By JARROD POTTER
Dandenong District Cricket Association Turf 1 – semi final
BOWLING supremacy led to low tallies in the Dandenong District Cricket Association semi-finals, with Mordialloc and Heinz Southern Districts bowing out of the finals race.
SPRINGVALE SOUTH v HEINZ SOUTHERN DISTRICTS
SPRINGVALE South (4/145) achieved most of its objectives on Saturday – Bowl out Heinz Southern Districts (121) cheaply? Tick… Knock off the majority of the runs required in the chase? Tick.
A ridiculous early run-out between captain Trevor Davies (17) and Keith Perumal (2) left Perumal out as Nathan King smashed the stumps with a brilliant throw from off the ring. It didn’t get much better from there for the Cobras, who couldn’t make the most of their second life in the DDCA finals. Matt Cox (48) pushed his season tally to 557 runs as he tried to stop the rot in the Heinz batting order.
Three run-outs in the white-clothed format doesn’t make a lick of sense as Heinz tried to test the limits of their running, Springvale South’s throwing and the smallish dimensions of Alex Nelson Reserve.
The slower bowlers offered up the most carnage for the Bloods – captain Craig Slocombe (4/28) and Ruwantha Kellepotha (3/39) spun their way through the Cobras without much resistance.
With 27 overs to play with – before stumps – Springvale South almost took the win by the end of day one. King (34), Ryan Quirk and Andrew Sharp (20) pushed the total along – leaving a scant 37 runs between the Bloods and a berth in the DDCA Turf 1 grand final.
Justin Davis (2/39) was the best of the Heinz bowlers while Paul Stockdale (1/50) and Matt Downe (1/6) also added their names to the wicket-taking column.
Not much time was required on Sunday for Springvale South to knock off the remaining runs and take a six-wicket win. Ryan Quirk (51 not out) notched a well-made half-century while Dylan Quirk (31 not out) held down the fort at the other end to forge a 52-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Springvale South returns to the grand final for the first time since it’s 2011/12 defeat at the hands of Berwick.
PARKFIELD v MORDIALLOC
Mordialloc (101) failed to impress in its DDCA Turf 1 semi-final innings against Parkfield (5/102), downed by five wickets by the impressive Bears to stop the Bloodhounds getting back to the grand final.
Even with his third Alan Wookey Medal around his neck, the spotlight didn’t affect Parkfield skipper Steve Spoljaric (4/18) – picking up the top order scalp of Tim Richardson (3) before polishing off the tail.
The Bloodhounds were beaten senseless by the Bears as Mordialloc’s best score came from captain Stuart Squires (18).
Squires was deceived in the air by Shane Doig (1/14), who made his long-awaited return to Turf 1 cricket.
Doig impressed with 16 overs of miserly off-spin, including seven maidens to leave Mordialloc on the back foot.
Leon Kennedy (16) was the other Bloodhound top-order bat to make some effort before he edged Shane Bell (1/12) to Spoljaric. Getting its other spinner on, Parkfield turned to Travis D’Souza (3/44), who starred with the wickets of middle order batsman Michael Campbell (1) and capable all-rounders Chathura Athukorala (13) and Monto Perera (4).
Parkfield finished at stumps on a precarious 3/41 with Jarryd Williamson (14), Rob Carr (6) and Tony Payne (0) falling before stumps. The youngsters Jack Jones (35) and D’Souza (32) survived the last few overs on the first day before carrying on to guide the reminder of the chase.
It wasn’t all that tough for Parkfield – cantering through with a five-wicket win as Jones and D’Souza fell just prior to victory.
