By JARROD POTTER
Dandenong District Cricket Association Turf 1 – Round 11 (week one)
FIVE-WICKET hauls summed up the second last week of DDCA action as Steve Spoljaric, Luke Fletcher and Joseph Hawke ran through their respective opponents.
BUCKLEY RIDGES v DANDENONG WEST
BUCKLEY Ridges (8/162) ended the slim chances of Dandenong West (104) with Luke Fletcher (6/54) terrorising the Bulls at Park Oval. The horrifying 3/0 start for Dandenong West wasn’t much bettered as Fletcher and Jeremy Kuru (2/34) proved toxic to the Bulls’ batting. A last ditch effort from lower order batsmen Greg Siwes (39) and Andrew Harry (20) pushed the visitors to triple figures before succumbing to the Ridges’ attack. Fletcher (33) was the best with the bat as everyone made starts for the Ridges but failed to kick on. Shaun Weir (3/42) and Harry (3/36) were the best of the Bulls’ contingent with ball in hand, rather than ball zooming past their faces. Expect a quick-fire slog from Buckley Ridges’ remaining batsmen before attempting to take the outright victory and potentially boost itself to top spot in the DDCA.
BERWICK v NORTH DANDENONG
BERWICK (5/156dec) snuffed out the extremely remote North Dandenong (104 and 0/14) chances of making the finals with Nirmal Wickramaratne (7/19) going on a rampage. The ‘pink shirt’, raising awareness and funds for the McGrath Foundation, suited Wickramaratne as he destroyed any Northerner that stepped onto Arch Brown Reserve. North Dandenong lost its first five wickets for less than 50 as Wickramaratne hurled them from the crease rapidly. Edges flew thick and fast to Berwick keeper Col Tucker finished with six catches for the day. Ryan Crawford (2/33) and some seam-up opening bowling from Jarrod Goodes (1/26) was enough to capture the remaining three North Dandenong wickets on the cheap.
Berwick’s Ryan Williamson (57) was sent out with orders to get quick runs and fulfilled his captain’s request with his first Turf 1 half century in tandem with Thilan Samaraweera (32 not out) and Ryan Crawford (34 not out). Berwick added 52 for North Dandenong to chase and the visitors kept all 10 wickets at stumps.
SPRINGVALE SOUTH v COOMOORA
COOMOORA(5/80) refused to concede in its final match of the season, making top seed Springvale South (142) look sluggish with the bat. Nathan King (52) was the only fighting Blood as the rest of Springvale South fell away in the face of a Joseph Hawke (5/48) rampage. Hawke claimed his best bowling figures as the Kangaroos hopped all over the Bloods, causing a rare collapse. The reply was spearheaded by Rahoul Pankhania (53) before a collapse of their own left the Kangaroos in a coin flip situation heading into day two – five wickets in hand, 63 runs to chase. Springvale South needs the five wickets to have any chance of hosting a home semi-final while Coomoora would love to finish a lowly year on a high note.
LYNDALE v MORDIALLOC
THE equation remains simple – Mordialloc (199) needs to bowl Lyndale for less than 200 to squeak past a likely losing Heinz Southern Districts while Lyndale needs a miracle outright win. Mordialloc failed to ground itself at the crease with Leon Kennedy (39), Michael Campbell (34) and Chathura Athukorala (34) the best performers for the Bloodhounds. Lance Bence (28 not out) had some happy hitting from number 11, including three fours and a six. Expect hit-in or hit-out cricket from Lyndale as it chases a final’s spot in his first year back in Turf 1.
HEINZ SOUTHERN DISTRICTS v PARKFIELD
HEINZ Southern Districts (139) will need to bowl its best innings of cricket this season to remain in the finals hunt, with Parkfield (0/17) running through the Cobras easily.
Steve Spoljaric (6/54) made his presence felt with the ball – rattling off a superhuman 33.5 overs from a 70.5 over innings with 14 maidens. It continued Spoljaric’s one-a-year six-wicket haul trend and his second in two years against the Cobras. Heinz couldn’t keep its men at the crease with only Matt Cox (49) showing any tangible resistance to Spoljaric and the Bears. Shane Bell (1/38) kept things tidy down the other end for Parkfield with 10 maidens from his 25 overs. Heinz will barrack hard for Lyndale to take the win against Mordialloc, but fall short of a miraculous outright victory to maintain its finals place.
THE DDCA will host the annual Alan Wookey Medal night at The Dandenong Club on Monday 3 March from 7pm. Extra tickets for clubs are available from the association by contacting Neil Evans on 0414 997 292.
