By Nick Creely
When Buckley Ridges champ Daniel ‘DJ’ Watson is on song, there is really no way of stopping him.
The master blaster has sent his fair share of balls onto Pultney Street and into the creek throughout his time at the club, and on Saturday the association great flayed them everywhere in a powerful performance that saw his side surge into the top-four with a round left to play.
It was not only the power of his hitting, but the opposition he was up against that was the most impressive aspect of the performance – it came against the all-conquering Berwick outfit with plenty on the line.
In a massive day for the club with the Bucks celebrating its Past Players and Sponsors Day, the home team flexed its muscles early on courtesy of its coach, ex-Sri Lankan quick Chanaka Welegedara before Watson, alongside star all-rounder Benny Howell took over in the chase.
The powerful Berwick batting line up struggled early after being sent into bat, with skipper Matt Chasemore and Brodie Emmett both prized out early by Welegedara.
In-form keeper batsman Jordan Cleland was fighting hard at the other end, and combined with a 27-run stand with Nathan Pilon, before a double-striker by tweaker Wes Nicholas (2/33) – which also saw the end of Bears star Ruwantha Kellepotha second ball – had the visitors in trouble at 4/66.
But Cleland remained steadfast to try and consolidate the innings, but as he looked to really launch towards the back-end of the innings, Benny Howell (1/32) was the man to trap him in front, with the Bears opener sent packing for a well-made 58.
Some late hits from James Wilcock (28 off 24) proved vital for the Bears as the visitors posted 166, but Welegedara rummaged through the lower order to finish with figures of 5/45 – his most impressive performance to date after battling through some injuries in his first season for the club.
If the Bears were looking to make early in-roads in defending its modest total, ‘DJ’ Watson and Benny Howell all but ensured the game was lost in the blink of an eye.
It was power hitting at its absolute finest from the pair.
Watson blasted the ball to all parts in a powerful individual display, blasting eight sixes in his incredible 70 from 39 balls, as he and Howell combined for a flattening 126-run opening stanza.
His season has built into a really fruitful one as finals near, with almost 400 runs next to his name at an average of 47.5.
While Watson eventually fell, Howell took over the mantle as he too crafted a sensational half-century, blasting 70 not out from 62 balls as the Bucks raced home with nine wickets to spare and in just 21 overs.
Troy Aust (25 not out) made the most of his promotion up the order with a fluent knock.
The Bucks will just need to defeat Narre South to make the finals next week when the two sides take each other on in arguably the season’s biggest blockbuster.
At Frawley Road, Springvale South showcased some of its best cricket of the season when it took down the ladder-leading Hallam Kalora Park.
It’s a fair scalp for the Bloods and a swift bounce back after last week’s defeat to Buckley Ridges.
The win was largely set up from a superb 83 from Bloods opener Ryan Quirk, who anchored the innings form the outset as the visitors posted 6/206.
Quirk’s third half-century of the season was a beauty, and with boundaries hard to come by used his placement and timing to keep the scoreboard flowing nicely.
Skipper Nathan King blasted 42 from 43 balls in a 66-run opening stand, while Jack Sketcher contributed a vital 25.
The usual Hallam seamers struggled to get much momentum, however Jordan Hammond (2/51) and spinner Lee Brown (2/45) managed to get into the wickets.
Despite a fighting 61 not out from Sachith Jayasingha, the Hawks were unable to recover from being 5/54, with King (2/20) doing the damage early before a strong bowling effort ensured the Hawks would be restricted to 6/148.
A costly loss down at Lois Twohig Reserve from Narre South, meanwhile, could cost the Lions its place the finals.
After losing to St Mary’s last week and now North Dandenong on Saturday, it’s another bitter pill to swallow for a team that has played largely excellent cricket despite some injury concerns.
The Lions – finally welcoming back champion Scott Phillips – had some early troubles after winning the toss and batting, but managed to recover nicely to post 9/178.
Kyle Hardy (43) was once again the main man for the Lions, while Phillips (33) and Brad Parker (33 not out) each contributed strongly through the middle order.
But the Maroons’ bowling outfit, led by Nimesh Kariyawasam (4/37) were well disciplined to keep the Lions’ total from blowing out.
A starring performance from Javed Khan was the catalyst for the Maroons’ dominant win, with the all-rounder crafting an outstanding 59 from 73 balls, while a crafty 42 not out from Syed Mehmood would ensure the home team would get the points with five wickets left to spare.
The win is massive for the Maroons, who have clawed off the bottom of the ladder with one round left to play in the club’s most promising performance of 2020/21, while for the Lions it will now need to topple Buckley Ridges next week, with the loser of that clash likely to miss the finals.
In the final game of the round, St Mary’s continued its late season stellar form with a strong win against Heinz Southern Districts at home.
The Saints were well led from Kusan Niranjana, who dominated with both bat and ball in one of the performances of the season.
The home team batted first, racking up 9/182 with Niranjana crunching 65 from the top, but Brent Patterson’s (5/45) stunning spell ensured the visitors would be well and truly in the contest.
That was until Niranjana’s impenetrable momentum with the bat carried over.
Snaring 6/37 from 8.3 brilliant overs, the Saints all-rounder helped bundle out the visitors for 142, with Prabath Hewage also vital with 3/19.
With one round left to play there is still so many unanswered questions.
Who will finish on top? Which side misses out on the top four? Which club will stay in Turf 1 next season?
