By Marcus Uhe
Two days of taxing, exhausting and tense cricket – played in blistering heat – boiled down to an arguably perfect conclusion for neutral spectators dotted around Park Oval on Sunday evening for the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf 1 preliminary final.
At 7/271 beginning the 73nd over, Buckley Ridges needed a further 32 runs to qualify for a third-consecutive grand final, and Narre South three wickets to keep its fairytale run alive.
In Buckley Ridges, you have the masters of the chase, while Narre South has proven adept at defending scores late in the season, most notably 220 the week before against Hallam Kalora Park.
Roshane Silva, Buckley Ridges’ rock in the middle order, is being simply that; immovable, a picture of concentration and determination to deliver when it matters most in the first season at his new club, having reached the 70s and survived wickets falling at the other end.
Alex Cruickshank, at the top of his run-up, receives a high-five from his opening bowling partner, Callan Tout, a pair that have propelled the Lions to what seemed an unthinkable preliminary final berth, and just three wickets from a grand final appearance.
In the midst of a brilliant spell that saw Ishan Jayarathna and Troy Aust removed, the Englishman, a fellow high-profile import in his maiden DDCA season for the Lions, penetrates Silva’s defences, for yet another twist in what had been an enthralling weekend.
Silva’s wicket was the big breakthrough the Lions so desperately craved, and at 8/273, having lost 6/91, the chances of an upset looked stronger than ever.
Westley Nicholas, a former Narre South junior, joins Hussain Ali at the crease, a pair of bowlers tasked with saving the match, and the Bucks’ season, now with the blade.
The experienced pair showed composure belying the match’s context, knocking the ball into gaps with the occasional flourish of brilliance that questioned their tail-end status, each run vociferously cheered from the swelling Buckley supporter base.
Four byes from the bowling of Jeevan Mendis in the penultimate over of the match spoiled what would have been a vital maiden, and took the home side to within striking distance.
The next over, strike they did, the chance at redemption now in their grasp.
In his post-game address, Bucks skipper Jayson Hobbs fixated on the resilience his side displayed, which has fast become a hallmark of the boys from Park Oval.
From a player-points breach that stripped them of two wins in the middle of the year, to chasing 361 against Springvale South and taking 9/25 to stop a rampaging Berwick the week after, more questions have been asked of Hobbs’ side this year than most in Turf 1, and more often than not, they’ve passed with flying colours.
“I think we’ve been very resilient all year and that typifies us as a side,” Hobbs said.
“We’re a tight-knit group, we’ve played a lot of cricket together and we’ve played in a lot of big games together.
“It typified that again; 30 runs to get with two wickets and the boys got us over the line.
“We’ve showed that all year and it’s great for our group.”
Leaving the field of play on Saturday, Buckley heads slumped, knowing they’d let their plucky, spirited and momentum-riding opponents off the hook in the final two hours of play as they set 303 for victory.
Frustration emanated from the usually calm heads under blue baggy caps, at umpiring decisions and their own execution as Harsha De Silva made them pay in the heat.
De Silva survived another Lions collapse in the middle order before steering his side to the ascendency late on Saturday with a sensational century as the Buckley Ridges bowlers fatigued.
After Kyle Hardy (46) and Riley McDonald (36) laid the foundations for a decent total in the opening session, three quick wickets on the stroke of the tea break saw Buckley claw its way into prime position.
In eerily similar scenes to the previous week, three wickets fell without the score moving in a horror handful of minutes that blew any advantage Narre South possessed.
McDonald, who the home side was convinced edged a hook shot into Aust’s gloves the previous over, was snaffled with a sharp catch at slip by Cronin off Nicholas.
The next over saw Mendis run out in a disastrous mix up with De Silva and then Cruickshank lost his leg stump, seeing the Bucks head into the sheds to replenish with their tails well and truly up.
Tout was unable to repeat his batting heroics from the previous week, falling shortly after the interval to make it a collapse of 5/32, beginning with the dismissal of Hardy.
With De Silva occupying the other end, Brad Parker crunched a boundary-heavy 49, the two adding 74 for the seventh wicket before Parker was caught in the gully.
Sean Wilson fell shortly after for one, and at 8/199, the Lions looked as though they would be bowling late in the day.
But De Silva received sensational support from Jawed Hussaini, the two punishing the Buckley bowling attack as frustration bubbled late in the day.
Hussaini, who scored 58 total runs in the season prior to Saturday’s knock, hit 30 and was resolute in his defence while allowing De Silva to attack from the other end.
The longer the innings went, the lengthier the discussions between the Buckley leaders became, and the more De Silva pressed, one six penetrating the fences on the Pultney Street side and crashing into a roller door on the other side of the road.
He reached his hundred in the penultimate over before holing out on the next, caught on the boundary in pursuit of quick runs with one wicket remaining for an even 100.
“We knew we let ourselves down in the field yesterday,” Hobbs said.
“To have them 5/110, 6/123 and then to let them get away with some dropped catches, we probably dropped five or six and a lot of balls went through bodies.
“We were chasing more than what we should have been today, that’s for sure.”
Narre South’s bowlers bowled tight, stump-to-stump lines for much of the second day in the knowledge that anything slightly wide or off-line would be punished.
Hardy worked his bowlers with short spells, mindful of the heat, to maximise impact at the crease.
Hussaini made the initial breakthrough by removing Josh Holden for 32, but brought Ben Wright to the crease in doing so.
He and Jake Cronin added 103 for the second wicket, dulling the impact of Mendis and keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Wright was caught in the gully just before the tea break, having laid an excellent foundation with Cronin, as the opener closed in on a statement hundred.
Having top-scored in both of Buckley’s two finals last season, Cronin has secured a ‘big-game’ player status, and reached his best run of form for the season when it matters most after a trying first half of the campaign.
He picked up boundaries when needed and took the attack to Mendis where possible, reaching his 50 by advancing down the wicket and hitting him for six into the cricket nets, but hardly offered a chance to surrender his wicket throughout a brilliant innings.
He fell agonisingly short of a well-deserved milestone, bowled on 97 by Tout, and his departure set in motion a worrying period for the Bucks.
Hobbs came and went for a duck, Michael Davies only managed 11 and Jayarathna eight, as the rejigged middle order failed to reap rewards, and the run rate slowed to a crawl.
With each wicket Narre South clawed their way more and more into the contest, the belief building in the Lions huddle having proven themselves in big games in the back half of the season.
Silva withstood the chaos, the former Sri Lankan Test cricketer not overawed by the occasion and the context as wickets fell at the other end, and with his presence, Buckley maintained favourite status.
When he departed for 73, momentum shifted back to the Lions favour, but the experienced heads of Ali and Nicholas ensured the Bucks prevailed, and they had something to show for their two days in the sweltering heat.
“We sent a couple of messages out there every now and again with a couple of drinks but they’ve played enough cricket and the boys know what the scenario is and how to go about it, and that showed today,” Hobbs said of the final pair.
“I think the average chasing score here was 290 all year.
“We knew that if we applied ourselves and set it up, that 300 was probably a par score.”
A shot at redemption awaits next week for the Bucks, while Narre South can hold their heads up high for a tremendous second half of the year.
Cruickshank finished with 4/73 and Hussaini 3/57.
