By Marcus Uhe
Narre South coach Matthew Brooks and his Lions have been left ruing a chance to make a statement in DDCA Turf 1, after losing a winnable game against Springvale South on Saturday.
Lions star Jeevan Mendis threatened to win the game on his own, claiming 4/33 with the ball in what would have been one of the upsets of the season, after Springvale South claimed a 10-wicket win in their first meeting of the year back in round two.
The returning Ryan Quirk combined with Mitch Forsyth to put on 61 for the first wicket for the Bloods, before Mendis teamed with quick Jawed Hussain to make a mess of their top order.
A score of 0-61 in the 11th over became 5-75 in the 21st, when Brayden Sharp became Mendis’ third scalp.
Sharp (two), Jordan Wyatt (one) and Jackson Sketcher (zero) all fell cheaply to the leggy, who now sits second on the leading wicket taker’s list with 17.
Blade Baxter’s heroics with the ball last week were replicated with the willow, top-scoring with 42 as he and Yoshan Kumara added 62 for the seventh wicket, leaving the Lions 193 to chase.
Brooks believed Springvale South’s total was roughly a par score, but felt it should have been less after that collapse.
“They got off to a pretty hot start but they lost 6-30 in the middle, so at 6-90 we really missed a trick to restrict them to 150 or below,” he said.
“We probably lack that strike bowler through the middle who can put pressure on them there at that 6-90 stage.
“Baxter and Kumara played quite well, you’ve got to give them credit.
“In the end they got away from us a little bit in the end in that last three or four overs.
“We were looking at around that 170 mark but that last few overs they got away from us.”
Lacking any other significant contributions from the top order, it was that man Mendis again causing the Bloods headaches.
He formed a solid partnership with his skipper Kyle Hardy before a mix-up saw Hardy short of his crease as they backed-out of quick single, as Baxter broke the stumps from a Quirk throw at the bowler’s end.
Mendis’ brisk 63, with four sixes and five fours, showed his class against a quality bowling attack, and at 5-132 with him still at the crease, the upset looked on.
Enter Sketcher.
The all-rounder broke Mendis’ resistance, nicking-off to Paul Hill behind the stumps in the 34th over.
From there, the tail couldn’t offer much more, rolled for 154.
Despite showing their credentials against a quality opponent, Brooks said the overall emotion was disappointment for not claiming the win.
“We really let that one slip, which would have really put us back in-touch with the four, which was disappointing,” he said.
“When Hardy and Mendis were at the crease and both going really well, I thought we were in-control and I was pretty comfortable at that point.
“Then we had that run-out which changed the outlook of the game and we didn’t have another batter to really support Jeevan at the other end.
“We kept losing wickets at important times, which gave him too much to do in the end.
“It got out to six, seven, eight runs an over and it was just a bit too much for the boys to control.”
The result leaves them in fifth, right in the mix for the fourth finals spot, jostling with North Dandenong (fourth) and St Mary’s (sixth).
But there’s hope within the group that they can cause a ruckus, should they qualify.
“We’re still a game out but with five games to play, if we can pinch three or four of them I reckon we might be a chance there, but it’s still a long way off,” Brooks said.
“We’re still positive, we’re definitely disappointed that we dropped two or three games that we should have won, but we’re definitely still staying positive and in the last five games, if we can have some good results.
“We do have a different looking side this year but we’ve definitely got those high-end players and on our day we can match it with anyone.
“In the next two weeks we’ve got Hallam and Buckley, so that’ll be a big few weeks and then the following weeks we play those sides around us.
“Depending on other results, if we can have some good results against them, we should be there or thereabouts.”
Tensions threatened to boil over at Lois Twohig Reserve on Saturday as North Dandenong hosted Buckley Ridges in a battle between two finals contenders.
Buckley were left shaking their heads after batter Hadigallage Jayaratne was caught on the boundary, alleging that the fielder, Ramneet Dhindsa, crossed the boundary prior to completing the catch, then threw the ball back to another fielder in the field of play.
From their viewing position outside the sheds at North Dandenong, they believe the fielder clearly claimed a catch that should not have stood.
The umpires determined it to be a fair catch, however, and Jayaratne was dismissed for one.
Later on, during North Dandenong’s batting innings, there was another flashpoint as a Buckley fielder attempted to retrieve the ball after a boundary.
A report was made by the umpires against Maroons quick Zarak Aseel, who will face a DDCA tribunal hearing on Wednesday night, for allegedly kicking Mahela Udawatte.
The drama threatened to overshadow Nimesh Kariyawasam’s five-wicket haul, who claimed each of Buckley Ridges’ top four batters as Buckley were held to 8-215 batting first.
Daniel Watson top-scored with 51 at the top of the order before he became Kariyawasam’s fourth victim, as the right-armer reduced the away side to 4-85 after a promising 70-run opening stand.
The Maroons’ chase never really got going.
Dhindsa was the only batter in the top order to make a start, with 31, before he was caught behind off Michael Davies.
Tahsinullah Sultani got off the mark with a pair of slog-sweeps for six off Sanka Dinesh, but too much fell to him as he watched partners come-and-go at the other end.
A three-wicket cameo from Watson, including a brilliant stumping from Troy Aust, put the finishing touches on an excellent all-round display from the veteran, as his side secured a 90-run win.
Returning veterans Matthew Chasemore and Leigh Booth both top-scored for their respective sides at Arch Brown Reserve as Berwick fell to Hallam Kalora Park at the Bear Cave.
Chasemore’s 40 and James Wilcock’s 31 formed the backbone of Berwick’s 8-153 batting first, with a steady flow of wickets impeding their ability to go big late.
Even when they did attempt to hit-out, tight bowling from skipper Jordan Hammond and Sayed Rihan at the death meant it was difficult to penetrate the field.
Lauchlan Gregson was the pick of the bowlers for the Hawks with 3-26 off seven.
A spirited display from former Tasmanian quick Andrew Perrin attempted to breathe life into the Berwick defence, but 153 was never going to be enough against a quality batting outfit in brown and gold.
Booth, who missed last week’s showdown with Springvale South, led the chase with 59 as Hawks reached the total with six wickets remaining.
In the battle of the bottom sides, it was St Mary’s who got their second win of the year with a victory at Parkmore.
Openers Duveen Kalansooriya (74) and Kasun Niranjana (83) put on 155 for the first wicket, setting Parkmore 235 to win.
Parkmore was never in the hunt, dismissed for 157 in the 35th over, replacing St Mary’s in last position.
Keppler Fernandez, who had only taken two wickets this season prior to Saturday’s game, bagged 6-48 off his 10, while Niranjana’s 3-25 were his best figures for the year.
Springvale South remain the team to beat, followed by Buckley Ridges in second and Hallam in third, while Berwick and Parkmore round-out seventh and eighth on the table, respectively.
