Wes Nicholas has taken 10 wickets this season for Buckley Ridges at 16.7. 72894 Picture: Jarrod Potter
By Jarrod Potter
THE hard yards start now with the Dandenong and District Cricket Association (DDCA) working towards the finals.
This week’s one-dayers will ease the rust off the joints, before the two-dayers kick in again on 14 January.
@BT Sub Sport News:BUCKLEY RIDGES
Buckley Ridges continues its great run.
Aside from the last round loss to Springvale South, Buckley Ridges has been getting the job done against all comers. The Ridges leads in wickets taken (64) and is the only side that has four bowlers with over 10 wickets taken. Te Ahu Davis (15 wickets at 15.87), Jeremy Kuru (13 at 14.62), Shaun Ferreira (10 at 6.1) and Wes Nicholas (10 at 16.70) have squeezed the wickets out of opposition batting line-ups with ruthless efficiency.
The biggest problem for Buckley Ridges is with its batsmen, as they have yet to fire. Davis (196 at 32.67) and Craig Batchelor (128 at 21.33) lead the way, but no-one has scored a century yet, in part due to the efficiency of the bowling, but also contributed by a lack of converting starts.
With matches against Mordialloc, Berwick and Doveton coming up, their spot in the finals is by no means a certainty.
@BT Sub Sport News:DANDENONG WEST
The boys at Greaves Reserve made good strides away from last place with a surprise victory over Narre Warren before the new year.
A resilient fightback from wicketkeeper Adam Mason helped the Wests claim a valuable win. Their batting has been frail, with no batsman inside the top 20 run scorers in the league. Mohamed Faizer (139 at 23.17) is the best of the bunch, but could use some more help at the top from the likes of Greg Siwes (103 at 14.71) and especially captain Anthony Brannan (18 runs at 3.6).
Peter Atkinson (13 wickets at 16.54) is leading the way with the ball, but from there, contributions could be better.
They have matches against Keysborough and Heinz Southern Districts coming up, both of which the Wests will need to win to maintain their spot in Turf 1.
@BT Sub Sport News:KEYSBOROUGH
The Burras are playing for pride now, with their finals chances quashed.
The Burra bowlers have been forced to carry the rest of the team, with Jake Hennigan (11 wickets at 13.55), Mushy Perera (10 at 17.6) and Alex Deuchar (9 at 17.67) doing the majority of the work.
With the bat, Mahesh Karunaratna (154 runs at 19.25), Andre Peters (132 at 33) and Darren Lawton (119 at 14.88) have accrued most of their score.
Karunaratna’s average is the lowest of any batsman with over 150 runs, highlighting the issues Keysborough faces with keeping their best at the crease for long stretches.
They will need to fight hard against Dandenong West and Hallam Kalora Park to stand any chance of avoiding relegation.
@BT Sub Sport News:NORTH DANDENONG
Following an innings victory over Heinz Southern Districts, North Dandenong has boosted its chances to make it to the final four.
The bowlers extracted HSD’s batsmen with ruthless efficiency, with Glen Pepper (15 wickets at 11.27), Wayne Taylor (10 at 15.50) and Yuri Ryoboshapka (nine at 24) reaching top form just before the break.
The all-round efforts of Janahan Kumaralingam (142 runs at 47.3, six wickets at 10.5) have also been useful for the Norths.
Two tough matches against Parkfield and Narre Warren aside, North Dandenong, which sits in sixth spot, has a pretty favourable fixture with matches against Keysborough, Dandenong West and Hallam Kalora Park.
@BT Sub Sport News:PARKFIELD
The Steve Spoljaric show rolls on at Parkfield, with the all-rounder posting 374 runs and 13 wickets to make him odds-on favourite for back-to-back Alan Wookey Medals.
Last round’s 136 against Hallam Kalora Park kept Parkfield in the match after a massive slump to 5/69.
His efforts need to be supported better by the rest of the Bears’ line-up with both bat and ball. Only Tony Payne (145 runs) and Hemantha Alles (107) broke the century-mark for runs this season with Shane Bell (nine wickets) and Alles (six) chipping in with significant wickets.
If Spoljaric goes missing in any given match, Parkfield is at risk of occupying space on the field rather than playing for the points. The Bears sit seventh on the ladder and will have to rally with matches against other fourth spot combatants Mordialloc, North Dandenong and Narre Warren in the run into the finals.
@BT Sub Sport News:SPRINGVALE SOUTH
With an upset victory over Buckley Ridges before the holiday break, Springvale South kept its finals chances alive.
The onus is on Springvale South’s batsmen, who have regularly failed to post enough runs to defend. Craig Slocombe (150 runs at 30) and Manoj Hettiarachchi (123 at 24.6) are the only two Bloods’ batsmen to accumulate more than 100 runs for the season.
Andrew Staude has the only fifty-plus score for Springvale South this year, 71 not out against North Dandenong back in November.
Dillon Fernandesz (nine wickets at 11.22) and Tim Ford (nine at 33.44) are doing the job with the ball, but Ford will want to drop both his average and economy rate (4.29), which is the highest in the competition for bowlers who have bowled 50 or more overs.
Springvale South faces both ends of the table in its run home, with matches against Berwick and Doveton as well as spoon contenders Keysborough and Heinz Southern Districts.
