By Tyler Lewis
Narre South will return to the Turf 1 finals after defeating St. Mary’s for the second time in just six days.
The three games in seven days were extremely defining for the Lions, who after last Saturday’s loss to Berwick sat outside of the four.
It was a simple equation for the Lions on Saturday, win and in.
The Narre South side got off to a flying start in its pursuit for finals, by posting 7/203 in the rain reduced 41 overs.
The game could’ve gone anywhere when the visitors were 4/54, but crucial knocks from Kirk Dickson and Vineth Jayasuriya led the Lions to a brilliant score.
Jayasuriya worked away 43 from 73 deliveries, while Dickson blasted 59 from 37.
Dickson – who has been vital in the Lions resurgence this summer – found the rope on two occasions and cleared it an impressive five times.
The run chase couldn’t have got off to a worse start for the Saints, with opener Jamie Fox departing without scoring courtesy of a Morteza Ali run out.
Number-three Chameera Fernando shortly followed Fox, as the Lions had the Saints 2/9.
The score-line didn’t get easier on the eye from a St. Mary’s point of view, as each and every Lion that took the ball captured a wicket on their way to dismissing the Saints for 88 in the 30th over.
2019/20 Alan Wookey Medal winner Morteza Ali added 2/11 from six overs to go with his run out, while Tim Phillips haunted the Saints once again with 2/19 off his eight.
In the back-to-back clashes with the Saints, Phillips has collectively snared 7/51 from 18.2 overs.
The win over the Saints impacted Hallam Kalora Park the most, which needed the Lions to slip up to sneak into the four.
The Hawks completed their end of the deal, by cruising to victory over North Dandenong.
As expected, Hawks skipper Jordan Hammond won the toss and elected to bowl.
It was Hammond (3/27 off 10) himself and fellow opener Wil Whyte (2/21 off 11) that got the ball rolling for the Hawks, before Ryan Hillard cleaned up the middle order with 3/29 off five.
The Maroons set an under-par total of 121 from its 36.3 overs.
In reply, the Hawks surpassed the North Dandenong total without much difficulty.
While four of the five batters used made it to double-figures, it was Hammond once again that secured the win with a sterling performance with the willow.
Hammond carved out 66 not out from 88 deliveries with six fours and one six to guide his side to a final round victory.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, the win is a touch bitter-sweet, as it wasn’t enough to secure a place inside the four.
The Hawks have become the first Turf 1 side to win the flag then miss the following finals series since Cranbourne in 2016/17.
It didn’t collect the win, but Narre Warren certainly went out of Turf 1 with a brave performance over ladder leaders Buckley Ridges.
The Magpies sent the Bucks in and bowled excellently early on, sending both openers Zafar Sheikh and Ben Wright back to the sheds for six and four respectively.
The Pies then had their tails up when Mahela Udawatte was back in the sheds for just 18.
Without an unbeaten 49 from the ever-green Michael Davies, the Bucks total of 147 would have looked much meeker.
Josh Cooper was impressive for the Pies in just his fourth Turf 1 game of the year, jagging 2/16 from nine overs.
Though the Pies were in a position to win the game, the Bucks flexed its muscles with the ball, castling the Pies for just 123 at the conclusion of the 41st over.
Matthew Goodwright did as he has done for his whole career with the ball, putting the clamps on the Pies with 3/26 from his allocated 12 overs.
But it was Wes Nicholas who was the pick of the bowlers, the right-arm quick claimed 5/22 from 12 overs, steering his side to a 24-run victory on the eve of finals.
Nicholas has been a consistent performer for the Bucks this year, collecting wickets in all of his matches but one this summer, and multiple wickets in six of his 10 matches, for a return total of 20 wickets at 19.7.
Springvale South v Berwick was the only game of the round that didn’t get a solitary ball bowled, but was one of the more important fixtures of the weekend.
The winner of the match was set to earn a top two – second chance – finish, but with the Bears and Bloods sharing the points, the Bears went through to the second position.
The draw also forced the Bloods to lose its home elimination final opportunity against Narre South.
In the downfall of the wash out, many have raised concerns over Alex Nelson Reserve hosting the Turf 1 grand final on 26 March.
While they’re now second on the ladder, the Bears will be without guns Brodie Emmett and Matt Chasemore for the remainder of the season due to injury,
Chasemore tore his pec earlier in the season and underwent surgery a week ago, the recovery could potentially see the champion out for up to 12 months.
TURF 1 LADDER
TEAM W L Pts
Buckley Ridges 11 2 69 1.4325
Berwick 9 3 60 1.4888
Narre South 9 4 57 1.1607
Springvale South 8 4 54 1.628
Hallam Kalora Park 8 5 51 1.4593
St Mary’s 3 10 21 0.5243
North Dandenong 3 10 15 0.7226
Narre Warren 0 13 3 0.4742
HOME AND AWAY LEADERS
BATTING
PLAYER CLUB RUNS AVE
Mahela Udawatte Buckley Ridges 547 45.53
Jordan Wyatt Springvale South 431 47.88
Kyle Hardy Narre South 406 33.83
Ryan Quirk Springvale South 380 38.00
Leigh Booth Hallam KP 372 31
BOWLING
PLAYER CLUB WKTS AVE
James Wilcock Berwick 28 14.96
Jordan Hammond Hallam KP 26 12.31
Matthew Goodwright Buckley Ridges 25 15.44
Blade Baxter Springvale South 25 15.76
Akshat Buch Springvale South 24 15.04
FINALS BRACKET
Semi final 12 March: Buckley Ridges v Berwick Park Oval 12:30pm
Elimination final 12 March: Narre South v Springvale South Strathaird Reserve 12:30pm
Preliminary final 19 March: Loser of semi final v winner of elimination final
Grand final 26 March: Winner of semi final v winner of preliminary final
