By JARROD POTTER
PARKFIELD (7/179) raised its hand as the side to beat in Dandenong District Cricket Association’s (DDCA) Turf 1 competition – tearing apart premiership aspirant Mordialloc (111).
As he’s done all season, Steve Spoljaric (88) was the lynchpin of Parkfield’s success – belting a 106-run partnership with Samiddha Gallage (41) to push the Bears towards a par score at Parkfield Reserve. Spoljaric was run out 12 shy of his third century this season but takes his tally to 462 runs at 77 thus far in 2013/14.
Mordialloc’s Chathura Athukorala (2/29) was the best of the bowlers along with Nick Connellan (2/55). The Bloodhounds couldn’t knock together a significant partnership as Travis D’Souza (2/13), Shane Bell (2/19) and Jarrod Williamson (1/20) all impressed with the ball. The fielding effort from Parkfield was exceptional as well with three run outs curtailing Mordialloc’s chances. Leading the ladder by nine points, Parkfield faces Berwick this weekend.
Hallam Kalora Park v Coomoora
Coomoora (4/155) pulled itself further away from the bottom rung in Turf 1 with an impressive chasedown of Hallam Kalora Park (152). The chase was set up from the bowlers first as Rob Johnston (3/31) and Oliver Ashford (2/21) tore through the Hallam batsmen. Johnston (60) surely earned maximum Wookey Medal votes as he piled on a half century alongside Lance Baptist (43) to take the side towards the win. Snaring the crucial points, Coomoora leapfrogs Narre Warren to move up to 11th in the division.
Buckley Ridges v Berwick
The best efforts of former Test batsman Thilan Samaraweera (59) wasn’t enough to drag Berwick (170) to victory over Buckley Ridges (7/173). The Ridges unveiled Nottingham spearhead Luke Fletcher (3/18), with the English recruit immediately earning his place. Dan Haasbroek (3/27) also had success with the ball and Matt Goodwright (2/38) span out Nirmal Wickramaratne and Colin Tucker to keep the total manageable on the postage-stamp-sized Park Oval.
Fletcher (16) opened the batting with Simon Fonceca (55) – with the latter guiding the chase alongside Antonio Greenidge (31) and Haasbroek (35no). Steady wickets falling almost cost Buckley Ridges the points, but Haasbroek stabilised the innings and batted through with the tail to take the win.
Lyndale v Springvale South
Lyndale’s (102) magic debut run in Turf 1 hit a snag in the form of Springvale South (1/103). Tim Ford (4/15) continued his stellar season as he ran through the top order with Aaron Morrison (2/19) and Ruwantha Kellepotha (2/33). Jaime Brohier (4) and Dale Tormey (1) couldn’t hit their straps like they had all season, leaving Lyndale’s only fighter down the order as Sanjeewa de Silva (48) put up something remotely defendable. De Silva fell two short of his half century as Kellepotha scattered his stumps to finish the Lyndale innings after 37.2 overs. The response from the Bloods was brutal as captain Craig Slocombe (57no) promoted himself for a rare occasion this season to post six boundaries and two sixes about Barry Powell Reserve with good assistance from Dylan Quirk (22no).
Dandenong West v North Dandenong
The Northerners carried their pre-Christmas form into the new year with an impressive win led by all-rounder Clay McCartney (50 and 3/16). The former Stingray was the barb in the Bulls’ side as Dandenong West (161) failed to fire with the bat. Starts from new recruit Azeem Rafiq (35) Justin Stanton (33) and Matt Fielding (32) were capitalised on as Jurgen Andersen (3/26) helped himself to early scalps. McCartney came on to run through the tail from only four overs.
With the bat North Dandenong had its customary wobble at the top around Craig Gunawardana (22) after Andrew Harry (3/15) and Fielding (2/23) sliced through the top order. The chase was in strife at 6/82 before McCartney picked up the slack again, carrying on from an unbeaten century against Narre Warren in the last match of 2013. McCartney and Shane Clark (32no) posted a 75-run partnership to push the Northerners towards the victory, finishing 7/163 off 38.4 overs.
