By JARROD POTTER
DDCA GRAND FINALS – TURF 1
MORDIALLOC (9/246) looked buried against Heinz Southern Cobras.
The Bloodhounds were sent begging from the crease in droves on the first morning of the DDCA Turf 1 grand final as the Cobras struck … and struck … and then struck a few more times to leave Mordialloc in all sorts of trouble at 6/58.
Justin Davis (3/63) seared through the top order – taking Tim Richardson (8) and Mordy skipper Monto Perera (0) in a single-over rampage.
Once Ian Daniel’s (21) gallant knock came to an end, it looked like Heinz would take the points on the first day … but that’s not the end of the tale by a long margin.
Chathura Athukorala (72) turned the match on his own shoulders – anchoring a pair of lower-order 50-run partnerships to keep the Bloodhounds alive. Firstly with Stuart Squires (13) then a sensational stand with Cameron Tomkinson (62 not out) before Athukorala was finally sent to the sheds after Davis snared the must-have wicket.
But the Bloodhounds kept sniffing out runs as Tomkinson and Nick Connellan (29) went the tonk. Connellan connected with a couple that flew onto rooves and Cheltenham Road to push Mordialloc past 200. They would finish on 246 with the 19-year-old Tomkinson undefeated in his first, and likely most memorable, Turf 1 half-century.
Michael Davies (3/48) toiled for the Cobras – running through 26 overs and 14 maidens in his inaugural Turf 1 grand final appearance – while Paul Stockdale (3/79) was the other major wicket taker.
Sunday belonged to Mordialloc as the Bloodhounds ripped through the Cobras (61).
Patience was a virtue no Heinz bat could afford as reckless shots gave Mordialloc the upper hand.
Cobras’ captain Trevor Davies (25) top scored and with Matt Cox (10) proved the best two of the Reedy Reserve brigade.
Ian Daniel (4/11) and Chathura Athukorala (2/17) excelled with the new leather to wipe out any chance of Heinz getting its first Turf 1 premiership, before Bloodhounds skipper Monto Perera (3/19) finished the job.
“It was disappointing, but we’ll learn from it,” Davies said.
“I think we bowled well most of the day (Saturday) and we bowled well at the end as the pitch flattened right out.
“Winning the toss and batting first, you can take those risks and we were in a similar position (to Mordialloc) second innings, but had to consolidate to try and get to the total.
“Fourth year up (in Turf 1) it’s a good achievement for us, so we’ve definitely come a long way.”
Mordialloc skipper Monto Perera was thrilled to take the cup and show everyone the underdog status suits the Bloodhounds just fine.
“Being 6/48, one stage we would have been happy putting on 120, 130 runs,” Perera said.
“That’s been our downfall for the last couple of years, where we haven’t made that many runs and a couple of people have given us many chances to win premierships.
“This year when we started we said it doesn’t matter who gets the runs, just that we’re going to get some so we can defend the score and look what happened yesterday.
“Nobody gave us a chance really – I’m not afraid to say it – none of the papers gave us a chance and neither did the competition either, but we proved everyone wrong.”
DDCA GRAND FINALS – TURF 2
A ONE-YEAR vacation in Turf 2 is over for Narre Warren (6/147), which claimed first-innings points against St Brigid’s/St Louis (143) after clawing its way back after a collapse.
St Brigid’s never got out of first gear as the Aspendale-based side decided to bat first. Dean Wheeler (4/29), skipper Kaushalya Weeraratne (2/41) and John Mentiplay (2/46) struck through to force the Saints to set a minimal target.
But the Saturday gremlins at Arch Brown Reserve continued to rear their heads as Narre Warren slumped – Wendell Perumal (39) was the only Magpie to soar from the top of the order as his team-mates crumbled. Perumal’s dismissal was part of the procession that left Narre Warren 6/97. The revival came from Sanjeewa Weerasinghe (53) – who smacked a run-a-ball half-ton alongside Jarryd Straker (21) to take first-innings points.
Weerasinghe slogged his way past St Brigid’s – taking one over for three fours and a whopping six at Arch Brown Reserve. Another six would ensure the Magpies swooped on the first-innings victory on the first day of the scheduled two-day grand final.
But there was still a second day and Narre Warren succumbed early to give St Brigid’s a sniff at a reverse outright. They would pummel 9/165 declared off 33 overs, with Wheeler (5/47) and Weeraratne (3/82) snaring the scalps, to leave some headaches for Narre Warren approaching stumps.
With 30 overs to see off, Perumal (25no) and Wheeler (18 not out) dug in to ensure there would be no St Brigid’s celebrations as Narre celebrated a two-fold triumph. Firstly, its Turf 2 flag – dusting off a 10-year drought for the first XI – and its triumphant return to Turf 1 in 2015/16, switching places with Coomoora.
DDCA GRAND FINALS – TURF 3 TO TURF 6
Aspendale (330) powered into Turf 2 ahead of North Dandenong (175) via a resounding century from Travis Campbell (135 not out).
Making the most of its first DDCA season, Aspendale batted North Dandenong out of the match via Campbell, Josh Boyle (41) and Chris Cleef( (30). David Bell (3/57) chimed in for the best Northern figures, but no-one could hold up their end of the bargain with the bat. John Mitsios (48) was gallant as the side collapsed around him as no other North Dandenong batsman managed to push through the nervous 20s.
Turf 4 belonged to St Mary’s (7/152) after Charith Anthony (52) helped his side glide home against Lynbrook (147). Despite the best efforts of Lynbrook skipper Andrew King (54), there weren’t enough runs in the ledger to keep St Mary’s from moving up the divisions to claim the Turf 4 flag. Corey Ely’s (5/30) bowling efforts were capitalised upon by St Mary’s batsmen as Anthony combined with Cameron Roberts (32) to push the score along. Anthony would fall, but by then St Mary’s was just about home as captain Gary Cake (18) and Emmanuel Coomaraswamy (10no) finished the job.
Parkdale (6/135) picked up a Turf 5 flag over St Brigid’s/St Louis (134) while Aspendale (147) made it two-in-turf as it picked up Turf 6 triumph over Narre North (124).
