By Nick Creely
Reigning premier Narre North continue to build their form after a barnstorming DDCA Turf 2 win against Parkmore Pirates at Wachter Reserve on Saturday.
Resuming at 2/76 in pursuit of the Pirates’ 136, the Rams were dealt an early blow with Marshall Gray falling for 26 almost immediately into the day’s play; the visitors were largely untroubled thereafter, running down the target with seven wickets left in the shed before declaring on 5/203.
Kyle Hardy (64) and Josh Tonna (33) did the bulk of the damage on day two.
The Rams had a late crack at an outright and despite Ryan Hendy (3/31) continuing his vintage form, Amal Athulathmudali’s gritty 45 ensured the Pirates could fight their way to 4/84 off 32 overs by stumps.
Down at Greaves Reserve, Cranbourne snared their first victory of the season in a Saturday/Sunday clash with the winless Dandenong West.
The new look Eagles won the toss and had a bat, overcoming a top order collapse, to reach 170 after at one stage being 4/62.
Handy contributions from Cam Kelly (28), Martin Kelly (29) and Pardeep Boyal (27) ensured the Eagles could give their bowlers something to work with.
Westers champ Peter Atkinson (5/47) was outstanding all day with the ball.
A late onslaught by Pardeep Boyal (3/34) had the Westers in dire trouble by stumps, with the Eagles seamer picking up three late wickets to leave the home side hanging on at 3/10.
But, some terrific fight the next morning by Thushira Madanayaka (42) and Nathan Power (22) gave the Westers a fighting chance, but Cam Kelly (3/22) and Martin Kelly (2/21) worked in tandem to pick up key wickets and roll the home side for 115.
Narre South, meanwhile, was big winners against Narre Warren as their bowlers took hold at Sweeney Reserve.
Defending a mammoth 351 off the back of a sublime day one hundred from Jonty Jenner, the Lions were greeted by some terrific fight by the Magpies, but were able to take enough wickets regularly to dismiss the home side for 207 in 79.4 overs.
Star all-rounder Janaka Liyanabadalge (45) and skipper Sanjeewa Weerasinghe (47 not out) were in the runs for the home side, while for the Lions, Morteza Ali (3/40) and Tim Phillips (3/42) helped wear the Magpies down with their line and length.
And Dingley rolled St Brigid’s/St Louis for 181 after racking up 316 on day one, with left arm tweaker Dinuk Hettiarchchi snaring 5/86.
Meanwhile, in Turf 3, after already securing first innings points on day one, Beaconsfield enjoyed some quality time in the middle on day two of their clash against Lynbrook at Perc Allison Oval.
Resuming at 1/12 and with a 60 run lead over the Lakers, Tigers skipper Matt Golding (112) notched up yet another DDCA century – his second for the season – with his side reaching 227 by stumps.
It’s the sixth century for Golding in just 40 matches with the club, with the gun all-rounder making a serious mark on cricket in the region.
Dylan Hayes (4/56) and Dinesh Vensilaus (4/56) fought hard all day for the Lakers, combining for 39 overs between them.
Coomoora, meanwhile, were able to hold off Keysborough in defence of their first innings total of 205, with Malan Madusanka starring with 5/42 off 25 overs.
Keysie lost a bunch of early wickets and were always playing catch up, but a late charge from Cameron McLeod (36) and Anirudh Motupalli (38 not out) saw the visitors reach 158 in 57 overs.
Dylan Jacotine was the perfect foil for Madusanka, taking 3/41 off his 14 overs.
Parkfield pulled off a stunner down at Dunblane Road, knocking over Fountain Gate in a low scoring thriller.
Defending a modest 114, the Bears rolled the Gaters for just 95 in the 42nd over after at one stage the visitors looked somewhat comfortable at 2/49.
Nicholas Jeffery took a star turn, snaring 5/26 off his eight overs, while Travis D’souza took 3/29 and picked up some handy scalps.
The Bears lost plenty of wickets as they had another bat, reaching 7/66 off 41 overs, with Rodni Kumar snaring 4/16, following on from his 5/37 in the first dig.
And Lyndale snared an outright win over Silverton at Barry Powell Reserve, with the Dales in fine form.
Resuming at 5/141 after the Bakers were rolled for just 80 on day one, the home side quickly found themselves 8/206 before declaring, with Chanaka Wijewardena starring with 70.
The Bakers put in a more competitive showing in their second innings, with Balbir Singh’s 66 seeing them amass 172. The home side then slammed 50 runs in just six overs to pick up the extra points.
