Buckley Ridges couldn’t have started the season any better, with the side scoring big in the first two rounds and banking two early wins in the DDCA Turf 1 competition.
The Bucks made 278 against Dandenong West last weekend and after claiming early wickets of Nipunaka Fonseka and Nathan Power (both ducks) late on day one, the Bulls were in strife at 2/26.
The equation for Riley Siwes and his team was tough, 253 runs needed and eight wickets in hand.
While they gave it a fair fight, Dandenong West ultimately fell short and suffered its first loss of the season.
Despite walking out to the crease on day two with the scoreboard reading 2/26, Bulls opener Shaun Weir was not deterred.
He and Madushanka Perera went about their business in a bid to dig their team out of trouble.
The pair added 50 runs for the third wicket and things were looking positive for the side, before the worst possible scenario, a run out.
Perera cut hard forward of point and beat the fielder at cover, taking off down the pitch before he was sent back by Weir.
He attempted to turn around, sprint back towards safety and dive, but some clean fielding from Triyan De Silva and brilliant glovework had Perera short of his ground – run out for 21.
Malinga Bandara (four) and Riley Siwes (five) were the next wickets to fall and the score was looking bleak, 5-90.
Weir finally found the partner he was longing for when Nuwan Kulasekara strolled out to the crease.
The pair looked comfortable and quickly began to get the run rate ticking, putting on 63 runs and breathing some life back into the run chase.
That was until new recruit Harry Snowden got the breakthrough wicket, removing Weir for 87 with a short ball that was given by the umpire after some thought.
It was Weir’s best innings since he made the move into Turf 1 at the beginning of last season, scoring 87 off 142 deliveries.
Kulasekara (30) and Matthew Collett (17) did their best late in the innings, but the team was bowled out for 190 off 59.5 overs.
Ishan Jayarathna found his Wookey Medallist form, scoring a damaging 59 off 53 balls and taking 4/47 with the new ball.
While big fast bowler Snowden also took four wickets in the victory.
In other games, Berwick is on top of the ladder after an outright victory over last year’s grand finalist Hallam Kalora Park.
The Bears batted first in the match and scrapped together 171 before bowling the Hawks out for 54, and sending them back in.
Despite some resistance from the Hawks’ middle order through Jawid Khan (73) and Damith Perera (43), the outright was always going to be hard to avoid after such a poor first innings.
The Hawks were bowled out for 171 in their second innings – the exact same total that the Bears managed the previous week.
The Bears had 54 to chase and did it with ease, as Lachlan Brown (29 not out) and Jarryd Wills (23 not out) reached the target in the ninth over.
Berwick fast bowler Toby Wills took another three wickets on day two to finish the match with figures of 10/48 off 17 overs.
Despite a rocky start losing 2/16, Springvale South successfully chased down Narre South’s target of 210.
Mitch Forsyth (63) and Chaturanga De Silva (66) were pivotal in the run chase, while Jordy Wyatt (36 not out from 19 balls) provided some late fireworks – chasing the total five wickets down.
Lions captain Jeevan Mendis took 3/61 from 17 overs and was the pick of the bowlers in the loss.
After an unbeaten knock of 136 from Beaconsfield’s Ashan Walgamage, the Tigers bowled out Parkmore for 193 to win by 85 runs.
The Pirates started the day 3/16, so some credit has to go their way for digging in almost reaching 200.
At number eight and nine, Jack Farrington (75) and Ankit Saxena (60) put some respect on Parkmore’s name with a brilliant partnership, but there wasn’t much else to smile about.
