By Marcus Uhe
A successful defence of 202 against Hallam Kalora Park may just be the catalyst to kick North Dandenong’s season into gear.
In a replay of one of last season’s semi finals, the Maroons kept the Hawks to 8/174 batting second on their home deck to snatch a second victory of the campaign, and climb into third on the ladder, equal on points with Buckley Ridges in second, following the replay of round one of the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf 1 season.
Despite only Tahsinullah Sultani reaching 50, North Dandenong edged its way to its total with a handful of minor contributions.
Sultani’s 47-run stand with his skipper Clayton McCartney proved to be the biggest partnership of the innings as their teammates struggled for continuity.
Jawid Khan (40) and Imran Laghmani (33) both made starts but regular wickets ensured the Hawks maintained a foothold in the contest, Jordan Hammond the pick of their bowlers with 3/52.
The reply hit troubled waters early on, thanks to a spectacular run-out of Jagveer Hayer by Syed Shah.
Charging in from cover, Shah threw the stumps down with a sharp underarm while the batters attempted a quick single, to the shock of the dismissed Hayer who believed he made his ground.
The prized scalps of Mahela Udawatte and Hammond in consecutive balls from Laghmani’s off spin in the 15th over suddenly reduced the Hawks to 3/46 with two of their key batters back in the sheds.
Leigh Booth added 48 with Ben Hillard before he was deceived in flight by Muhammad Khan for 41, Sultani whipping the bails off in a flash after Booth unsuccessfully advanced down the wicket.
Hillard became the critical wicket and his dismissal at the hands of Jawid Khan all but sealed the Hawks’ fate, with the lower order unable to chase the remainder of the visitors’ target.
Jawid Khan’s 40 and 2/29 will have him in line for Wookey Medal votes in an excellent all-round performance.
Elsewhere in Turf 1, Beaconsfield piled on the pain for St Mary’s in a 90-run thrashing at Carroll Reserve.
The Saints batting woes continued, bowled out for just 98 in pursuit of Beaconsfield’s 188, the third time this season that the Saints haven’t reached triple figures.
Tyler Clark’s 79 formed the backbone of the Tigers’ total in what could become a breakout innings for the opener, in a solid partnership with Mark Cooper.
Those, and Jesse Busacca’s 21, were the only scores of note, however, leaving the door ajar for a St Mary’s breakthrough.
But it wasn’t to be with only two batters in Saveen Nanayakkara and Susantha Pradeep reaching the salvation of double figure scores.
Nanayakkara finished unbeaten on 47 in a scorecard with a quartet of ducks, St Mary’s lasting just 30.3 overs.
Cooper’s 4.3 overs netted him 3/18, Jake Cutting and Trishane De Silva each grabbing two wickets apiece.
The grand final rematch between Springvale South and Buckley Ridges unfortunately never eventuated due to playing conditions at Alex Nelson Reserve.
It came after Saturday’s round seven matches were abandoned without a ball bowled due to significant rainfall on Saturday morning.
