricky Caddell hearing the death rattle for a duck. Everett removed Cam Chasemore and at 2/23, Lang Lang would’ve started to worry. Revival came from Peter Wilson (25) and Gareth Andrews (39), with the pair adding 60 for the third wicket. Alan Cook claimed a pair of crucial wickets to render Lang Lang 5/126 in the chase. Glen Easton (49 not out) and Rogan Fraser (19 not out) helped avoid a shock defeat to the last placed Gembrook as they put together a 50-run partnership to chase the total down with six overs to spare. Lang Lang faces Cranbourne Meadows at home while Gembrook hope to continue this week’s resolute effort against Cardinia.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:NAR NAR GOON-MARYKNOLL v UPPER BEACONSFIELD
Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll (9/154) chased down Upper Beaconsfield (149) in a one-wicket squeaker. Ash Bailey (4/30), Sean Somers (2/23) and Michael Jennings (2/22) took consistent wickets for the Marygoons as Upper Beaconsfield phased out their completed overs, losing a wicket on the last ball. In response, the Marygoons lost wickets in clumps as they went from 0/47 to 4/65. The rescue work came from Mick Lewis (42) and Simon Rogers (25), before Rogers was dismissed. Lewis then found assistance via Somers (21) and the pair, although both were dismissed before making the runs, did the job in the end to see Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll home by one wicket. (No Upper Beaconsfield results available.)
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:CRANBOURNE MEADOWS v TOORADIN
Tooradin (194) put a one-win buffer between themselves and relegation, with a 54-run victory over Cranbourne Meadows (140). The top seven batsmen for the Seagulls passed into double-figure territory, but disappointingly, none of them went on to register half centuries. Kane Latham (39) was the best of the Tooradin bats, with the middle order all knocking in 20s before getting dismissed. Adrian Savage (4/26) was the silver assassin for the Meadows, and had good support from Mat Smith (2/26) and David Waller (2/27).
The response from Cranbourne Meadows started tepidly, with the top order getting starts and failing to kick on. Richard Holland in a critical spell dismissed both Murdochs and Roger Cotterall to send the Rebels into a free-fall. Resistance was forged by Smith (40) and Trevor Poole (22) before Adam Galea (4/22) went on a late innings wicket taking spree. He claimed four of the last five wickets to give Tooradin a comprehensive win. The battle for fourth place will be played out as Tooradin faces Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll while Cranbourne Meadows has a task ahead of them facing Lang Lang.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:CLYDE v CARDINIA
Cardinia (158) was outmatched by Clyde (4/165) as Cougar’s all-rounder Noel O’Brien took the Bulls by the horns. O’Brien claimed four wickets before guiding the chase home with 29 not out. Joel Avard (2/20) was the other multiple wicket taker for Clyde.
The Cougars hit their way towards victory through a 96-run opening stand between David Denton (50) and Brad Goodman (39). Denton, Goodman and number three Shane Jack fell in quick succession, taking Clyde from 0/96 to 3/109 in a matter of overs. O’Brien, Dean Williams (15) and Glen Tuckwell (7 not out) got the job done for the Cougars with three overs left. Clyde hosts Upper Beaconsfield this week while Cardinia has Gembrook at home. (No Cardinia results available).
