By Jarrod Potter
STEVE Spoljaric and Tim Richardson made the most of a rare reprieve in the weather to knock up match-winning half centuries in round five of the DDCA.
Spoljaric struck 82 not out as Parkfield (5/169) chased down Doveton’s total (8/165cc), but it didn’t come without any hiccups as the Bears coach watched batsmen fall around him in rapid succession.
He found an ally in Hemantha Alles (33) and the pair put on 80 runs for the fourth wicket before Alles was adjudged LBW off the bowling of Brad Downe.
A last kick from Spoljaric and Shane Bell (19) got the Bears across the line.
Doveton’s top order failed to fire, with the heavy lifting left to middle order dynamos Jason Arnberger (44), Nick Fairbank (23) and Nathan Wilson (22). They gave the Doves’ bowlers something to work with, but it wasn’t enough. Parkfield captain Dale Harris (3/21) brought himself on for great effect and got good support from Spoljaric (2/29) and Bell (2/35).
The win keeps Parkfield in striking distance of the top four in sixth, three points and percentage adrift of Doveton in third.
@BT Sub Sport News:Mordialloc v
Springvale South
Tim Richardson’s 96 not out for Mordialloc (4/201) was equally impressive, as the Bloodhounds chased down Springvale South (6/198cc) in 38.4 overs.
Richardson anchored the innings with Aaron Martello (39) as the opening stand lasted 110 runs, the second best first wicket partnership for the year. Richardson carried on after Martello’s dismissal as Mordialloc surpassed Springvale South.
Springvale South would have been pleased with setting the mark to chase at 199, with Tim Ford (39) and Manoj Hettiarachchi (37) putting 63 together for the first wicket.
The Bloods managed to get four more knocks over 20 and will rue not seeing one of those turn into a half-century or more. Mordialloc sit in fifth while Springvale South is having a horror start to their title defence, sitting in seventh.
@BT Sub Sport News:Buckley Ridges v
Keysborough
Buckley Ridges (7/201cc) maintained their dominance over the shorter forms of cricket with a comfortable 58-run win over Keysborough (6/143cc).
The Burras fought hard to stay in the match, making good in-roads towards the Ridges tail before Shane D’Rozario came in to bat. D’Rozario belted 75 runs to all parts of Park Oval, with good support from Rich Hope (25). Suren Ekanayake (38) was the other major contributor in Ridges total.
In reply, Keysborough lost 5/38 before Jon Mohamed (34 not out), Jason Brown (23) and Stuart Peters (39 not out) steadied the ship to give some dignity to the Burras’ total. Buckley Ridges are second on percentage and Keysborough is last.
@BT Sub Sport News:Hallam Kalora Park v
Dandenong West
Dandenong West (156) had to contend with Cory Booth putting on one of the best performances of the year, as the Hallam Kalora Park (4/162cc) all-rounder made 72 not out before starring with the ball, snaring 4/31.
After losing both openers cheaply, Booth rallied with Luke Byron (28) and Johan Vorster (24 not out) to get HKP into a winning position. From there, Booth did it again with the ball, taking his four wickets in tandem with Stephen Pimm (2/19) and Lee Brown (2/25).
Shaun Weir (46) put in the hard yards for Dandenong West with the bat, but was unable to find enough support to get the Wests over the line, falling six runs short. HKP sit in eighth and Dandenong West is 11th.
@BT Sub Sport News:North Dandenong v Berwick
Berwick (8/132) got the job done against North Dandenong (131).
North Dandenong scrapped it out, with Josh Byrnes (33) leading the charge. Berwick’s Andrew Perrin (3/24) and Matt Crosby (2/7) did quality work with the ball.
Berwick shared the runs around with Josh Holden (39) and James Davies (32) top scoring. Berwick hold top spot on the ladder while North Dandenong slide to ninth.
