Three centuries in a row for Booth

By Helena Adeloju
ROUND Three of the Dandenong District Cricket Association is hotting up with five teams jostling for the top placings on the ladder. Five others are hoping for their first wins of the season. Matches this week will come down to the wire with results hanging in the balance, and all- important competition points up for grabs.
Springvale South v Buckley Ridges
Winning the toss on their home turf and sending Buckley Ridges to the crease, Springvale had it going their way from the start. Ridges opening batsman Ben Watson (52) changed all that, holding up the front end and belting his way to his second half-century of the season.
Suren Ekanayake was on his way to his season’s first half-century but was stopped in his tracks, run out on 44.
Simon Fonceca (61) didn’t disappoint, making yet another solid contribution with the bat, helping the Ridges to a healthy total of 288.
Nick Bole-Brown (4/43) was the standout of the seven-man Springvale attack, locking in his best figures for the season.
Andrew Sharp (2/55) backed up from his four-wicket haul against Cranbourne and made the most of his 10 over spell taking two scalps and Glen Scales returned to form with 2/79.
Hallam v Keysborough
Up against their own lacklustre form and sixth-placed Hallam-Kalora Park, Keysborough will have to dig deep next week to have any hope of resurrecting their season.
A confident Hallam won the toss and came out swinging after electing to bat. Leading from the front and looking unstoppable on the way to a hat trick of centuries, opener Leigh Booth (111) had Hallam off to a dream start. Skipper Cory Booth (68) got in on the act shortly after, with both players putting runs on the board in a valuable partnership.
Steven Chapman (38) and Lovejeet Randhawa (26) took the cue from the front end, picking up where they left off and helping Hallam to a strong total of 315.
Keysborough all rounder Shiran Rajakaruna (4/71) was handy with the ball and Paul McDonald followed up from his success against Berwick with 3/76.
Cranbourne v Coomoora
With both teams yet to lock-in points on the ladder after two rounds, Cranbourne and Coomoora are chasing their first win of the season.
The coin fell Coomoora’s way with a good batting pitch the prize. Opener Andrew King (67) took full advantage of their luck, piling on the runs early, followed soon after by equally run-hungry all-rounder Robert Johnston (69). Matthew Wenke (26) and Mervan Fernando (20) did their best to hold up the middle order before the tail struggled to keep it together managing just 17 runs among the last five batsmen.
With three run outs, Cranbourne’s bowlers were only left with seven Coomoora batsmen to dispose of. Kyle Brooke came away with an impressive 4/36 and Stephen Murdoch doubled his season’s wicket tally with 2/58.
North Dandenong v
Parkfield
After last week’s loss to Narre Warren, Parkfield needed luck on their side against second placed North Dandenong.
It didn’t go their way in the toss or at the crease, with the openers falling quickly compiling just 17 runs between them. Skipper Dale Harris (34) picked up the slack and led from the front partnered by top scorer Ty Edwards (63) and Daniel Ferguson (36), Tony Payne (31) and Stephen Cannon (27) making valuable contributions lower in the order on Parkfield’s way to a total of 258.
North Dandenong’s David Bell was on a roll, bagging final figures of 3/30 and Chris Clarke came up with the goods for the second week in a row.
St Mary’s v Berwick
St Mary’s won the toss and elected to bat, but it was mostly down hill from there with all out for a lean total of 178. Top scoring middle order batsman Andrew Haining (27) made an impression, but the Berwick bowling line up managed to limit all St Mary’s most experienced batsmen to minimal scores.
Alecs Roberts headed Berwick’s six-man line up breaking his two-match drought with an impressive 4/41, backed up by Ash Henry (2/38) who returned after missing round two and Simon Cornell who took 2/39.