BUCKLEY Ridges (8/275) emphatically booked its place in the DDCA Turf 1 grand final with a 91, and will face Mordialloc which knocked off Springvale South.
The strong first-up work of Tom Rowe (23) and Suren Ekanayake (34) was not replicated by the top order as the Ridges fell from 0/59 to 5/85 on account of West’s front liners Peter Atkinson (3/90) and Alex Roberts (2/48) working down the line-up. The backbone was finally shown by Troy Aust (115) – whose swashbuckling century pulled the Ridges out of the gutter and propelled them into the grand final.
Aust’s knock set the scene for the Ridges’ bowlers to deliver the finishing blow – Jonny Lash (6/39) ripped victims from the crease seemingly at will as he took career-best figures. David Weerden (50) and Anthony Brannan (42) made sure the Bulls wouldn’t be bowled out early, but it wasn’t to be for Dandenong West.
Setting up a first-versus-second grand final showdown, Mordialloc (142 and 3/77) defended a tiny total against Springvale South (87). Matheesha Perera (4/42) and Tim Ford (3/27) ran through the Bloodhounds in the first innings, but the same tenacity wasn’t found in the batting side of the Bloods’ ledger – Warren Ayres (22) and Andrew Sharp (26) tried to hold on after a Chathura Athukorala (6/33) onslaught leaving the visitors 5/23. When Ayres succumbed to Athukorala, Sharp stayed strong, but couldn’t find enough at the other end to give Springvale South first innings points. Mordialloc batted out their second innings without much fanfare as Athukorala (47 not out) hit into some form.
TURF 2
Cranbourne (4/173) dismissed Silverton (172) first for a coin-flip score, sometimes enough for a win and sometimes not, with Te Ahu Davis (4/38) ripping through the line-up. Davis, in tandem with Rob Cleland (1/21) and Faisal Payenda (2/27) made life difficult for the Silverton batting card, as only Dilusha Nanayakkara (72) took advantage of the conditions on Saturday.
Losing Jordan Cleland (7) early on Sunday, the building was left to Payenda (84 not out), Matt Darvell (20) and Ben Maroney (33) helped steer the Eagles most of the way to victory. The guiding knock from the Eagles’ opener – his second half century of the season – was enough to push Cranbourne into the grand final and hopefully back into Turf 1 – their first foray in the top flight since relegation in 2008/09.
A monstrous 8/362cc emphatically pushed Lyndale one step closer to promotion and the premiership, as Dale Tormey (113), Jaime Brohier (65) and Conal Ranatunga (48) smashed about the Burras’ bowlers. Max Morley (3/97) toiled all day for his 23 overs while Shakeel Ahmad (2/35) and Baden Saunders (2/49). Keysborough (160) was unable to get even remotely close, despite the best efforts of Jake Hennigan (53). Brohier (4/26) and Carman Mapatunga (3/37) were the best of the bowlers.TURF 3
Buckley Ridges (257) defeated Berwick (237), with Ben Watson (90) smashing a half-century in tandem with Basil Hobkirk (44). The Ridges were led again at the bowler’s crease by Watson (3/50) and Matin Sultani (3/29) was extremely economical.Hampton Park (4/140) paid the bills against Dandenong West (139), ticking all the boxes sequentially to book a grand final spot. Tim Fathers (3/26), Travis Lacey (2/5) and James Kellett (2/25) ran through the Bulls’ batting before captain Danny Cortese (36 not out) and Lacey (27 not out) saw the side home in the 44th over.
TURF 4
Coomoora (3/165) edged past Silverton (134) to reach the grand final on the back of a Dimitu Kushan 93. The Kangaroos kicked out the visitors via Michael Temby (5/17) and Kristopher Thompson (2/10). Kushan and Luke Wenke (44) shared in a match-winning 125-run partnership. Kushan fell narrowly short of his ton and the match was called after he was dismissed.
TURF 5
Half centuries to Suhayl Khan (64) and Brad Starkey (55 not out) pushed Narre North (9/236) into their grand final after miserly dismissing Dandenong West (113). Josh Dowling (3/23) and Daniel Maskiell (3/17) were the best of the Foxes’ bowlers.
