By Tyler Lewis
Buckley Ridges has an innate ability of making good cricket sides look second best.
It did just that on Sunday in the first innings against the ever-powerful reigning premiers, Hallam Kalora Park.
Park Oval is hardly a bowler’s paradise, but it appeared one early on when the Bucks bowlers had the ball darting around on a crisply white surface.
Hussain Ali lit the spark for the Bucks, catching the edge of Hawks opener Ben Hillard to skipper Ben Wright behind the wicket.
Michael Davies (3/27 off 11) followed suit off the very next ball, finding the outside edge of Leigh Booth’s bat as the left-hander tried to work the ball off his pads through mid-wicket.
With both openers in the sheds in successive balls, the Bucks were right on top.
And while Udara Hettige (33) and Matthew Cox (27) fought valiantly, the Bucks managed to snare steady wickets to remain in the assertive position.
Matthew Goodwright (3/25 off 12) bowled superbly in the middle overs, rushing through his overs and strangling the Hawks on a ground that isn’t friendly to the spinners.
The excellent bowling performance held the Hawks to just 136 from 44 overs.
Though the target would typically be one the Bucks – on their home track – would tackle inside 20 overs with minor casualties, this Hawks outfit is far from slouchy.
The visitors certainly made the home side work for it, causing the Bucks to fight for it in the end, eight down.
When Goodwright was sent packing at 7/114, the Hawks belief begun to grow, but a terrific cameo from Ali (14 from 13) and the mature hand of Troy Aust (27 not out) steered the Bucks home.
Though the game was a nail-biter in the end, one factor the Bucks didn’t need to worry about was run rate, as Mahela Udawatte dismantled that with 67 from 44 earlier in the innings.
Berwick, meanwhile, have leaped to the top of the DDCA table after its win over St. Mary’s.
The Bears rattled through the Saints for 163, before reeling in the total inside 30 overs at the loss of just three wickets.
While the Bears were expected to come away victors, the side has been somewhat underestimated in recent weeks.
A scenario Bears skipper James Wilcock isn’t disappointed about.
“We don’t mind going through with people not talking about us,” he said.
“Probably now with a few injuries, we’re not being talked up like the Springvale South’s and the Buckley Ridges, but we’re pretty happy with where we are and how we are going.”
The Bears had the Saints 4/141 before concluding the innings at 10/163. Majority of that was courtesy to Wilcock himself, who claimed 5/39 from 12.
Wilcock was pleased his side was able to follow the plan, while also admitting he feels more comfortable with the ball and leadership then he did earlier in the summer.
“For the team it was exactly what we needed to do, they had a couple key players we needed to get out,” he said.
“Unfortunately for us they fired, but we knew that once we got through those players we could get through the tail.
“From a personal point of view, it was nice to get a few wickets and stand up when we didn’t have the likes of Cheeks (Matt Chasemore) and Pez (Andrew Perrin) to get us going.
“Probably the last two games it has clicked (his bowling). At the start of the year I was a bit rusty and the captaincy was messing with my bowling a bit, but now I am much more comfortable and I think my bowling is reflecting that as well,” Wilcock said.
In the second innings, Lachlan Brown (55) and Jordan Cleland (65) managed to get the Bears to 122 without loss.
While the two openers would be disappointed they didn’t get the further 42 runs, Wilcock couldn’t be happier with the job his openers do, week-in-week-out.
“They seem to keep getting the job done,” he said.
“We were sort of umming and arring about our opening pair at the start of the season, but we thought we’d stick with Browny (Lachlan Brown) and Jordy (Jordan Cleland) and they keep getting the job done.
“It is such an important thing for the team, getting off to a good start without losing any wickets so we can attack at the back end. They’re doing it for the team and doing it really well,” Wilcock said.
In the first of this weekend’s double-header, the Bucks will travel to Arch Brown Reserve to take on Berwick, where the outcome will likely define the positioning of the top three.
Wilcock said his side will go in knowing what they need to do to overcome such a formidable opposition.
“It’s a pretty important game if you look at the ladder and where everyone is sitting,” he said.
“We know with Buckley that they’re a good team and hard to play against.
“We will need to be on from ball-one because they’re going to bring the heat; it should be a really good game.
Springvale South suffered an extremely unwanted loss at the hands of Narre South on Saturday.
The Bloods were set 6/218 from the Lions.
And despite being 0/58, Springvale South was held to 9/216 from its allocated overs.
Lion’s bowler Kirk Dickson (2/47) was on a hat-trick when the Bloods lost 3/1.
Skipper Paul Hill (49) played a terrific captains knock for the Bloods, but was run out on the final delivery of the day by opposing skipper Kyle Hardy.
In the final match of the round, North Dandenong (6/232) recorded a 17-run win over Narre Warren (8/215).
This weekend will not only feature the round 12 fixtures, but will also have the round-one clashes played on the Sunday.
Buckley Ridges are the side to the follow in this weekend’s double-header, with the Bucks set to play Berwick away on Saturday, before hosting old-foe Springvale South on the Sunday.
TURF 1 LADDER
TEAM W L Pts
Berwick 7 2 45 1.6513
Buckley Ridges 7 2 45 1.4024
Springvale South 6 3 39 1.7704
Hallam Kalora Park 5 4 33 1.1424
Narre South 5 3 33 0.9976
North Dandenong 3 6 15 0.7712
St Mary’s 2 6 15 0.5524
Narre Warren 0 9 3 0.484
