The cricket gear stayed in the kit bag for another week as the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s (DDCA) turf competitions were called off due to unprepared turf wickets.
It would’ve been a lovely day for cricket with the sun shining, but the scheduled two-day games in Turf 1 were instead changed to one-day matches which are now set to go ahead this weekend.
The match of the round will be between Springvale South and Hallam Kalora Park as the two strong sides face off in a preliminary final rematch from last season, kicking off from 12.30pm at Alex Nelson Reserve.
When they last met, the Hawks were damaging with the bat to post a big score of 7-359 off 80 overs, thanks to scores from Mahela Udawatte (92), Jagveer Hayer (82), Damith Perera (71) and Leigh Booth (57).
The Bloods bowlers had no answer for the batting brilliance, with Jarryd Straker the only bowler to place any sort of pressure back on Hallam Kalora Park, with 0-27 off his 14 overs – every other bowler had an economy of at least four.
There was some unluckiness in part for Springvale South as the second week of the final was washed out, stripping them of the chance to try and chase the big total – the Hawks progressed as a result of their second-place finish.
In years gone by, it has been the Bloods who have had the better of the Hawks, establishing dominance over them to hold an impressive winning record.
But under coach Matt Cox, Hallam Kalora Park changed that narrative last season and got the better of Springvale South on all three occasions, in a couple of one-dayers throughout the season and a final.
This clash will be a blockbuster, with both teams determined to start the season on a positive note and post a big score in the 40 overs.
Springvale South captain Cam Forsyth said his troops were looking forward to the test against a side which will be around the mark once again this season.
“Hallam is a team we have historically had success against over the past five years, but they beat us pretty comprehensively last year,” he said.
“They beat us twice during the regular season last year and while we were somewhat unlucky in the final to get washed out, they finished higher for a reason and put up a very big score which would’ve been hard to chase.
“Disappointing for our season to end that way, but I think all of our boys were of the view that Hallam deserved to go through having beaten us during the season and finished higher.”
Forsyth said the key to beating the Hawks was getting through their fast bowing attack and finding ways to restrict their scoring when they get the opportunity to bowl.
“It will definitely be a challenge, their fast bowling attack is one of the best, if not the best in the competition with their three seamers from last year and then adding in Jawid (Khan) as well,” he said.
“Under Coxy, they play quite an aggressive brand of cricket, they really took it up to us with the bat and ball last season.
“They played differently to how they had in previous seasons and it probably caught us a bit unaware.”
Ryan Quirk will be a player to watch for the Bloods, after returning from last year’s wrist injury and putting together a solid pre-season.
“He will be going back to his usual spot opening the batting, we are very much looking forward to him coming in,” he said.
“The last full season he played with us, he made the team of the year and was one of the favourites for the Wookey Medal, so we are hopeful that he can find his best form this year.”
While on the other side, eyes will be on new recruit Jawid Khan (from Dandenong in premier cricket), who is likely to hit bombs and bowl rockets.
Khan will be a key player for Hallam Kalora Park this season, especially in the absence of Mahela Udawatte, who departed to Dingley in the off-season.
“We will make sure we are up for the fight, and we are looking forward to a pretty hotly-contested game,” Forsyth said.
In other games, Buckley Ridges will hope to start its premiership defence and three-peat quest with a win over Beaconsfield at Perc Allison Oval.
Opening batsman Jake Cronin doesn’t have to wait long to face his former teammates after making the move from the Bucks to the Tigers in the off-season.
Cronin was part of the past two premierships at Buckley Ridges, but has now made the move to Beaconsfield and the Bucks boys will, without a doubt, greet him with a fierce opening spell.
Tigers captain Andrey Fernando will look to have a big say in the outcome of this game, and will also be hoping his many international recruits can provide the spark that the team needs.
The two newest teams in the Turf 1 competition will face off at Greaves Reserve 1 as Dandenong West hosts Parkmore Pirates.
The Bulls, led by skipper Riley Siwes, are looking to build on last year’s fifth-place finish, while the Pirates are out to upset a few teams in the top division.
Joel Zietsman was a big inclusion for Dandenong West in the off-season and you get the sense that he could rip through the Parkmore top order if he can get a few early wickets.
However, the Pirates did plenty of their own recruiting and will look to their many new faces to deliver and get them off to a perfect season start.
Berwick will go into its clash against Narre South as favourites after a strong 2024-25 season where they finished third on the ladder and fell short to Springvale South in the first final.
Jake Hancock was seriously impressive last season and scored 109 when these two teams last met, not to mention other scores throughout the year including 121, 94, 90, 86 and 50 – he puts a price on his wicket and wears down the bowlers.
While the Lions finished seventh on the ladder last season and avoided relegation by the barest of margins, they will be out to channel their 2023-24 form where they made a preliminary final.
Jeevan Mendis is the captain of Narre South and is the heart and soul of that club – if the Lions are to cause an upset, you would expect that Mendis will contribute well with bat and ball.
TURF 1 FIXTURE
Round 1 (One-dayers): Berwick v Narre South at Arch Brown Reserve, Dandenong West v Parkmore at Greaves Reserve 1, Springvale South v Hallam Kalora Park at Alex Nelson Reserve, Beaconsfield v Buckley Ridges at Perc Allison Oval – all matches to start at 12.30pm.
TURF 2 FIXTURE
Round 1: (One-dayers): Coomoora v Parkfield at Coomoora Turf, Cranbourne v Narre Warren at Casey Fields 2, Silverton v HSD at Springvale Reserve, North Dandenong v Lyndale at Lois Twohig Turf.
