Team takes tilt at Twenty20 state title

By Gavin Staindl
LOCAL Dandenong and District Cricket Association team Buckley Ridges fell 10 runs short of taking out the Kookaburra state-wide Twenty20 competition at the MCG last Sunday.
After progressing through the state’s best Twenty20 teams, Buckley Ridges found itself at the pinnacle of the state competition playing Wendouree, a small club north of Ballarat, at the MCG.
Batting first, Wendouree’s Sam Miller smacked 60 off 40 balls and after 10 overs the Ridges had only taken the one wicket and allowed 100 runs.
Multiple wickets each to Daniel Watson, Shane D’Rozario and David Wheeler sparked a 9/35 comeback and left Wendouree all out for 132.
The Ridges lost Watson and Chris Batchelor early on in their innings and it was left up to Paul Franks and Ruwan Jayadeva to resurrect the score.
Franks made 45 and Jayadeva made 25 before both were dismissed at a time when the Ridges needed to lift the run rate.
Buckley Ridges needed 26 off the last three overs but fell 10 runs short of the required target.
Despite the disappointment of the loss, Franks believes that the experience of playing on the MCG will be what remains in the players minds.
“It was a fantastic experience,” Franks said.
“It was a great effort to get where we did and in a few days we’ll forget the disappointment of the loss and we’ll be proud of what we achieved,”
Franks, who plays County Cricket for Nottinghamshire in the off-season, rates playing at the MCG as good as playing at Lords in England.
“It rates along side playing at Lords … the wicket was fantastic and it was exciting playing at the home of Australian cricket,” Franks said.