Brad Downe and his Doveton team-mates had plenty of reason to celebrate on Monday night, as the Doves all-rounder was named the Alan Wookey medallist for 2007-08.By Paul Pickering and Marc McGowan
AFTER a summer of sparring, the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf One heavyweights are preparing to slug it out over the next fortnight in a bid for premiership glory.
The regular season came to a dramatic climax on the weekend, as Berwick, Springvale South and North Dandenong cemented their finals spots with wins, while Parkfield squeezed into fourth spot despite a disappointing loss at home to Cranbourne.
At the other end of the table, Dandenong West was condemned to relegation after suffering a demoralising loss to Doveton.
@BT Sub Sport News:Springvale South d Buckley Ridges
A masterful unbeaten century from playing-coach Craig Slocombe saw Springvale South return to the Turf One winner’s circle against Buckley Ridges at Park Oval on Saturday.
Having suffered a concerning late-season form slump, the defending champs needed a win to secure second place and lend much-needed momentum on the eve of the finals, while Buckley Ridges were looking to vault back into the four.
Chasing 285 for victory, the Bloods slumped to 5/126 before Slocombe (110 not out) joined opener Steve Masterson (88) at the crease to resurrect the innings with a 129-run partnership.
And despite late wickets from Anthony Clarke-Bruce (4/80) and Daniel Watson (4/93), Slocombe managed to usher his side to a two-wicket victory.
The Bloods will now host North Dandenong in a semi-final at Alex Nelson Reserve this Saturday and Sunday, while Buckley Ridges finished sixth after making the semi last summer.
@BT Sub Sport News:Keysborough d Narre Warren
Only a miracle outright victory at Sweeney Reserve could have seen Narre Warren leap into the finals fray, as the Magpies chased Keysborough’s total of 258 on Saturday.
And Narre’s hopes were swiftly dashed by Keysborough’s Mahshan Perera, who took 6/31 to reduce the home side to a dismal total of 127.
Only middle order batsman Mark Jensen-Schmidt (39) provided any resistance for the Magpies, as Keysborough claimed a consolation victory to finish in eighth spot on the ladder – one position above Narre Warren.
@BT Sub Sport News:Cranbourne d Parkfield
It was tough to decide who the winners were at Parkfield Reserve on Saturday, as the home-town Bears (158) narrowly held onto fourth spot despite a loss to Cranbourne (216).
Meanwhile, a win could only lift the Eagles to fifth spot, falling short of their opponents because of an inferior percentage.
For Cranbourne, it was solid contributions from Daniel Diwell (54) and Rodger Alister (45) that orchestrated the final round win, while Hemantha Alles (3/38) was again the best of the Bears bowlers.
@BT Sub Sport News:North Dandenong d St Mary’s
Having already surrendered first innings points at Lois Twohig Reserve, St Mary’s managed to salvage some respectability by preventing North Dandenong from securing an outright victory on Saturday.
While North Dandy declared 95 runs up on the first innings, an impressive 90 from Jake Needham steered the Saints to a second dig of 171 on Saturday, leaving the home side too much to do to take all 10 points.
Still, North Dandy have earned a crack at the reigning premiers in this weekend’s semi-final, while St Mary’s finished the summer in a disappointing tenth.
@BT Sub Sport News:Berwick d Coomoora
Berwick withstood a spirited Coomoora challenge to register an 18-run triumph at Arch Brown Reserve on Saturday.
After posting 6/301 the previous weekend, the Bears looked to be in complete charge of lowly Coomoora, but found their opponent to be much tougher than expected.
Star all-rounder and captain Alex Roberts was unable to bowl due to a knee injury to start the day in bad fashion for Berwick.
But it got worse as Coomoora stormed to 6/273 on the back of strong performances from Matt Wenke (66), David Nutting (55), Asanga Weerasinghe (44) and Andrew King (41).
Facing a shock defeat on the eve of the finals, Ash Henry (5/74) and Cam Henry (2/61) combined – along with a run out – to snuff out Coomoora’s chances.
Coomoora’s final four wickets fell for just 10 runs as it was all-out for 283.
@BT Sub Sport News:Doveton d Dandenong West
A typically reliable Brad Downe hand at the top of the order helped Doveton dump Dandenong West down to Turf Two at Robinson Reserve on Saturday.
With his team teetering at 2/33 overnight, Wookey Medallist Downe steadied the ship and saw his side home by five wickets.
The Bulls had only set a meagre 127-run target, but with the Doves also facing relegation if they were to lose, the pressure made the total tougher than it appeared.
Doveton all-rounder Ryan Hendy (24) was Downe’s best support while the runs were still required before Nathan Wilson (50) posted a half century once the chase had already been achieved. Shannon Marum (2/26) and Glen Scales (2/28) were the best of Dandenong West’s attack.
