North Dandenong seamer Glen Pepper delivers against Narre Warren on Saturday.By Paul Pickering and Marc McGowan
HAVING started the summer with the momentum of a road train, reigning premier Springvale South’s speed wobbles continued against Keysborough in the Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) Turf One competition on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Berwick registered its eighth-straight win against Dandenong West, North Dandenong ran through Narre Warren, Parkfield cruised past St Mary’s and Buckley Ridges smashed Coomoora.
Springvale South v Keysborough
Faltering Turf One champs Springvale South were left ruing an over-cautious declaration against Keysborough on Saturday, as the cellar dwellers held off Springy’s renowned pace attack to escape with a draw.
After a rain interrupted first day, the reigning premiers resumed at 8/228 on Saturday.
With Andrew Sharp (88) and Nick Bole-Brown (39 not out) combining for a 79-run partnership, Springy eventually declared at 9/300.
That left a resilient Keysborough with just 51 overs to bat out for the three points, with Nalin Wijesinghe (44), Jonathan Mohamed (41) and Shiran Rajakaruna (29 not out) providing much of the resistance in a total of 4/154.
Having started the summer with seven straight wins, Springvale South are now six points adrift of ladder-leading Berwick.
@BT Sub Sport News:Buckley Ridges d Coomoora
Faced with formidable target of 8/273 on Saturday, Coomoora flirted only briefly with an unlikely victory at Park Oval.
With skipper Rohan Paulpillai (70 not out) and Dirk Solomans (24) on deck at 1/74, the Roos were near enough if good enough, but two quick wickets to Ridges seamer Shane D’Rozario (3/44) sparked a mid-afternoon collapse.
While Paulpillai stood firm at one end, his succession of partners were no match for the likes of D’Rozario and Matt Goodwright (4/45) as Coomoora plummeted to a 109-run first innings defeat.
Batting again, Ridges pair David Irvine (48) and Anthony Clarke-Bruce (38) took advantage of some vital batting practice as the home side knocked out 3/137 in 24 overs.
@BT Sub Sport News:Parkfield d St Mary’s
Defending just 119, St Mary’s could ill afford a loose start at Parkfield Reserve on Saturday.
So when the Saints conceded 82 runs to Parkfield openers Grant Milnes (42) and Brad Houghton (38), the match was all but lost.
And while Andrew Haining (3/48) sparked a mini-collapse of 4/17, gloveman Dale Harris and club president Tony Payne (20 not out) helped the Bears recover to a winning total of 5/151 at stumps.
After a disastrous start to the summer, Parkfield has reeled off three straight wins to be just three points out of fourth spot.
In the same period, St Mary’s has dropped three games to fall to ninth.
@BT Sub Sport News:North Dandenong d Narre Warren
Runs proved hard to come by for Narre Warren at Sweeney Reserve on Saturday, as the Magpies loped agonisingly to an all-out total of 88 from 59 overs.
So North Dandenong, having posted what looked to be a par score of 184 the previous weekend, ran out comfortable first-innings winners with time to burn.
The undisputed star for North Dandy was Carman Mapatuna, who followed up an unbeaten knock of 84 with figures of 3/15 from 12 overs.
The win allowed North Dandenong to retain third spot on the ladder, while the sluggish Magpies have slipped to eighth with four consecutive losses.
@BT Sub Sport News:Berwick d Dandenong West
Another strong alliance between Alex Roberts and Gavan Wills guided Berwick to a four-wicket victory over Dandenong West at Greaves Reserve on Saturday.
Having bowled the Bulls out for 170 on day one, the Bears entered the final weekend at 2/27.
Roberts (51) and Wills (45) went straight to work, taking the score to 2/82 before the former was out off the bowling of Glen Scales (3/57).
Roberts moved his season aggregate to 570 runs – just 77 from equalling Buckley Ridges batsman Jude Fernando’s 1995-96 Turf One home-and-away record of 647.
There were a few stumbles along the way, but Ash Henry’s 63 ensured Berwick maintained its hold on top position.
Matthew Sofoulis (3/19) performed well for Dandenong West, but the Bears managed 253.
