By David Nagel and Blair Burns
Finals fever has hit the Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) with full force after a magnificent weekend of semi-final action in the elite Turf 1 competition.
An astonishing total of 1394 runs were scored across two semi-finals on an ideal Saturday and Sunday for batting; with temperatures soaring as well as batting averages.
The Labour Day long weekend was well timed for players from Buckley Ridges, Hallam Kalora Park, Berwick and Springvale South after the cream of DDCA cricket produced performances that will be talked about for years.
The final wash up is that Buckley Ridges has qualified for the grand final at Arch Brown Reserve on 22, 23 March, while Hallam Kalora Park will battle with Springvale South in a mouth-watering preliminary final at Hallam this weekend.
Let’s start this week’s recap at Park Oval, where Buckley Ridges (5/414) survived a huge scare from Hallam Kalora Park (8/395) in a grand final qualifier for the ages.
Bucks’ skipper Jayson Hobbs (18) called correctly and had no hesitation in strapping on the pads and batting first on an energy-sapping day for those in the field.
Hobbs, Jake Cronin (22) and Ben Wright (36) set things up nicely for the Bucks, but the real fireworks began when Roshane Silva (158 not out) and Dale Tormey (79) joined forces in the middle.
The damaging pair put on 132 for the fourth wicket, in 28 overs, as the Hawks bowlers started to feel the pinch.
Tormey crunched nine boundaries and four sixes in his 84 balls at the crease, dominating the partnership; while Silva went about his work in calm fashion.
The Hawks were delighted when Tormey stepped down the crease and was stumped by Damith Perera off the bowling of Lee Brown (1/57); but the pressure simply ramped up from there.
Silva was magnificent, sharing a 63-run partnership with freshly-minted Wookey Medal winner Ishan Jayarathna (44), before pushing the total beyond 400 with an unbeaten stand with DDCA star Michael Davies (38 not out).
Silva and Davies appeared to have taken the game away from the Hawks; scoring 126 runs in just 17 overs of Saturday-afternoon mayhem.
William Whyte (2/126 off 22) and Jordan Hammond (2/99 off 26) toiled superbly for the Hawks; who had an impossible mission to sleep on overnight.
Or was it?
Openers Leigh Booth (92) and Ben Hillard (73) had other ideas and began the chase with a 158-run partnership in just 32 overs.
The Bucks sensed the chance to rein things back after the dismissal of Booth, with Jayarathna (2/89), Hussain Ali (2/61) and Davies (2/53) all making vital breakthroughs through the middle order.
The Bucks trio combined to take 5/44; leaving the Hawks cooked at 5/202 and not even half-way towards their target.
But this superb semi-final had one more twist, with Jagveer Hayer (106 not out) and skipper Hammond (58) escalating things even further with a 101-run stand for the sixth wicket.
The Hawks continued their flurry, but with 10 overs left still required 98 to win with three wickets in hand.
They scored 78 off those last 10, with Hayer celebrating the second triple-figure score of the match; while Westley Nicholas (2/73) made a late contribution for the Bucks.
The Bucks had survived one of the all-time great games in DDCA history, while the Hawks now need to somehow regroup and refocus as they welcome Springvale South to the Hallam Recreation Reserve this Saturday.
Springvale South (6/294) timed its chase to perfection at Arch Brown Reserve, with keeper Paul Hill (9 not out) cracking the winning runs with 17 balls to spare against a now eliminated Berwick (8/291).
The Bears batted purposefully on day one, with Jake Hancock (90) playing the sheet-anchor role in a patient build up to tea.
Matthew Hague (29) and Nick Shirt (15) both wasted solid starts for the Bears, leaving big-guns Hancock and Michael Wallace (13) to do the repair work.
Hancock looked immovable and Wallace dangerous; until Jackson Sketcher produced a piece of magic that turned the game the Bloods way.
Wallace had just broken the shackles by cracking a beautiful cover-drive for four off the bowling of Blade Baxter, and then attempted a sneaky single just two balls later.
Wallace pushed to mid-off, where Sketcher gathered on the run and threw down the stumps at the bowlers end to leave Wallace well short of his ground.
In a game full of highlights, it was the key moment of the match.
Springvale South captain Cam Forsyth said something had to give after 18 economical overs where Berwick had scored just 28 runs.
“It was the buildup to that moment with 15-20 overs of tight cricket with their two best batters at the crease, you could feel the pressure building,” he said.
“That led to Michael taking a risky run and Jack, who’s a much loved member of our side, did some great fielding to remove him … it got the boys up and about.”
Jordan Cleland (43), Toby Wills (28), Jarryd Wills (23) and Lachlan Brown (20) all tried to fill the void for the Bears; but the run out of Wallace halted the Bears push for a 300-plus score.
Baxter (4/99 off 26) was sensational for the Bloods, with his left-arm around the wicket deliveries always on target, while off-spinner Jarryd Straker (0/42 off 20) played a key role building pressure at the other end.
Sunday began with Mitch Forsyth (26) and Nick Boland (50) surviving some hostile bowling from Toby Wills (3/70) and James Trodd (0/59); with Trodd nailing Boland in the helmet in the early overs of the innings.
Wills gave the Bears a huge confidence-boost by removing Boland and danger-man Jordan Wyatt (0) off consecutive balls, but the Bloods then showed their class.
Baxter (49) survived the hat-trick ball before sharing a steadying 65-run partnership with Cam Forsyth (50), while Jackson Sketcher (44) and Jordan Mackenzie (45 not out) both played critical innings before Hill whipped one to mid-wicket for the winning runs.
Another talking point from the game was Ryan Quirk, who has been sidelined for most of the season with a wrist injury.
Despite having surgery and countless physio appointments in a bid to get back and play finals, the DDCA turned down the club’s appeal.
Forsyth said the decision provided the players with some added motivation, as he questioned the league’s “transparency”.
“We were somewhat frustrated with the decision … we will be trying to have some further conversations with the league about it,” he said.
“There was another player who had a similar injury, missed a similar amount of cricket and was allowed to play in similar circumstances.
“He (Quirk) went through a lot this year to be available for the last month and hoped that he would be able to play finals … he was very disappointed.”
Forsyth added that his troops embraced the “underdog” label and he praised all of the contributors who helped pull off the huge victory.
“Quite a few people read into our form and while losing three out of the four coming into finals wasn’t ideal … we were quietly confident,” he said.
“The last couple of seasons we’ve had that double chance, whereas this year we limped to the line a bit … but chasing close to 300 in a final is a special performance.”
The winning-scenes were grand final-like for the Bloods; who now need to regather their thoughts ahead of a huge match up with the Hawks.
Hallam Kalora Park (6/249) thumped Springvale South (100) on the same deck back in round 13…but expect a much closer contest this time around.
Given the exploits of all four teams on week one of finals; we can probably expect something extraordinary once again.
