Ouch: Narre Warren batsman Bill O’Loughlin tries unsuccessfully to evade a short-pitched delivery from Springvale South paceman Danny Law.
By Glen Atwell and Marc McGowan
BOBBY Gray and Danny Law have combined to rout Narre Warren for 66 at Sweeney Reserve to maintain Springvale South’s unbeaten status with a commanding 79-run victory in Dandenong District Cricket Association competition.
Both teams entered the clash undefeated, but it was last season’s finalists who continued to power on.
Springvale South was sent into bat on a dismal wicket and managed to post a respectable 145 in the conditions, with John Simpson (6/40) putting in a phenomenal 16-over spell for Narre Warren.
The Magpies were never a chance in response, and with opening pair Gray and Law bowling unchanged to stumps on the first day, Narre Warren found itself at 6/47 at stumps.
Springvale South’s momentum continued on day two and after the Magpies added seven runs to their previous weekend’s total without loss, their final four wickets fell for just 12 runs.
Gray (5/21 off 19 overs) and Law (5/36 off 19.3 overs) did all the bowling for Springvale South in an amazing 38.3-over spell.
North Dandenong remains undefeated after an unconvincing 21-run win over Cranbourne at Lois Twohig Reserve.
The former elected to bat first on a tough deck and scored 135, which the team would have been relatively pleased with after finding itself at 6/79.
The Cranbourne batsmen had even more trouble and slumped to 8/66, with Stuart Mack (4/37 off 14 overs) and Paul Court (4/59 off 15.4 overs) pouring on the pressure.
The complex of the contest changed, however, with some rearguard action from the Cranbourne lower order, particularly from Shane Murdoch (36 not out), and an unlikely triumph was on the cards.
Cranbourne managed to move to 107 with two wickets still in hand before a timely breakthrough from David Bell (1/7 off five overs) and finally a routine wicket from Court saved North Dandenong from disaster.
Keysborough served St Mary’s an outright defeat in their clash at Carroll Reserve on Saturday.
After bowling out the Saints for 92 – Hemantha Alles taking 5/36 and Emmanuel Coomaraswamy 5/85 – Keysborough declared at 9/226, Stephen Hennigan scoring 68, and sent the opposition back to the crease.
Desperately trying to stall Keysborough’s quest for the full 10 points, Saints batsman Troy Cashman got his side off to a great start, scoring 20 before being run out by Alles.
Channa Gunawardana (4/43) and Mahshan Perera (4/21) were unstoppable with the ball as the St Mary’s batsmen again failed to make a serious impression on the scoreboard, all out for 110.
Luke Byron (25 and 44) was the clear stand-out for the Saints with the bat.
Dandenong West fell 37 runs short of victory against Buckley Ridges at Greaves Reserve on Saturday.
Chasing Buckley Ridges’ 206, Dandenong faced 94 overs with Shane Simpson scoring 62, but could only manage to post 169. Glen Scales was the best of the Ridges’ bowlers with 3/28.
Dandenong’s first three batsmen, Damian Sullivan (26), Matthew Sofoulis (22) and David Crowe (32), got the side off to a steady start, but no batsmen could go on with the job.
Wickets fell regularly. Shane D’Rozario with 4/50 from 40 overs and Tim Smart, who took 3/11, headlined the Buckley Ridges bowling attack.
The win elevates Buckley Ridges to fifth on the Turf One ladder, one spot below Dandenong West and a finals position.
A swashbuckling Southern Pirates’ side won its first game of the season, defeating Parkfield by 53 runs at Parkfield Reserve on Saturday.
Chasing the Pirates’ 240 for victory, the Parkfield batsmen were no match for the Pirate bowling attack, led by Stephen Ryalls (4/41) and Peter Atkinson (3/31), and collapsed to be all out for 187.
Parkfield lost its last three wickets for 10 runs, ensuring the Pirates victory and an escape from the bottom of the ladder.
