By Marcus Uhe
A swathe of contributors across multiple weeks has helped North Dandenong to a recent pair of wins in the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf 1 competition, according to coach David Bell.
But he is under no illusions as to where his team sits in the pecking order of Turf 1 clubs at the midway point of the season.
The Maroons backed-up last week’s victory over Hallam Kalora Park with another win on the road on Saturday, this time downing Narre South at Strathaird Reserve by 34 runs.
Batting first, a second hundred of the season for Jawid Khan and half-centuries from Clayton McCartney and Muhammad Dawa Khan saw North Dandenong post 6/271.
Jawid Khan (106) and McCartney (52) added 107 for the fourth wicket, forced to play a crucial salvage mission after a devastating opening spell from Alex Cruickshank.
The Englishman removed Ramneet Dhindsa and Syed Mehmood for single figure scores in his first two overs, before running out Imran Laghmani to have the visitors at 3/24 in the fifth over.
The 107-run stand rescued the Maroons from trouble, with late hitting from Muhammad Dawa Khan and Syed Shah adding the all-important finishing touches.
Muhammad Dawa Khan took a particular liking to Jeevan Mendis, hitting four consecutive sixes off the Sri Lankan’s final over in a late flurry of boundaries, as the final six overs netted 70 runs.
Narre South too lost their opening pair early in the innings and relied on a middle order fightback to work its way back into the contest.
Callum Nicholls and Mendis added 57 for the third wicket, and when Nicholls departed for 35, Vineth Jayasuriya picked up where he left off.
Mendis and Jayasuriya became the key partnership, reaching 3/169 in the 33rd over with the match on a knife’s edge.
The return of Jawid Khan to the action was a masterstroke from McCartney, who broke the partnership with the crucial wicket of Mendis for 67.
Brad Parker (14) and Cruickshank (three) also fell to Jawid Khan, leaving Jayasuriya stranded on 88 not out, the Lions reaching 6/237 at the completion of the 45th over.
Jawid Khan finished with 4/64, likely ensuring more Wookey Medal votes, while the remainder of the bowling attack contained the run chase well, each operating at roughly five runs per over.
Bell was delighted with the plethora of contributors in both the batting and bowling department.
“We’ve got a spread of performances with guys chipping in with runs last week, rather than just the one person,” Bell said.
“Last year was a bit, one person was dominating it more than the others, but there’s quite a few standing up.
“We had two fifties, a ton and 30 not out. It’s pretty handy right through the innings.
“The whole bowling attack was pretty good too, so it’s pretty hard to single anybody out.”
The win lifts the Maroons into second on the Turf 1 table, excusing themselves from the queue of sides scrapping for a top-four place in the table’s congested heartland, and validating a handful of strong performances against comparable outfits jostling for spots in the post-season.
Bouncing back from what Bell described as a “poor at best” bowling performance against Berwick, in which they allowed 364 on day one of a washed-out two-day contest, the quiet achievers enter the Christmas break with confidence under their belts.
But Bell was quick to quash any talk of premiership contention, despite conceding that they may be beginning to “turn the corner”.
“We don’t deserve the attention yet; there’s a long way between us and the top couple,” he said.
“But having said that, we come out and play the best we can on the day, then you never know.
“If you take an average across it at the moment, there’s still a gap there.
“But we’re working on it and we know the areas we have to work on.
“It’s just a matter of putting those in place every week.”
A major test of their credentials comes upon the competition’s resumption, when they welcome Buckley Ridges to Lois Twohig Reserve.
Buckley thrashed the Maroons in the corresponding clash earlier in the season, and have proven a stumbling block in previous seasons as the manifestation of the gulf between the Maroons and the competition’s top tier.
“Buckley has had it over us for a few years now, so we want to turn that around soon,” Bell said.
“We have to beat the teams we think we’re about equal with, and then narrow the field down to the two or three we think are the top couple, then come out and play as well (as we can).”
