By JARROD POTTER
THE rain stayed at bay, leaving only a barrage of sixes to lash the region’s DDCA Twenty20 round five competition.
GROUP A
Mordialloc (3/164cc) was too classy for Silverton (9/89) as league representative Ian Daniel (75) and Brendan Morris (57) belted a 141-run opening stand for the Turf 1 mainstays. In reply only Trent Day (27) could muster a decent tally as Dylan Campbell (3/4) went to town. Mordialloc maintains in top spot in Group A heading into the final round.
A similarly power-packed top-order stand between Lucas Ligt (62) and Steve Spoljaric (66) pushed Cranbourne (5/153cc) well ahead of Narre North (7/63).
On the back of its Statewide Twenty20 Cup bowl-off victory against Buckley Ridges on Tuesday night, Cranbourne backed it up with a bit of batting nous as Spoljaric flayed anything that crossed his path at Casey Fields – belting four boundaries and four sixes – to skyrocket the Eagles towards 150. Their 100-run stand would be the difference on the night as Tim Fathers (3/14) and Cam Dinger (2/3) progressed through the Narre North order without much delay.
The visitors batted out their overs nobly with Brad Starkey (17 not out) holding on with Marshall Gray (7 not out). Cranbourne and Narre North will vie for the second spot in the finals in the last round of the regular Twenty20 season.
GROUP B
St Mary’s (3/94) failed to impact the scoreboard, leaving Hallam Kalora Park (3/95) to chase down the tally with ease. With five overs left in the tank, Hawks’ duo Cory Booth (36) and Amila Perera (39 not out) made light work of the margin as Corey Ely (2/22) fared the best of the St Mary’s contingent.
Heinz Southern Districts (3/164cc) put aside a lacklustre two-day round this week to flay Lynbrook (70).
Marquee player Craig Entwhistle (72 not out) lived up to his billing as he smashed all and sundry to the boundary while Justin Davis (31), Michael Davies (25) and former St Kilda player Stephen Milne (15 not out) helped rotate the strike and keep Entwhistle at the coalface.
The Lynbrook contingent battled bravely, but could not cross the gulf between Turf 4 and Turf 1 as rising star Ryan Patterson (5/15) blitzed the visitors. Rob Davies (2/0) finished the job.
Springvale South and Hallam Kalora Park have qualified for finals, with the only matter left to decide being which side becomes the top seed.
GROUP C
More St Kilda alumni graced the Twenty20 ranks this week as Justin Koschitzke (2/27 and 13) donned the green of Fountain Gate (8/137) in its narrow loss to Narre South (8/142).
The best efforts of Bryan Guthrie (3/29) and the former AFL ruck/forward Koschitzke weren’t enough to corral the Lions and halt their advance towards an imposing target.
The response from the Gators revolved around Stephen White (33) and Shane Chatterton (23no) but their efforts could not guide the side over the unbeaten Lions – who sit 5-0 atop the Group C ladder.
Paying their bills and getting the job done effectively, Berwick (4/162cc) smashed aside Parkdale (7/121) to remind the association of the Bears’ Twenty20 prowess. The 2012/13 Twenty20 champions made light work of the Parkdale attack. Marquee man Michael Wallace (54) in tandem with Dushan Wickramarathna (40) led the initiative before Bathiya Perera (31) and Daniel Brown (18 not out) finished the job to keep the run rate about eight an over. Jarrod Goodes (3/30) and Adam Watson (2/12) left the result in no doubt as Parkdale batted out its overs without much contest.
Parkfield and Berwick remain in the hunt for the second place in the finals from Group C.
GROUP D
Dingley (93) could not get into high gear against Doveton (7/96), which was bolstered by the inclusion of Dandenong all-rounder James Nanopoulos (4/19 and 1). Nanopoulos blitzed the home side from his four overs while Josh Daffy (3/19) also snared some crucial scalps to keep Dingley off guard. Their 93-run effort would not be enough as the Doves swooped in the final over to take the three-wicket win on the back of efforts from Daffy (20), Ricky Johnson (19no) and Isaac Newstead (15).
Buckley Ridges (8/118) did enough to knock aside Hampton Park (94) as neither side could muster any starring knocks. Dan Haasbroek (39) was best for the Ridges while Matt Thomas (22) and Matt Brooks (22) roused the best efforts for the Redbacks.
Buckley Ridges remains unbeaten through its first four matches and will advance to finals while Doveton, Dingley and North Dandenong all remain in the mix for the second spot from Group D.
One round of the Twenty20 round-robin stage remains to be played on Wednesday 14 January before the qualifying finals commence on 28 January.
