By Glen Atwell and Marc McGowan
A FIRST over duck to Troy Cashman rattled St Mary’s as Parkfield dismissed the Saints for 152 at Carroll Reserve on Saturday.
But having to face 15 overs before the end of play, Parkfield collapsed to be 3/31 and leaving the game up for grabs.
Cashman was bowled by Daniel Ferguson in the first over and the scoreboard read 1/0 before Gary Cake (20) and John Parsons (33) steadied the Saints’ ship.
Jamie McDonnell (22) and Paul McDonald (22) also made useful contributions, but no Saints batsman could go on with the job.
Ferguson (3/31) and Shane Doig (3/37) did the job for Parkfield with the ball.
In return, Saints paceman Stuart Dowell got his side off to the best possible start, removing Parkfield openers Grant Milnes (14) Greg Fox (1).
A late wicket to Emmanuel Coomaraswamy reduced Parkfield to 3/29 and at the close of play, the game remains in the balance.
BERWICK received its first real test of the season against an unlikely source in the Southern Pirates at Wachter Reserve on Saturday.
The Bears have annihilated all and sundry this year, but the Pirates defied their lowly status to share day one honours with the ladder-leaders.
Justin Stanton (13 runs) continued his lean run with the bat, but Berwick rocketed to 2/140 and appeared set to smack its hapless opposition into submission once again.
However, after copping a hiding from Doveton last week, Southern was out to gain respect, and a superb bowling performance captured the next seven Bear wickets for just 63 runs.
Only Stephen Carr (70) was able to break the shackles, as the Pirates ran through Berwick’s powerful line-up.
Pirates lacked the killer instinct, however, and the Bears’ numbers 10 and 11, Will Carr (21 not out) and Jarrod Goodes (22 not out), produced an unbeaten 40-run partnership to guide Berwick to 9/243 from its 80 allocated overs.
NORTH Dandenong handed Narre Warren another day of misery at Sweeney Reserve on the weekend.
The North Dandenong batsmen scored a plethora of runs against the Magpies’ attack, as Robert MacDonald (90) and captain Adrian Baltruschaitis (68) enjoyed proceedings.
With a solid foundation set, North Dandenong continued to build and a 137-run alliance between MacDonald and Baltruschaitis put them firmly in control.
Some solid late-order contributions from Glen Pepper (31) and Glenn Finkelde (23) catapulted their side to a mammoth 9/333 and with the Magpies’ failure to top 100 in its past three innings, North Dandenong will expect a big win this weekend.
Off-spinning maestro Vinay Tripathi was one of the few Narre Warren players to hold his head high with figures of 4/107 from a tireless 33 overs.
CRANBOURNE will need to bat exceptionally well if it is to claim a spot in the top four after Buckley Ridges put up 9/282 at Casey Fields on Saturday.
Despite finding themselves at 3/46 early on day one, the Ridges managed to work their way out of trouble and show why they have earned their position in the four.
Shane Simpson cracked a majestic 102 and star all-rounder Shane D’Rozario pitched in with 66 to create a 142-run union and propel their side into a commanding position.
As with the top order, however, there was not much else once the pair was dismissed, but Buckley Ridges appears to have produced a competitive target for its counterparts to chase down.
Cranbourne used a host of bowlers, with captain and part-time bowler Ross Woodall (3/37) having the most effect in picking up his first wickets of the season.
DOVETON continued its resurgence with a strong batting display against Keysborough at Keysborough Reserve on the weekend.
Captain courageous Brad Downe top-scored again with Daniel Raines (both 48), while Ryan McMurray (45), Ryan Hendy (36) and Nathan Wilson (30) provided great support.
The day promised much at 6/283, but the tail failed to wag and Doveton lost its final four wickets for a solitary run.
Channa Gunawardana was the chief destroyer once again with 5/41 and he has now taken 13 wickets in his last three bowling efforts.
After opening its account against the Southern Pirates last week, Doveton will be hopeful of picking up another win to leap off the bottom.
EIGHTY runs to Greg Siwes was the foundation of Dandenong West’s 235 against Springvale South at Alex Nelson Reserve on Saturday.
Siwes was well supported by Michael Clayden (32) and David Dryden (25), as the West worked hard to post a respectable total.
Craig Slocombe was the pick of the Springvale South bowlers, taking 4/28 from his 10 overs.
In reply, Springvale South are 0/4 with Gavin Fewkes and Rory Ingram at the crease.
