By JARROD POTTER
DDCA – GRAND FINALS (Saturday Results)
A MATCH for the ages, the only true way to finish a cricket season, is on the cards as Springvale South (138) and Cranbourne (5/23) remain locked in a Turf 1 thriller.
TURF 1
Just when you think grand finals can’t get more exciting, Springvale South and Cranbourne upped the intensity for the final salvo of 2015/16.
It started horrendously for the minor premiers, losing Nathan King (8), Harry Staude (0) and Dylan Quirk (12) for next-to-nothing. Martin Kelly (3/24) and Steve Spoljaric (2/30) chipped away at the top order before the introduction of Wookey Medallist Matt Chasemore (2/29) added more pain to the Bloods’ innings. Craig Slocombe (21) went from belting the stuffing out of the attack, to succumbing to Chasemore after a quick-fire knock left the side spinning at 4/71. The initiative was left to Sri Lankan import Michael Vandort (58), who braced himself and held on.
In the end the Bloods managed to work their way into the clash through a remarkable lower order partnership. Mitchell Forsyth (16) played out of his skin to hold on with Vandort as the duo added 26 for the seventh stand.
Vandort raised the bat for his 50, but soon fell to young leggie Cam Dinger (3/24) after an impressive 176-ball occupation of the crease. Forsyth carried on with the tail to add the final few drips to the Bloods’ bank of runs.
The fading light further renewed Springvale South’s hopes as the openers went on the warpath. Jarrod Armitage (3/9) was beyond sensational in his first-up eight over spell – cannoning through Brayden Roscoe (1) before finding the edges of Jake Harrington (6) and Chasemore (1). Lucas Ligt (4) set himself to see out the remaining overs and held on throughout the chaos unleashed by Armitage, Tim Ford (1/4) and Nathan King (0/6)… but Craig Slocombe saved his ace for the last over of the day, bringing on his young part-timer Brayden Sharp (1/0).
Sharp managed to flight a left-arm miracle, taking arguably the biggest wicket of his career to get rid of the dogged Ligt, caught brilliantly by King. It left Spoljaric (4no) and Stuart Plunkett (0no) to see out the day and set themselves for the massive task ahead. With only Jordan Cleland as a recognised batsman to come, plus the three tail-enders, the heavy lifting has to come from the experienced tandem if Cranbourne wants to take the flag.
TURF 2
After narrowly avoiding the noose last weekend, Keysborough (116) put its neck back in the hangman’s way as it was rolled quickly by Dingley (5/98).
The top order imploded against Dingley’s new ball specialist Andrew Dalby (4/30). Searing through the top four for a pittance, Dalby pushed his season tally to 30 wickets and put the minor premiers right on the back foot.
The only tandem to show great resistance was Shakeel Ahmad (48) and Yoshan Kumara (19). The duo worked their way towards tea in a steady partnership for the fifth wicket. Ahmad – the only Knight to really fight back against the Dingoes – was en route to his half-century and beyond before an unbelievable passage sent him back to the Hallam sheds.
For reasons that will have to be explained in fine detail, Kumara pulled off the ultimate, and potentially match-losing, brain-fade to run out Ahmad. Bunting a shot directly to the field, Kumara set off and left Ahmad to head back as he was barely half-way down the pitch when the bails were whipped off. Dingley celebrated the must-take wicket and soon had the pair as Kumara’s stand ended as he edged one to the cordon a few balls later.
The tail had little wag, but managed to push past triple figures and stay in the hunt … at least for the time being.
Dingley’s stop-start chase – hampered by the thunderbolts Kumara (3/27) was flinging at their heads – got most of the way to victory after captain Travis Sawers (26) saw the shine off the new rock alongside Christo Otto (18). Scott Tutton (25no) and Liam Leeson (9no) were set at stumps and the Dingoes sit 19 runs off promotion to the top grade, barring another fit of reverse-outright shenanigans from the Knights.
TURF 3
Escaping early disaster against Beaconsfield (1/31), Buckley Ridges managed to pile on the pain late in the day at Reedy Reserve. The start was disastrous as the Tigers ripped shreds from the Ridges’ order. At 6/69 – following another barrage from Beaconsfield skipper Dylan Freitag (4/47) – Buckley would’ve been pleased with triple figures, let alone the tally it has forced upon the minor premiers.
Shane D’Rozario (74) turned back the clock and ground down the Tigers’ bowlers. The dual Wookey Medallist was seemingly planted in the crease as nothing fazed him en route to another half-century. He united with his son Jonathan D’Rozario (11no) to pile on a 50-run stand and give the Ridges’ something tangible to defend. Mario Perera (20no) saw out the last 10 overs, but not before losing opening partner Heshal Silva (4).
TURF 4 TO TURF 7
Springvale’s (139 and 3/78) middling Turf 4 target proved too much for Lynbrook (63) on a wicket-laden day. Thilanka Harsha (35) went the smack against the Lightning, but couldn’t hold on for long against the likes of Stephen Veal (4/22) and Jesse Walia (3/29). From 3/91 the wheels completely fell off as Springvale collapsed to finish at 139 after 41 overs. Springvale turned its woes onto Lynbrook as Lois Twohig Reserve bore witness to more carnage. Sachintha Rajapakse (3/12) and Mark Weeding (3/21) tore through Lynbrook’s attack, setting the stage for a second bat late on day one after Springvale won the first innings emphatically. Harsha (47no) remained unbeaten at the end of the day.
Akaati Pupuke (116) led his Berwick Springs (9/330) Turf 5 side to a virtually unassailable position against Buckley Ridges. Cashing his first century on the biggest day of his cricket career, Pupuke paired off with Mitchell Mason (37) and skipper Jeromy Cooray (42) to punish anything Buckley Ridges could throw at him. Like the Titans of mythology Pupuke razed his opponents at Carroll Reserve and left a Titan-ic headache for the chasers. Farhan Hussain (2/77) toiled all day for his side.
Narre North (177) took Beaconsfield’s (0/16) bowling to task in Turf 6, setting the stage for a big chase for the Tigers’ second XI. Samuel McDavitt (3/26) was Beaconsfield’s best with the ball while Martin Oke (2/31), Lachlan Laird (2/34) and James McLean (2/35) charged in all day.
Berwick Springs (91) is locked into a frenetic Turf 7 finish against Cranbourne (6/46) as neither side managed to dominate the bowling. Michael Randall (3/28) and Jason Quigley (3/3) rattled through the Titans’ top order – with the only knock of note coming from skipper Ravin Punchihewa (38). The Eagles’ response was even worse though. Hayden Johnson (3/19) continued his all-year round sporting form with a sharp first up spell before Jason Miseski (2/17) knocked over a couple more Eagles before stumps.
For completed results from all grades, visit the Dandenong Journal website www.dandenong.starcommunity.com.au on Monday morning.
DDCA – GRAND FINAL RESULTS (Day 1)
Turf 1
Springvale South 138 (M Vandort 58,M Kelly 3/24,C Dinger 3/24,M Chasemore 2/29,S Spoljaric 2/30) v Cranbourne 5/23 (J Armitage 3/9)
Turf 2
Keysborough 116 (S Ahmad 48,A Dalby 4/30,S Tutton 2/8) v Dingley 5/98 (T Sawers 26,S Tutton 25No,Y Kumara 3/27,G De silva 2/31)
Turf 3
Beaconsfield 1/31 v Buckley Ridges 188 (S D’rozario 74,S Ali 26,D Freitag 4/47,J Beets 2/26)
Turf 4
Springvale 139 (T Harsha 35,P Madushan 27,S Veal 4/22,J Walia 3/29,J Webb 2/48) and 3/78 (T Harsha 47No) v Lynbrook 63 (S Rajapakse 3/12,M Weeding 3/21,S Lindsay 2/11,R Sahota 2/14)
Turf 5
Berwick Springs 9/330cc (A Pupuke 116,J Cooray 42,I Laghmani 39,M Mason 37,R Rajapaksa 33,M Cronin 2/39,Z Martin 2/50,F Hussain 2/77) v Buckley Ridges
Turf 6
Narre North 177 (S Mcdavitt 3/26,M Oke 2/31,L Laird 2/34,J Mclean 2/35) v Beaconsfield 0/16
Turf 7
Berwick Springs 91 (R Punchihewa 38,J Quigley 3/3,M Randall 3/28,T Hanigan 2/19) v Cranbourne 6/46 (H Johnson 3/19,J Miseski 2/17)
A Grade
Sandown Park 5/94cc (G Ravindiran 44No,S Kulkarni 3/13,B Hogan 2/31) v North Dandenong 77 (T Kamalamohan 4/13,M Thedchanamoorthy 3/20,T Kamalamohan 2/13)
B Grade
Berwick Springs 0/3 v Buckley Ridges 9/204 (A Ciantar 52,L Michael 51,G Weerasinghe 25,N Karunaratne 3/30,R Laghmani 2/35,R Guruge 2/44)
C Grade
Hallam Kalora Park 85 (J Alur 29,M Dala 4/17,B Tibballs 2/3,V Singh 2/18) v Lynbrook 4/54
D Grade
Narre South 1/13 v Berwick 166 (G Wilcock 56,W Chapman 41,S Sarwari 4/17,M Gaitely 2/28,C Stewart 2/35,J Maine 2/47)
E Grade
Doveton 2/15 v St Brigid’s/St Louis 180 (A Murphy 55,M Greenwood 30,A Mcneil 30,C Gray 4/21,J Daffy 2/52)
F Grade
Berwick Springs 157 (C Davidson 44,N Haughton 38,J Kanapathipillai 3/14,R Thaindiuprasanna 3/18,R Parameswaran 2/21) v Sandown Park 4/63cc (A Bertschik 2/8,D Loveridge 2/34)
One Day 1
Southern Pirates 140 (G Rainer 4/39,D Arter 3/14) def Springvale South 128 (B Zeitoune 35)
One Day 2
Cranbourne 6/154 (O Said 27,S Hiscock 2/32,J Pierce 2/39) def Parkdale 7/151cc (K Bergen 52No,T Minton 2/38)
Under 17 – 1
Springvale South 7/233cc (B Sharp 78,M Wetering 50,N Villella 36,L Labrooy 31,A Zafar 2/9) v Endeavour Hills
Under 17 – 2
Berwick v Narre South 7/131cc (H Kidd 36,R Cannon 3/22,M Pereira 2/13,L Nichols 2/28)
Under 17 – 3
Fountain Gate 1/18 v Beaconsfield 121 (J Hocking 32,W Ryan 30,M Premi 3/16,S Woolley 2/2,A Khalil 2/14)
Under 15 – 1
Berwick Springs 4/201cc (M Briggs 51No,H Whitehead 39,A Adihetty 34,R Rajapaksa 30,M Butera 27) v Buckley Ridges
Under 15 – 2
North Dandenong 9/187cc (S Kulkarni 56No,T Rana 53No,Y Pednekar 43,B Tisdale 3/8,D Davies 3/15,L Read 2/10) v Berwick Springs
Under 15 – 3
Narre South 0/20 v Cranbourne 72 (Y Mirranay 4/3,U Herath 2/9,S Mirranay 2/11)
Under 13 – 1
Berwick Springs Blue 8/114cc (J Sawrey 28No,B Hinchliffe 2/13) v Berwick
Under 13 – 2
Berwick 9/149 (Z Lines 30,B Herkess 29No,M Marks-boulton 28No,J Singh 3/5) v Fountain Gate
Under 13 – 3
Noble Park 1/134cc v Endeavour Hills – no scores available.
Under 13 – 4
Narre Warren v Narre North 142 (I Wickramasinghe 34No,M Dovaston 3/15,S Sodhi 2/9)
