By JARROD POTTER
DDCA – Round 4 (day 2)
FORTUNE favoured Cranbourne (110 and 4/103) as Lyndale (107 and 100) went from a winning first innings position to conceding an outright defeat in a couple of hours.
Lyndale had Cranbourne on the ropes in the first innings – working down to the final partnership as Ben Maroney (70 not out) was holding on for grim life against Quyen Pham (4/32), Ricky Foulstone (3/30) and Jaime Brohier (3/27). The Eagles were on the razor’s edge between first innings victory and defeat with a caught-behind was ruled not out on account of a no ball. From there Cranbourne lifted to just edge past Lyndale’s first innings tally and earn the first of their points for the afternoon. Maroney’s half-century – a dour affair by his standards off 82 balls – was the only man to shine for the Eagles first up before Lyndale was sent back in.
Steve Spoljaric (7/20) took the significant challenge on his shoulders as his opening ball team-mate Te Ahu Davis (1/0) was mostly ruled out of bowling after coming down crook this week. It left Spoljaric to rattle through the Lyndale attack. Once Brohier (27) succumbed to a straightener from Spoljaric, the rest fell to the three-time Wookey medallist.
Foulstone (20) and Farazur Rahman (13) knocked in the best partnership for the home side to maintain some distance between Cranbourne and outright victory. It took a half-tracker mongrel from Davis, who bowled one over despite suffering with illness, and a phenomenal one-handed catch to remove Foulstone and with it spell the end of Lyndale’s resistance.
Cranbourne needed 98 in 27 overs to take the outright and take top-of-the-ladder and were able to flay Lyndale in almost half that time. Maroney (39) – not content with one stellar knock in the day – returned to bludgeon Lyndale out of the game. Maroney took a fancy to Ben Montgomery (0/27) as the spinner was heaved for 22 by the former Pakenham opener. Maroney smacked about four boundaries and a huge six onto the Barry Powell hill to end the Lyndale resistance. Spoljaric (29 not out) finished the match with a pair of sixes – with one striking the pavilion roof – to seal an emphatic come-from-behind win and take with it the 10 points and top of the Turf 1 ladder in a stellar rise from Turf 2 after winning last season’s premiership.
SPRINGVALE SOUTH v MORDIALLOC
GOVERNING the action in one of the best all-round displays in DDCA history, Ruwantha Kellepotha (151 not out) followed his five-wicket haul with an amazing century to give Springvale South (7/253) the win against Mordialloc (202). Showing off the power that earned them a grand-final spot last year, the dour work of Steve Masterson (26) counterpointed the power of Kellepotha, who raced to his second century in Turf 1 cricket. Kellepotha’s innings was remarkably similar to his first DDCA ton last year when, as the mercury rose dramatically, the Sri Lankan only got better. Mordialloc had no match for the all-rounder, who struck the top score in DDCA Turf 1 this season as he walked off after an incredible knock to a thunderous applause in front of his home crowd.
BERWICK v DANDENONG WEST
Berwick (118 and 5/124) claimed the other outright triumph of the day as the Bears mauled Dandenong West (107 and 134). After just sneaking past the Bulls’ first innings tally and the damaging work of Dandy quick Peter Atkinson (6/58) – led from the top of the order by Jarrod Goodes (45) – Berwick began its own dismantling procedures. Goodes (3/18), Cory Bevan (3/35) and Bathiya Perera (2/33) flew through the visitors in 53 overs, leaving a tense 123-run chase with not much more than 20 overs to get it done. Getting into a Twenty20 mindset, the Bears charged through the Bulls’ bowlers to get the job done at 6.5 runs an over. Daniel Brown (32), Ryan Crawford (37) and Bevan (20 not out) all smacked the sixes needed in the tight chase to earn maximum points and an emphatic triumph against the odds.
HALLAM KALORA PARK v PARKFIELD
Despite the best efforts of the Parkfield (153) lower order, it wasn’t enough to stop Hallam Kalora Park (225) taking its first win of the season. Ben Hall (4/21) flew through the Parkfield attack, leaving only Matt Aslett (33) and Nilochana Perera (43) to attempt a rescue. The duo was undone after a gutsy partnership by Hallam’s Jake Cutting (2/19) and Amila Perera (2/41) and with their dismissals the Parkfield resistance crumbled.
NORTH DANDENONG v COOMOORA
Coomoora (115 and 6/120) staved off outright defeat as North Dandenong (7/158dec) peppered the Kangaroos with an all-out attack to help move into the top four. Shane Clark (46 not out) went the smack to push the home side towards a reasonable declaration as Joseph Hawke (3/58) proved the most effective of the Coomoora bowlers. In response, the Coomoora effort was in danger as Luke Wenke (50 not out) batted nobly to keep North Dandenong away from the crease again. Liam Dudding (4/29) had a stellar day from the bowler’s run-up, but couldn’t find the crucial scalp of Wenke.
BUCKLEY RIDGES v HEINZ SOUTHERN DISTRICTS
Taking first innings points and making a statement with the bat, Heinz Southern Districts (280) showed Buckley Ridges (181) you can never take your foot off the pedal. In dire trouble at 8/119 chasing 181, Heinz was at the mercy of Buckley Ridges’ quick Lukas Hoogenboom (4/71) before Michael Davies (43) and Keith Perumal (72) combined at the death to revive the innings. The duo batted the visitors out of trouble and into positive territory as Perumal raised the bat on a well-made 50 from number 10 – a stark contrast from his usual position up the order. Paul Stockdale (35 not out) added to the Ridges’ pain as the last wicket added 97. Buckley Ridges had 10 overs to bat out the day with Suren Ekanayake (20 not out) and Ben Watson (11 not out) earning some batting practice.
