Noble Park bowler Damien Fleming was at his devastating best in the VSDCA grand final against Malvern. Fleming finished the first day with bowling figures of 4/4 as Noble Park thrashed its opposition.By Glen Atwell
NOBLE Park Cricket Club had the Victorian Sub District Cricket Association (VSDCA) searching the record books after thrashing Malvern in the grand final at the weekend.
Noble Park won the toss and batted first on the Malvern Oval wicket.
A 30-run opening partnership between Andrew Brown and Andrew O’Meara had the Noble Park side eyeing a 200-plus total, but the wheels fell off the innings.
The score was soon 3/39 with O’Meara (10) adjudged caught behind and Jon Stones (3) caught in the slips cordon.
Captain Gavin Hurley and Rod Douthie added 35 runs before the introduction of Malvern bowler Monto Perera saw the departure of Douthie for eight and Fleming for a duck.
Sharni Perera then partnered Hurley to the tea break, when the scoreboard read 5/89 off 40 overs.
The duo progressed the score to 104 when disaster struck.
In two overs Hurley was bowled for 34 and Perera given lbw for 23.
When Mark Rendle (7) was unable to pick a Monto Perera ‘wrong-un’ the score was dismal 8/111.
Paul McDonald (0) followed soon before Kynan Ford (13) and Ash Perera (8 not out) pushed total to 134.
With 17 overs remaining on the day, Malvern could have chased the runs, but seemed content to let the ball go by.
Four overs passed and three runs had been scored before the Noble Park bowlers embarked on a wicket frenzy.
Devastating and accurate, Fleming and Perera reduced Malvern to 9/22 at stumps.
Had one more over been granted, the lowest ever total in VSDCA history books – 10/29 – would have been set.
Fleming and Perera cut a swathe through the Malvern batting line-up and at one stage Malvern had lost 5/0 from 13 balls.
The scoreboard read an unprecedented 6/7 from seven overs.
Perera had four wickets and Fleming, who was virtually unplayable, took the other two.
When Fleming clean-bowled the dangerous Monto Perera, Malvern was 7/11.
He struck again soon after and the score was an embarrassing 8/16.
The introduction of Kynan Ford in the 14th over had immediate results when he had Sean Ayres caught by Fleming at third slip without an addition to the total.
The last pair survived the remaining 15 deliveries.
Fleming finished with the figures of 4/4 off nine overs, Perera 4/11 off six and Ford 1/6 off two.
The display left the crowd of 400 stunned with many long-time observers still unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.
On Sunday, Ford took the last wicket and the predictable result was official, Malvern was all out for 58.
