By Marcus Uhe
Revenge will be on the mind when Fountain Gate heads to Berwick Springs Recreation Reserve this weekend to tackle the Titans in the Dandenong District Cricket Association Turf 3 competition.
Berwick Springs humbled the Gators by 137 runs in their last meeting, which came in a semi-final and ended Fountain Gate’s summer.
Fountain Gate held the Titans’ stars in check with the bat, but let Archie Vora off the chain, scoring a match-defining hundred.
When the Gators were required to chase, the innings fell apart quickly, slumping to 5/45 and never recovering.
Fountain Gate’s batting woes continued in round 2 against Doveton but were offset by a strong bowling performance to climb to an important win.
The Titans, meanwhile, were one of the surprise losers of the opening week of matches, falling to Silverton by six wickets.
Early dismissals to Jackson Marie and Riley Hillman put the Titans on the back foot early against a revamped Bakers side, with only Shalika Karunanayake passing 50.
Berwick Springs carry expectations as high as anyone this summer on the back of last season’s exploits but will need a spread of contributors to regain that winning form of 2023-24.
At Booth Reserve, Hampton Park has the potential to put Keysborough in a world of trouble, with the chance to consign them to a winless opening four rounds of action.
Keysborough were one of the major disappointments of round 2, having competed in Turf 2 last year and eager to return to the second division.
Performances like what they displayed against Lynbrook – reaching just 84 after conceding 237 – simply will not cut it in this division, and will leave them well-short of their goals.
The Lakers for their part will get their first look at Narre North, a side keen to make an impression in Turf 3.
They showed promise with the ball in round two against Hampton Park, taking seven wickets in the Lions’ chase, but need to stabilise their batting, having only reached 102.
With Hampton Park one of the poorer performing sides in Turf 3 last season, expect the challenges to only get tougher for Narre North.
Silverton, meanwhile, will be eager to take its winning form into Saturday’s clash with Doveton.
Led by a captain’s knock from Robert North, the Bakers were excellent against Berwick Springs with a number of contributors, as Harkanwal Singh, Varinder Verk and Dylan Hayes each took multiple wickets.
Doveton, meanwhile, is regenerating their senior side on the run, and appear vulnerable in the early stages of the summer.
Tips: HAMPTON PARK v Keysborough, Doveton v SILVERTON, Narre North v LYNBROOK, BERWICK SPRINGS v Fountain Gate.
