A Mitch Forysth masterclass set the tone for a thumping Springvale South victory over St Mary’s in DDCA Turf 1 on Saturday at Carroll Reserve, maintaining their buffer on the rest of the competition at the top of the table.
Opening the batting with his captain Ryan Quirk, Forsyth (149) hit his maiden hundred as part of a 248-run opening stand that killed the prospect of a contest early, before the Bloods bowlers made short work of the St Mary’s batting line-up.
The openers were near flawless in their new club-record partnership, rotating the strike with ease as they manipulated the field at will.
Forsyth made the running early, but it was Quirk who reached both his 50 and 100 milestones first, before he was bowled by Deeshan Vimukthi on 111 off 115.
His second hundred of the 2022-23 campaign continues a stellar season for the Bloods skipper, bolstering his average to 73.67 and leaving him 133 runs clear of his nearest competitor for leading run scorer, in, coincidentally, Mitch Forsyth.
Forsyth’s season had contained plenty of starts (28, 16, 21, 10, 30, 36 and 19) but no big score to capitalise on those foundations.
Carrying his bat and collecting four sixes and 12 fours along the way, he and his teammates will be hoping for more of the same as they look to defend their Turf 1 title later in the season.
A quick 28 from Jordan Wyatt rubbed salt into the gaping St Mary’s wounds as they finished 2-300 from their 45, comfortably too much for their opponents, who weren’t able to carry their momentum from last week’s victory over Parkmore.
Captain Wendyl Pires’ 21 top-scored for the home side who were rolled for 94 in the 38th over.
Josh Dowling and the returning Matt Wetering took three wickets each, with Wetering also contributing a run out.
The crushing result means Buckley Ridges could barely gain any ground on their rivals, despite themselves recording a solid win over Berwick.
In similar scenes at Park Oval, Buckley too racked-up a mammoth total thanks to Daniel Watson and Jayson Hobbs’ contributions up top.
The two added 121 for the first wicket, as Watson (85) registered his second consecutive half-century and Hobbs (72) his second score of 50-plus for the season.
Watson in particular took to the Berwick bowlers, reaching 50 off 23 balls and bludgeoning 68 runs in boundaries as the fielders grew accustomed to the surrounds of Dandenong Park.
A sturdy 65 from skipper Ben Wright and contributions from their bevy of allrounders pushed their total to 7-297.
Riley Siwes, Lachlan Brown and Andrew Perrin all grabbed two wickets each for the visitors, and Perrin also striking Hobbs on the hand, who was forced to attend a medical clinic after the game.
Needing something big from their opening pair, Berwick could hardly have gotten off to a worse start, as Lachlan Brown was sent packing for a globe in the opening over.
Captain Jake Hancock and veteran Matt Chasemore added a valuable 67 runs for the third wicket, but Chasemore’s dismissal triggered a collapse of 8-97.
Watson’s contributions with the bat were matched by his efforts with the ball, grabbing 4-28 to make it seven wickets in his last two games and 12 for the year.
Left arm spinner Sanka Dinesh grabbed three, including the prized wicket of Hancock for 71.
Hallam Kalora Park’s seven-wicket victory over Narre South may look comfortable on paper, but the Hawks were made to grind out the winning runs by an economical Lions outfit.
A boundary off the bat of Kevin Kean at the end of the 44th over sealed the result for the Hawks, who crawled their way past the Lions’ total of 177 at home.
Narre South were left reeling at 2-2 thanks to William Whyte’s destructive first over, with Kyle Hardy and Jonty Jenner both removed without troubling the scorers.
Superstar Jeevan Mendis could only add 24 before he became one of Sachith Jayasingha’s two victims to retain his status as the competition’s leading wicket taker.
Harsha de Silva top-scored for the visitors with 50 as the Lions were strangled by the Hawks’ bowling group.
In reply, Hallam got off to a hot start as Leigh Booth found gaps in the offside with regularity, looking rather untroubled by Berwick’s seamers.
The introduction of Hardy’s medium pacers and Mendis’ leg-spinners to the bowling crease, however, presented a change in pace, both on the ball, and the run rate.
The two bowled 10 overs together unchanged, dropping the run rate from above five after nine overs, to just above three after 27, when Mendis had Matthew Cox edging to Hardy at first slip.
Jagveer Hayer’s 23 off 70 epitomised the difficulty in scoring, but in “Lethal” Booth, they had a steady head at the other end.
Booth would be dismissed nine runs short of a hundred, but some lusty blows from Kean, and captain Jordan Hammond saw the Hawks home in the second last over.
Muhammad Dawa Khan and Sushant Gupta ensured Parkmore’s miserable season continued, combining to take all 10 wickets in North Dandenong’s four-wicket win at Wachter Reserve.
Gupta (4-47) removed Chirath Uralagamage (one) Dulan Waduge (eight) and Johann Brohier (one) in quick succession to have the Pirates in trouble at 3-17, which saw Amal Athulathmudali join Mohomad Safras for a 80-run partnership.
Both passed 50 on their way to their side’s 207 as Khan cleaned-up the lower order and tail to grab career-best figures of 6-39.
Ramneet Dhindsa continued a consistent season for the Maroons with 56 at the top of the order, his second 50 of the season and fourth score above 40, to steer the chase home in the 39th over.
Tahsinullah Sultani and Rajitha Ranaweera both scored 37 for the visitors, while Ammar Bajwa was the pick of the Pirates bowlers with 1-35 off his seven overs.
With all top-four sides winning, it means no change to the ladder positions at the end of round 10.
Springvale South still lead Buckley Ridges, Hallam Kalora Park and North Dandenong in the following four finals positions, with Narre South, St Mary’s, Berwick and Parkmore all on the outside looking in.
