By Marcus Uhe
Coloured clothing is going back in the cupboards as whites make a sweeping return across the Dandenong District Cricket Association landscape this weekend in the first round of two-day matches for the season.
In Turf 1, all eyes will be trained on Springvale South’s clash with Buckley Ridges at Park Oval, where the Bloods find themselves in unfamiliar territory.
With the season just shy of its halfway mark, the Bloods sit at two wins and two losses, with the chance to fall to a scarcely-believable negative win-loss ratio should this round’s contest not go to plan.
And knowing the history between the two combatants, you can expect the Bucks to be hungrier than ever to inflict a degree of misery on their rivals.
The Bucks now hold the upper hand in the rivalry over Springvale South, having won two of the last three Turf 1 meetings between the sides, including last summer’s grand final triumph at Arch Brown Reserve.
Round 12’s mammoth chase of 362 at Park Oval, when a bowling attack minus Blade Baxter and Jackson Sketcher was made to look sub-par, and Jarryd Straker was nullified by the Bucks’ aggressive approach, planted a seed for what was possible in the finals, with the best case scenario for Buckley Ridges coming to fruition on a hot afternoon at Berwick.
Where Springvale South has had a shaky last fortnight with a pair of concerning losses, Buckley Ridges has barely put a foot wrong, looking stronger than ever and with an embarrassment of riches at its disposal.
The Bloods will need an answer for Ishan Jayarathna who has 12 wickets in his last two matches and 14 to show for the season as the competition’s leading wicket-taker.
In three of his four matches thus far, he has made a breakthrough in his opening over, meaning the Bloods’ top order will need to be on their game from the very first delivery.
Mitch Forsyth is a mainstay at the top of the batting card but his opening partner is not as much of a lock.
Jordan Wyatt has done the job in the one-day contests but seldom opened in two-day cricket last summer, leaving room for speculation as to who will partner him.
Former captain Ryan Quick is yet to play this summer, while Stephen Hennessy, Liam Hamilton and Jordan Mackenzie may be considered, should the latter two make a return to the seniors from the reserves, and Wyatt makes a return to number three, where he has flourished in red and white over the last three summers.
Around Turf 1, round seven will see Beaconsfield host Dandenong West, and Berwick welcome Narre South to Arch Brown Reserve.
The monkey is off Berwick’s back, having finally broken through for its maiden win of the summer last week in a heart-stopper over Beaconsfield, while consistency of performance is eluding Narre South, with one win from four contests thus far.
Bears skipper Jarrod Goodes fully expects the longer format of the game to suit his side better than the white ball games, with ex-premier middle order pair Michael Wallace and Jake Hancock expected to occupy the crease for prolonged periods.
A fitness cloud hovers over Jake Hancock after suffering early-season hamstring troubles, however, meaning extra pressure will fall to Wallace in his first red-ball game since returning to the Cave.
Narre South has had a week to rectify its batting woes since a double-header the previous weekend but will take heed from the strong bowling performances of spinning duo Morteza Ali and Jeevan Mendis to open the campaign.
The pair will no-doubt shoulder plenty of bowling responsibility in the longest format, with the extra overs allowing their experience and wisdom to come to the fore.
At Beaconsfield, the battle between the two most-recent winners of Turf 2 will showcase just how far both teams have come since those victories.
The Tigers could very easily be undefeated if not for their own mistakes costing them dearly in their two losses, both with the bat and in the field.
The same could be said for Dandenong West, having been more than competitive in three fixtures and capitulating with the bat in its outlier performance of the year against North Dandenong.
All four of the Bulls’ matches have shown that they will be no pushover with finals a distinct possibility should they secure another six points.
Their double-triumph in the last two seasons shows they have the capacity to win games from anywhere and carry major belief in their ability to get results.
By contrast, Beaconsfield’s fragility in close contests may open a gap just enough for them to take advantage.
Elsewhere, the high-flying Hawks of Hallam Kalora Park look set to pile further disappointment on North Dandenong’s season at Lois Twohig.
With patience not a virtue of the Maroons and the visitors on a three-game winning streak, the contest shapes as one-sided, to say the least.
Tips: BUCKLEY RIDGES v Springvale South, BERWICK v Narre South, Beaconsfield v DANDENONG WEST, North Dandenong v HALLAM KALORA PARK.
