Cause: Buckley Ridges’ opening batsman Troy Aust. Effect: Six goes flying over the roof at Hallam Recreation Reserve.
By Jarrod Potter
THE middle-order rescue act was the recipe of the day in this week’s DDCA Turf 1 fixtures, with batsmen Daniel Watson, Anthony Brannan, Jackson Sketcher and Shane Leonard all grafting significant innings to guide their sides to victory.
@BT Sub Sport News:HALLAM KALORA PARK v BUCKLEY RIDGES
Daniel Watson’s rescue act narrowly saved Buckley Ridges (7/208) from Hallam Kalora Park (6/204cc)
Buckley Ridges was behind the eight ball, brought on by the miserly bowling of Calvin Barlow (3/31) and Cory Booth (1/15 off five overs).
After Jono Devine (42) and Troy Aust (38) were dismissed, the Ridges chase started to grind to a halt before Watson started smashing fours.
His 67 off 61 balls, coupled with a good cameo innings from Shaun Ferriera (24) helped guide Buckley Ridges to the victory with an over to spare.
Hallam Kalora Park set a competitive total for the Ridges to chase on the back of a 99-run partnership from Cory Booth (73) and Brett Peters (51).
Craig Batchelor was the best of the Buckley Ridges bowlers snaring 4/39.
@BT Sub Sport News:NORTH DANDENONG v PARKFIELD
North Dandenong (7/197) continues its rise up the table with a three-wicket win over Parkfield (8/196cc).
Parkfield was sent into bat by North Dandenong and made good use of the batting conditions. Steve Spoljaric (69) and Travis D’Souza (46) compiled 104 runs for the third wicket and the Bears looked ready for a massive total. They were halted in that pursuit by Gayan Sameera (4/44) and Yuri Ryoboshapka (2/40) as Parkfield staggered towards the closed completion.
In response, North Dandenong was in trouble at 6/103 before Shane Leonard (61) took the burden of seeing out the overs onto his own shoulders.
Leonard finally found someone to stay at the crease with him in Mujib Timori (39 not out) and the pair put on 73 to inch the Norths closer.
When Leonard was dismissed, Timori and Shane Clark (11 not out) did the job to get North Dandenong across the line.
@BT Sub Sport News:DANDENONG WEST v KEYSBOROUGH
Dandenong West (131) all but sealed the coffin on Keysborough’s (85) hopes of staying in Turf 1 next season with a clinical bowling display from Matt Fielding (4/8). The Wests chose to bat and would have regretted that decision immediately as they slumped to 6/62.
Enter Anthony Brannan (45) and Adam Mason (25) who set about building a defensible total. The pair made 62 for the seventh wicket to double the Wests’ score and get them out of the doghouse.
When Brannan was dismissed at 7/124, it triggered another landslide and Dandenong West was sent back to the sheds with 131 to defend.
Alex Deuchar (5/21) was Keysborough’s chief weapon while Jacob Hennigan (2/24) and Mushy Perera (2/19) backed up the Englishman with a brace of wickets each.
In reponse Keysborough’s batting went from brittle to fragile to decrepit in the space of a few short overs.
Matt Fielding was unplayable as he sent the first three Burras’ batsmen back to the shed without troubling the scorers. A score of 3/3 soon turned into 5/15 as Keysborough was staring down a sub-50 total.
They saved face via Baden Saunders (19) and Perera (16), but the damage was already done as Keysborough was bowled out for 85.
Fielding’s four was well backed up by Andrew Harry (2/18) and Chandana Aravinda (2/33) on his Turf 1 debut.
@BT Sub Sport News:SPRINGVALE SOUTH v HEINZ SOUTHERN DISTRICTS
Heinz Southern Districts (8/150cc) put the runs on the board against Springvale South (9/156).
Michael Davies (46) and Adam Semmens (41) made 72 for the fourth wicket, but HSD soon lost momentum as 3/93 turned into 7/122 when Davies was dismissed.
Springvale South’s errant bowling gave away 20 extras, including 13 wides. Jim Boyd (2/16) and Craig Slocombe (2/17) did the damage with the ball.
In response, Springvale South fell apart with the first six wickets falling with only 36 runs on the board.
The fight back came from Jackson Sketcher (67 not out) and Suranjith Silva (43).
The pair made 80 for the seventh wicket – a DDCA record this season – as they pulled the Bloods out of the dirt towards the victory.
Sketcher signed off an emphatic innings with an emphatic six to finish the innings as the Bloods took a one-wicket victory to keep their season alive.
Glenn Hamilton (3/24) was the best of the HSD bowlers.
