By JARROD POTTER
AFTER a frustrating, but predictable, rain-affected first week of the season, Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) altered its turf matches to one-dayers, with the star attraction potentially a grand final preview between Springvale South and Buckley Ridges.
Nathan King (55) made his impact immediately for Springvale South (6/209cc) in its win over last year’s premiers Buckley Ridges (196) – with the Narre Warren convert flaying a 114-run partnership with Steve Masterson (74) to kick off the innings. The pair was removed by Wes Nicholas (1/28) and former Tooradin spearhead Lukas Hoogenboom (1/43) before the lower order chipped in to get the Bloods past the double-century mark. Matt Goodweight (2/36) and Daniel Haasbroek (2/50) were the best of the Ridges’ contingent.
Crying out for some help from his team mates, Haasbroek (95) anchored the run-chase, with fleeting support from Richard Hope (24) and Paul Rudd (11) the best of the rest. Brought to the crease at 2/34, Haasbroek did the heavy lifting, hitting the ball to all parts of Park Oval, before he ran out of time, partners and overs to get the remainder. Haasbroek was last man out as Buckley Ridges fell 13 runs short. Craig Slocombe (3/31) was effective with the ball and Gavin Fewkes (2/20) also found the wicket column in the scorebook.
Parkfield v North Dandenong
PARKFIELD (6/215cc) emphatically brushed aside North Dandenong (95) – with Jarryd Williamson (62) and Rob Carr (40) adding 117 for the first wicket. Glen Pepper (3/39) was the best of the Norths’ bowlers. North Dandenong couldn’t get out of first gear in response, with Matt Aslett (4/21) and Imran Zaman (3/20) ripping through the order.
Lyndale v Narre Warren
JAIME Brohier (127no) wasted no time getting acclimated to Turf 1 cricket, belting a 182-run opening wicket partnership with Quyen Pham (70) to help Lyndale (2/218) get across the line over Narre Warren (8/202). The Magpies set a strong total with Shane Simpson (64no) the best of the Magpies’ batsmen. Pham (3/18) claimed a trio of crucial wickets. In response Brohier was unstoppable, flaying every bowler to the four points of Barry Powell Reserve.
Dandenong West v Coomoora
Batting was tough for both Coomoora (93) and Dandenong West (8/94), but in the end the Bulls prevailed with four overs to spare. Walid Ghauri (4/17) and reigning Alan Wookey Medallist Alex Roberts (3/17) were crucial with the ball – halting the Kangaroos’ attack. In response, Dandenong West failed to fire apart from a match-defining innings from opener Matt Sofoulis (48no). Outside of Sofoulis, the only other double-digit contributor to the chase was the extras column. Sofoulis stuck it out while his team mates collapsed at the other end to help guide the Bulls to their first win of the season.
DDCA Turf 1 fixture – round 2: North Dandenong v Lyndale, Springvale South v Heinz SD, Narre Warren v Dandenong West, Mordialloc v Buckley Ridges, Coomoora v Parkfield.
