By Nick Creely
DANDENONG TWENTY20 CUP
REVIEW – ROUND 5
It wasn’t quite the cameo that Berwick had hoped for, but Victorian legend Dave Hussey still had an impact as the Bears knocked off Narre North to book a Twenty20 finals spot last Wednesday night at Arch Brown Reserve.
Coming in at 1/24, the powerful right hander was dismissed without troubling the scorers, with North quick Josh Dowling (3/15) picking up his scalp in a brilliant wicket maiden over that also included the wicket of Jarrod Armitage (11).
The Bears recovered nicely to finish on 9/138 off 20, with Nathan Pilon (33), Darren de Souza (26) and Matt Chasemore (25) ticking the scoreboard over brilliantly.
And the visitors were on top at 1/90, before Bears coach Will Carr (4/28) and Hussey (2/20) wound back the clock to cut off an upset – the North finished on 9/133.
Skipper Jarrod Goodes (3/13) was also outstanding for the home side.
Springvale South (6/162) also got the points in a high scoring affair with St Brigid’s/St Louis (8/157).
The Bloods were challenged by the much improved Turf 2 unit, with Vaib Deshpande (77) almost seeing his side over the line.
Steve Spoljaric (2/22) and Andrew Staude (2/21) were the pick of the bowlers for the Bloods.
It was also a similar result for Buckley Ridges (163), who were also challenged by a gallant Springvale (162) at Park Oval, with the Bucks getting the job done without brilliant all-rounder Daniel ‘DJ’ Watson, who is nursing a sore calf.
Stuart Plunkett put in one of the best performances of the Twenty20 tournament to date, with the Cranbourne (9/106) all-rounder helping edge the Eagles past Dandenong West (7/97).
Plunkett slashed a quick fire 42 with the blade to help the home reach a competitive total, before bowling his side to a victory with an incredible 5/16 to restrict the Westers.
In the night’s other matches, Jackson Fry (4/15) bowled Dingley (4/133) to victory over Doveton North (9/129), Berwick Springs (6/130) upset Beaconsfield (7/128), Hallam Kalora Park (6/108) cruised past Narre Warren (6/105), not even a stellar performance from Clint Gottinger (90) could see Silverton (157) beat Parkfield (7/181), Heinz Southern Districs (6/147) showed their class against Narre South (89) at Reedy Reserve, and St Mary’s (0/96) crushed Lynbrook (94) to continue on with their strong form in all formats.
Hampton Park forfeited in its match with Mordialloc.
The quarter finalists for the matches on 17 January are Buckley Ridges, North Dandenong, Berwick, Mordialloc, Springvale South, St Brigid’s/ St Louis, Heinz Southern Districts and Dingley.
