By JARROD POTTER
DDCA – SEMI-FINALS
SPRINGVALE South and Cranbourne will square off this weekend with the Turf 1 premiership on the line after emphatic wins in the DDCA semi-finals.
TURF 1
Springvale South (8/171) had to dig in on Sunday to make the grade and book its first grand final appearance since the 2013/’14 loss to Parkfield.
With a chance to get back to the grand final and avenge last year’s defeat, Heinz Southern Districts (168) had a horror start to lose Trevor Davies (0) instantly. Skipper Matthew Cox (65) held on as long as he could, but had little to work with throughout the order.
It looked like Cox and Brad Downe (16) had resumed where they left off last time at Harold Road – putting on 65 for the second scalp – but Downe became the first of Malinga Bandara’s (4/64) victims.
The field crowded around the lower order as Bandara called for silly mid-on, silly mid-off, slip, leg slip and a catching point to threaten the tail. Ryan Patterson (25no) flayed a few over the top to try and keep the Cobras moving, but eventually ran out of partners as Bandara and Jarrod Armitage (3/30) cleaned up.
Heinz took two massive wickets late on day one, getting rid of Michael Vandort (1) and Nathan King (2). The response from Springvale South was sharp on day two as Harry Staude (61) led the charge alongside Craig Slocombe (31). Michael Davies (5/53) continued to menace the Bloods’ batting though; Slicka was on song in picking up his fourth five-wicket haul of the season, but the Cobras remained one major strike away from really rattling the hosts.
Cranbourne (7/217) was set a lofty target by Berwick (9/213), led by a strong start from Premier recruit Nathan Pilon (66), but in the end the Eagles’ Premier recruit Matt Chasemore (71) proved the bigger inclusion on the big stage.
Berwick weathered the tough conditions early to cash in, despite losing early wickets to Steve Spoljaric (3/55). The middle order bunkered down around Ryan Crawford (38), Jack Williams (35) and Josh Holden (31).
Cam Kelly (3/51) took a couple of crucial middle order scalps to keep the target down for the Eagles.
Living up to the “chase” in Chasemore, the former Premier all-rounder was elite with the bat. He saw off the best of the Berwick attack as Williams (3/67) and Jarrod Goodes (2/50) threw everything they had at him.
TURF 2
St Mary’s (106 and 92) has been embarrassed out of the Turf 2 race after Keysborough (94 and 5/108) snuck home in an reverse-outright. Yoshan Kumara (3/31) and Gayan de Sliva (3/45) set the stage for a small chase at Coomoora, but Keysborough’s batting completely fell apart.
Ruwantha Kellepotha (32) was the best of a sorry bunch as Corey Ely (4/25) and Cameron Roberts (2/21) seared through the Knights, leaving only Abhinay Motupalli (3no) and de Silva (5no) to chase the remaining 17 runs for victory on the first innings.
St Mary’s second innings was even less pretty as its 62.3 over effort wasn’t enough to eke out the clock. Gary Cake (33) was the best served of the St Mary’s bats, but Kumara (4/19) and Shakeel Ahmad (3/6) were lethal. It left less than 30 overs for the Knights to charge, but charge they did behind Ahmad (31), Niran Warnakula (26) and Kumara (23no) to take the unlikely victory and make it into the finale against Dingley.
Narre North (154) has something to work with following a late-order charge from Ben Doran (56). Doran’s knock saw off the worst of Dingley (3/155) – especially Jasenthuliyana Chathuranga (4/26) who had 15 maidens. Dingley cantered home via Christo Otto (52).
TURF 3
Beaconsfield (186) is through to its first grand final after brushing aside Doveton North (140) after a strong start from Gehan Perera (54). The bowling response from the Tigers was brutal – Dylan Freitag (4/32) seared through Doveton North as did Callan Tout (4/46).
Buckley Ridges (9/288dec), on the other hand, had time to spare for a declaration as Suren Ekanayake (78) and Jake Cronin (85) flourished against Springvale South (216). The Bloods gave it a red-hot crack in the chase though as Liam Hamilton (39) and Steve Masterson (34) dug in. Nathan Beaver (4/41) was too strong on the other side of the ball, alongside Richard Hope (3/32).
TURF 4
Springvale (185) smashed Dandenong West (82) following a resounding knock from number three Thilanka Harsha (69). Harsha’s knock – especially in tandem with Pasindu Madushan (23) to set the stage for a strong tally, surprisingly only taking 49.2 overs. Dandenong West fell horrendously – especially at the hands of Randeep Sahota (4/29) and Madushan (4/13).
In Turf 4, Parkdale (124) couldn’t defend a meagre tally against Lynbrook’s (3/126) advances. Chris Wilkie (36) was the best of the Dales’ brigade, but Lynbrook had plenty in the tank via Stephen Veal (3/20) and Jesse Walia (3/35). Dinesh Vensilaus (47no) and Cody Thompson (41) led the charge to victory.
TURF 5
Berwick Springs (9/163) and Doveton (9/179dec) didn’t get underway in Turf 5 on Saturday, leaving a pseudo one-dayer where Doveton’s best efforts fell just short. Jahan Athar (85no) smashed the Doves to a competitive total after 38 overs, but Berwick Springs dug in and held on by a thread. Athar (4/18) was brilliant with the ball as well as only Imran Laghmani (54) held on. In the end, the last wicket partnership endured just enough to see out the day, take the draw and give the Springs a shot at the premiership.
Buckley Ridges’ (150 and 3/77) thirds already has defeated Dingley (122 and 102) with great bowling from Farhan Hussain (4/35).
