By Jonty Ralphsmith
The first uninterrupted round of two-day cricket since before the pandemic in the Dandenong District Cricket Association has given a clear indication of where teams sit in the Turf 3 competition.
Risers Fountain Gate and Doveton North both recorded outright wins over expected strugglers Doveton and Hampton Park respectively.
Entering the second day with the first innings win already under their belt, Fountain Gate ran through Doveton quickly, despite resistance at the top from Mitch Daley, Kaine Bundy and Mitch Rossborough.
After skipper Chanaka ‘Ted’ Sampath took 5/0 in the first innings, the wickets were shared around on the second day, spinner Rodni Kumara the only player to pick up multiple.
Chasing just 22 for a second innings victory, the Gators exposed Nadim Nazif at the top of the order and he finished unbeaten, the result sending the Gators to the top of the table.
At Booth Reserve, Doveton North’s second innings routing of Hampton Park steered them to an outright win.
The Redbacks were bowled out for just 33, lower-order batter Parampreet Singh the only batter to pass five.
With a first innings lead of just 64, Gayan De Silva claimed an early scalp and the floodgates opened once spinner Sachith Jayasinghe was brought into the attack.
Jayasingha’s six overs netted 5/7, after three wickets in the first innings.
Doveton North entered the second day within 30 runs of a first innings victory and sailed past the target but were plagued by batters being unable to go big.
Eight batters reached double figures but Mohammed Najibi’s 36 was the top score, the visitors bowled out for 195, before tearing through Hampton Park in 20.3 overs.
Meanwhile, Berwick Springs leggie Harry Fernando tore through the Silverton batting lineup to leave the Bakers’ season on life support.
In for Seth Lindsay and playing his first game of First XI cricket for the season, Fernando was handed the new ball, but did the damage when he returned for his second spell.
Set batters Kalapu Gamage and Matthew Wall had skipper Braydon Hillman thinking about taking him off, with Silverton going at a reasonable clip to make a fist of the mammoth chase of 343.
Fernando then broke the resistance and delivered in a big way, nabbing the remaining seven wickets of the innings in quick succession to keep Berwick Springs undefeated.
A variation bowler who relies on his smarts and subtlety, he proved that he belongs in the Titans First XI despite their strong spin depth.
Five of the last six Silverton batters were dismissed for ducks, Fernando’s spellbinding bowling delivering him figures of 7/25 off 10.3 overs, Silverton skittled for 177.
As well as Wall and Gamage’s contributions, skipper Rob North and opener Rasdev Singh made 40 each, but the 165 run loss leaves Silverton winless at the bottom of the table after four rounds.
With experienced premiership front runners Coomoora on the horizon next week, the Bakers will likely have to come from deep in the chasing pack to give finals a shake despite showing glimpses in each of their three losses.
The other game saw Coomoora defeat a gallant Lynbrook by 120 runs, after setting a target of 353.
The Lakers looked comfortable for much of the chase, but left themselves too much ground to make up late as Dean Krelle kept it tight upfront and Malan Madusanka controlled the middle overs.
Positively for the visitors, youngster Tajbir Powar, who has been backed to open the batting this season, scored an enterprising 92.
It follows on from a promising 23 last week that he wasn’t able to go on with, and was crucial to Lynbrook putting up a fight as the rest of the top order struggled to put a score on the board.
