Left: Keysborough paceman Hemantha Alles ripped through the Cranbourne batsmen on Saturday and snared 3/65.
By Glen Atwell and Marc McGowan
CRANBOURNE’S on again-off again season appears to be well and truly back on after an excellent day of batting on Saturday against Keysborough at Casey Fields.
The Eagles wilted under a spirited spell of new-ball bowling from Hemantha Alles (3/65), which included the prize scalp of captain-coach Ross Woodall for a duck, to find themselves 4/49.
The game’s complexion changed when English import Steven Hall (85) was joined at the wicket by Daniel Diwell (103) and the pair combined for a superb 180-run partnership.
That was finally broken when Mahshan Perera snared the first of his two wickets to dismiss Diwell with the score on 229.
Shane Murdoch (27 not out) produced a cameo down the order for Cranbourne and it was enough to take his side to 286 before being bowled out.
THE Doveton batsmen put their side in a position to upset second-placed Buckley Ridges with a solid display at Park Oval on Saturday.
With skipper Brad Downe (81 runs) leading from the front, the Doves were able to put together a challenging target of 247 for the Ridges.
Aiding the cause were Rhys Barker (40), Robert Turner (28) and Ryan McMurray (25), who made solid contributions in the middle order.
Star Buckley Ridges all-rounder Shane D’Rozario (6/114) captured his third five-wicket haul of the season to be the chief destroyer.
In the reply, Daniel Watson (13 not out) and Basil Hobkirk (3 not out) negotiated six testing overs before stumps to leave the Ridges at 0/17.
NARRE Warren’s season appears to be back on track after skittling the lowly Southern Pirates for 181 at Sweeney Reserve on the weekend.
Last week’s hot bowling duo Chris Jarrett (5/35) and Chris Pentland (3/58) were at it again, sharing the bulk of the Pirate wickets.
In response, the Magpies lost Pentland (1) early, but captain-coach Wendell Perumal (12 not out) entered the fray and managed to hold the fort with Dimitri Dimakopoulos (2 not out) until the end of play.
Narre Warren will resume the meagre run chase at 1/16, and will expect to record its third straight victory.
BERWICK made a mockery of North Dandenong on the weekend to continue its charge towards a defence of its Turf One title at Lois Twohig Reserve.
The match was expected to be a potential sneak preview to the season’s grand final, but if that is the case, then the Bears should be handed the title now.
Having said that, North Dandenong entered the match in poor form after going down by five wickets to the struggling St Mary’s squad.
Berwick made its presence felt immediately, with Simon Cornell (3/33) uprooting Shane Clark’s stumps for a duck.
It got progressively worse for North Dandenong as the team slumped to 6/79 before eventually reaching 131 on the back of Adrian Baltruschaitis’ 31.
The Bears wasted little time chasing the total down, with Alecs Roberts (70 not out) continuing his recent run splurge to take his side to the brink of first innings points.
Berwick resumes at 5/120 this weekend.
SPRINGVALE South will be searching for its first outright victory of the season against St Mary’s when play resumes at Alex Nelson Reserve on Saturday.
After the Saints won the toss and batted first, opener Troy Cashman recorded his third duck for the season and Gary Cake departed for just 9.
Springvale bowler Bobby Gray took the first two wickets and finished his spell with 2/24.
Michael Turner (23) and Paul McDonald (23) were the unlikely top-scorers for St Mary’s, the team all out for a dismal 122 after 63 overs.
In the reply, Springvale smashed its way to a fast first innings victory, finishing at 5/123 after facing the remaining 17 overs in the day.
After losing two wickets early, Gavin Fewkes (45) and Jason Quirk (61 not out) steadied the ship and charged towards the Saints’ total.
But whether or not Springvale can repeat the fast-finishing feat and score its maiden outright victory remains to be seen.
AS Parkfield battles towards a top-four finish, Dandenong West is doing everything it can to spoil the party.
After batting first at Greaves Reserve last weekend, Parkfield amassed 203, thanks largely to a superb captain’s knock of 92 from Dale Harris.
Parkfield opener Guy Darwin also impressed with the bat, scoring 34.
Best of the Dandenong bowlers was Glen Scales, who snared 2/29.
With 12 overs to face, Dandenong West survived without losing a wicket and finished the day 0/17.
