St Mary’s Troy Cashman was a lone hand in his side’s loss to Buckley Ridges, with 30. 25391 By Stuart Teather
TURBULENT weather in the lead-up to Christmas saw the first day of the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s round six washed out, leaving the matches to be played as one-dayers on the final day before the holiday break.
It seemed some teams had one eye on the holidays with some brutal defeats throughout the round, but the highlight of the round was undoubtedly the Springvale South/Berwick clash, at Springvale South’s Alex Nelson Reserve.
@BT Sub Sport News:Springvale South v Berwick
The home side won the toss and sent the visitors in, and struck early, removing opener Ashley Henry for one.
But regular batting stalwarts Brad Francis (36) and import Alecs Roberts (72) combined for 97 for the second wicket to put the side back on track.
When Francis fell, Roberts continued on but had almost no support from the rest of the side, and Berwick made it to 9/160 off the 40 overs.
Steven Masterson (26) got the ball rolling at the top of the order for Springvale South, and Suranjith Silva (46 not out) and captain Craig Slocombe (33) got the job done, with the side overhauling the target with three overs to spare.
@BT Sub Sport News:North Dandenong v Hallam-Kalora Park
Hallam-Kalora Park continued its remarkable rise through the Turf One ranks with a solid victory over North Dandenong.
Hallam-Kalora Park was the only away side to claim a Turf One victory in round six, and it did so thanks to the bats of the two Booth boys.
Leigh Booth played the openers’ role to perfection with 106, putting on a 135-run partnership with Craig (52), helping the side to a strong 3/201 off the 40 overs.
With such a big total to chase, the home side went hard but lost cheap wickets, and was never able to get any partnerships together.
In the end it took just 23.4 overs for the visitors to claim the 10 wickets, as North Dandenong collapsed for 78.
@BT Sub Sport News:Coomoora v Narre Warren
Coomoora dominated its clash against Narre Warren, with the win lifting the side out of danger near the bottom of the ladder.
Played at Coomoora Reserve, the visitors batted first and lost both openers for four runs, setting the tone for what would be a dark day.
It did not get any better, with the side at one stage 6/25, before the steadying hands of lower order batsmen Ruwantha Fernandopulle (20), David Wheeler (20) and Dwayne Scott (19) managed to etch some runs on to the board.
But it was to little avail, with the side all out for 87 off 37 overs.
Justin Woodman (3/20 off 8) and Mevan Fernando (3/25 off 7) did the most damage with the ball.
In reply, it took the home side just 28 overs to overhaul the total, dropping two wickets on the way to taking six easy points.
@BT Sub Sport News:Parkfield v Keysborough
Parkfield smashed Keysborough at Parkfield Reserve, despite an average performance with the bat.
The home side batted first and had some reasonable performances throughout the order, but lacked any big contributors.
Ty Edwards (24) led the scorers from number four, but the side found itself in trouble at the latter stage of the innings, languishing at 9/118.
But the tail-enders dug in, and Joseph McLelland (17 not out) and Mark Butters (20 not out) put on 40 runs for the 10th wicket, giving their side a decent total to defend — 9/158.
Heshan Lorenz-Daniel was a big factor with the ball, collecting 4/29 off eight overs.
But Keysborough capitulated with the bat, losing its top five batsmen for a combined total of three runs.
Daniel Ferguson was the destroyer, ripping through the line-up with disdain, collecting 5/6 off 8, in the process sinking the visitors for 65.
@BT Sub Sport News:Buckley Ridges v St Mary’s
Buckley Ridges held on to third spot on the ladder with a resounding performance with the willow, thumping its way to 6/248 off 40 overs.
William Butler was the standout at number four, plundering 84 not out, with good support from Ruwan Jayadeva (35) and Daniel Watson (34).
It was a day to forget for St Mary’s bowlers, with Jesse McCartney claiming the best figures of 2/39 off seven, though still going at over 5.5 runs per over.
It was always going to be a difficult run chase for St Mary’s and the side lost wickets at a seemingly frenetic pace, and struggled to keep up with the required run rate.
Captain Troy Cashman (30) top-scored at the head of the line-up but could do little to help as the side fell to be all out for 136.
