By Marcus Uhe
Springvale South’s grip on first place of the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf 1 competition appears as strong as it’s ever been, on the back of a crushing seven-wicket win over Hallam Kalora Park on Saturday at Alex Nelson Reserve.
What shaped to be the biggest match of the round in the competition’s return to play after the Christmas period turned out to be the shortest thanks to a faultless performance from the Bloods’ bowling group, declared by playing coach Paul Hill as the the most comprehensive performance he’d seen from his bowlers this season.
Jagveer Hayer and Leigh Booth’s 16-run opening stand was the Hawks’ biggest partnership of the day, all out for just 80 in the 36th over.
The varied bowling group in red showed no signs of rust after a couple of weeks off, delivering a near-faultless performance to dismiss the Hawks batters for their lowest total of the year.
Josh Dowling and Yoshan Kumara set the tone with a brilliant opening spell that saw Hayer removed for just two, stumped off Kumara for his third consecutive single-figure score.
It was left-arm quick Blade Baxter who was next to impact the contest, his introduction reaping immediate rewards with the removal of Mahela Udawatte with just his second delivery of the day.
Udawatte was the only Hawks batter to achieve any success against the Bloods in the two sides’ earlier fixture this season, cracking an unbeaten 104 in a 90-run loss.
Booth edged behind to the awaiting gloves of Paul Hill shortly after Udawatte’s departure, meaning two of the three keys for the Hawks had been removed with the score on just 27.
Matthew Cox was next to go, a risky single to cover proving costly thanks to some sharp fielding in-close.
Ben Hillard and Jordan Hammond attempted to put pressure back on the Springvale South bowlers with attacking strokes, a Hillard lofted off-drive narrowly out of reach for Dowling at mid-off.
A straighter delivery from Baxter the next ball saw Hillard spoon a catch straight to Jordan Mackenzie at short cover, making the counter-offensive short-lived.
When Hammond fell for 15, LBW to Jackson Sketcher, the scoreboard read 6/59, and with his dismissal went the hopes of posting a competitive total, the remaining for wickets yielding only 21 runs.
So impressive was the bowling performance from Springvale South, only six boundaries were allowed, and a quarter of the overs bowled (35.3) were maidens.
Baxter was the leading wicket taker with 4/15, Jarryd Straker extending his lead at the top of the leading wicket takers list with 2/13.
A boundary-laden 68 off just 43 balls from stand-in skipper Jordan Wyatt ensured the home side reached the target with minimal fuss in the 13th over.
Wyatt was in no mood to hang around, a handful of signature lofted straight drives punctuated his entertaining knock, which included three sixes and nine fours, near-single handedly completing the chase on his own.
Hill was pleased with his side’s ability to hit the ground running after the Christmas break, with particular credit going towards his bowlers.
“That was the best we’ve started with the ball for the whole year, especially ‘Dowlo’ (Josh Dowling) who was unreal at the start,” Hill said.
“We’ve got six different options who all provide different things and all do a really good job, which is good to see.
“We thought they (Hallam Kalora Park) might do something a little bit different today and try someone else at the top and try to score a little bit, but they fell into old ways and struggled to score, so that set it up nicely for us.”
With history on the horizon for Paul Hill’s men with the chance to be the first team to win three consecutive Turf 1 premierships, Hill hopes Saturday’s win will kick-start the beginning of the second half of the year.
“We’re trying to build on what we did today.
“Our energy in the field, especially; if we get that right, we’re moving around in the field, our energy is high and we’re ruthless with the ball and the bat, then we’re a pretty good cricket team.”
