By JARROD POTTER
DDCA – TURF 1 REVIEW
A Spolly century highlighted the opening round of DDCA Turf 1 cricket as the Eagles poleaxed Lyndale into submission.
LYNDALE v CRANBOURNE
Steve Spoljaric wasted no time going about yet another Wookey Medal as he blasted 132 not out to rocket Cranbourne (3/225) to victory against lowly Lyndale (87). Spoljaric didn’t have much help from the rest of the top order but found support at number five via Jordan Cleland (56no), with the tandem smashing a 156-run partnership. Spoljaric put his feet up at first slip for the bowling as he let the rest of the side clean up Lyndale for a pittance. Matt Kelly, Cam Dinger and Bradon Tyzzer each picked up a brace to give Cranbourne plenty to smile about after one round. The Eagles face Parkfield at home on Saturday while Lyndale is off to North Dandenong.
BERWICK v DANDENONG WEST
A new-look Bears attack saw off Dandenong West (5/175), but not after the Bulls put up plenty of headaches for Berwick (5/176) to counteract. A captain’s knock from Matt Sofoulis (75) pushed the score along as he and Matt Collett (43) knocked in a century opening stand. Their tandem was shattered by Berwick leg-spinning import Jack Williams (2/46) who kept the ball up there despite the threat of being belted about the postage-stamp sized Arch Brown Reserve. Williams was rewarded with another scalp soon after as another new recruit – Carlton Premier Cricket champion Nathan Pilon made his first dismissal. Ryan Crawford (3/26) made some timely dismissals to keep Dandy West from taking innings’ honours. Some smash and bash from Sofoulis and Rajpal Dhillon (24) pushed the run rate towards the completion as the Bulls posted 175. Pilon (35) and returning Bear Josh Holden (61) steadied the ship after Ryan Williamson’s three ball quacker. Crawford (40no) finished the job alongside Holden to give the Bears the first points of the season. Berwick heads off to face the reigning premiers Mordialloc while Dandenong West hosts the reinvigorated Buckley Ridges.
HEINZ SOUTHERN DISTRICTS v NORTH DANDENONG
The newest Soupman Hari Krishan (86) excelled in his DDCA debut to help Heinz Southern Districts (6/213) brush aside North Dandenong (162). Combining with the evergreen youngster Brad Downe (67), Krishan enlightened the crowd at Reedy Reserve with a smack-about half-century only halted by Caleb Millman (2/41). The Northerners tried to hunt down the tally, but couldn’t stop the multi-faceted Cobras strikeforce as Ashan Bandaranayake (3/32) and Krishan (2/26) finished the job. Heinz faces Narre Warren in a cross-town showdown while North Dandenong hosts Lyndale in a fateful early season battle.
BUCKLEY RIDGES v SPRINGVALE SOUTH
What many thought was the match of the round lived up to expectation as Springvale South (6/157) chased down a slender score from Buckley Ridges (8/153 on their minuscule Park Oval. Disruption throughout the innings halted the Ridges attack – returning captain DJ Watson (16) and new recruit Cal O’Hare (14) couldn’t break through the Bloods. It took some late-order hitting from Matt Goodwright (25no) to push Buckley Ridges to a defendable tally. But the Ridges were no match for former Sri Lankan Test batsman Michael Vandort (60), who flayed all and sundry onto Pultney Street and the creek. His early smack about was cut short, but Craig Berger (20no) made sure the runs were put on the board with three overs remaining. The Bloods host Hallam Kalora Park while Buckley Ridges heads to Dandenong West.
PARKFIELD v NARRE WARREN
In a nail-biter, Parkfield (5/189) managed to hold off Narre Warren (9/185) in the first thriller of the season. Joe Barrett (69) and captain Shane Bell (40) added 100 for the second scalp and were supported down the order by Travis D’Souza (50no). Kaushalya Weeraratne (3/44) was the best of the Magpies bowlers before the batting order almost swooped on the target. Stuart Plunkett (80) added a half-century to his impressive pile of runs purloined from around the country and beyond as he’s played in Tasmania, North Territory and further flung regions. With support via Atishsinh Chouhan (29) and Weeraratne (28) the trio nearly picked up the first win of the year, but Plunkett’s early dismissal derailed the attack. Hemantha Jayasundera (4/16) spun circles around the Magpies middle order to take the clash. Parkfield faces Cranbourne while Narre is hosting Heinz.
HALLAM KALORA PARK v MORDIALLOC
The reigning premiers Mordialloc (155) were upset by Hallam Kalora Park (7/156) and its new faces at Hallam Reserve. Chris Pereira (0/32) held down an end while Will Whyte (3/35) Cory Booth (2/18) and Leigh Booth (2/27) started extracting scalps. The response was led by Jordan Hammond (42) as the Hawks claimed its first victory of 2015/’16. Hallam heads to Springvale South this round while Mordialloc battles Berwick.
