By Marcus Uhe
Beaconsfield breakthrough win in the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf 1 was much-needed validation for a mountain of work taking place behind the scenes and on the training track.
Winless in its last six matches, the Tigers stared relegation in the face on over the weekend and dispatched the prospect for another week longer against fellow struggler North Dandenong at Perc Allison Reserve.
If this was a contest that would determine who is staying in Turf 1 for another summer and who is packing their bag for Turf 2, the Tigers are racing to sign another 12 month lease following a dominant 188-run victory.
Set up by a strong first innings total despite a collapse of 4/13 in the middle order, Beaconsfield set the Maroons 249 to win and executed their plan with the ball to a tee, falling six wickets shy of an outright win.
The Tigers routed the Maroons in just 38 overs for 61, and had them 4/43 when play was called on the second day to secure their first home win in Turf 1 cricket.
Tigers coach Mick Cronin was delighted for his players, believing he could sense a weight coming off his players’ shoulders.
“We knew this game was very important to us and we knew how close the ladder was,” he said.
“We did the right things, we had a good game plan and knew how they were going to play.
“There was always that self-belief. To see the smiles on the young guy’s faces when we won was priceless.”
In Cronin’s first season at the helm, there are signs that the wheel is beginning to turn.
Beaconsfield has made its two highest scores for the season in the last three rounds, either side of a disappointing performance against Hallam Kalora Park, with totals of 252 against Buckley Ridges and 249 this week against North Dandenong.
Central to the Tigers’ change in fortunes is the uptick in performance from Tyler Clark.
Before Christmas he had just 96 runs to his name with an average of 12 on the season, but since returning from the break he has changed into one of the competition’s hottest players.
Scores of 79 and 92 against quality bowling attacks in his two previous innings went unrewarded, but his 78 against North Dandenong was vital in Beaconsfield riding out another customary batting collapse in the middle order.
With the innings on the slide at 7/121, following ducks for Ashan Madhushanka and Abaseen Taniwal, and seven each from Andrey Fernando and Susantha Pradeep, Clark knuckled down with the returning Daniel Maskiell for a vital 109-run partnership for the eighth wicket.
Having committed to going the extra mile on the training track, the number three is beginning to see the fruits of his labour blossom in the middle.
“He’s doing, probably, 150 extra balls through throwdowns, plus batting, and maybe batting again at the end of the night,” Cronin said of Clark.
“He wants to score all the time but we want to work on our rotations, and that’s the thing he’s improved out of sight; when they’re bowling really well to him, he doesn’t get stuck anymore, he gets off strike.
“The mindset has changed where he understands his game a little better now.
“We’ve really been working on that side of things where, he thought he thought he needed to score all the time, or if he thought we were getting further back in the run rate.
“He worked did a lot of work over Christmas so it’s a credit to him.”
With a defendable total at their backs, the Tigers took the field with a clear head and detailed expectations following a concise breakdown of their opposition’ batting approach.
They loaded up with a trio of spinners and preyed on their opponent’s temptation to attack slower bowling, seeing instant rewards in a horror display from North Dandenong.
Batting with the knowledge of the ramifications of a loss on their future, the Maroons found themselves 7/28 when Mitch Tielen had Muhammad Dawa Khan caught by Susantha Pradeep.
A unique new ball pairing of seamer, Jake Cutting and finger spinner Madhushanka had taken three wickets each, with numbers two to six on the batting card, including round 11 centurions Imran Laghmani and Riley Shaw, all removed without scoring.
Having previously provided the information to his bowlers on the morning of the game, the decision was made to convey the planning at Thursday night instead, in order for the intentions to crystallise and sink in over the following days.
“We focused on our spinners because we knew Dandenong North were going to be super aggressive and try to sweep off the stumps, and they did exactly what we expected them to do,” Cronin said.
“Their top five, probably 80 per cent of their dismissals are caught in front of the wicket, which tells us that we need to keep the ball full.
“A couple of their guys don’t like the spin so we brought spin on at the right time, brought medium pacers on at the right time to suit certain batters, especially to (Laghmani) who’s made a lot of runs.
“We went to great lengths in terms of planning things, each players weaknesses and Frogbox vision, so they knew exactly what they needed to do.
“They’re really understanding where I’m coming from, how you need to do your homework to get the results.”
The result lifts Beaconsfield to fifth with two rounds remaining, and locks the bottom four on 24 points each.
Close losses and competitive showings every week has come full circle to reward the Tigers, as their superior percentage has put them in the box seat of all clubs to stay in the highest grade.
They face Berwick and Dandenong West in the final fortnight of competition with the renewed confidence in their progression looming as critical inclusion to a run home already bubbling with emotions and permutations.
Whatever the outcome, Cronin can see definite progression under his watchful eye.
“They’ve probably got some of the best character that I’ve seen at a cricket club,” he said.
“They don’t get down, they don’t sook about things that a lot of other people would and bring out the excuses but they’re pretty honest when I talk to them about (their mistakes).
“We’ve asked a lot of these players with the way they see the game and how they play the game, and we knew we were going to cop a little bit for that, but the players are on board.
“They understand the game plan and that we need to be attacking, we can’t be this club that just sits there and says ‘we can’t lose again’ or ‘we can’t attack because we might get out,’ that’s all gone.
“Every player believes they can do the job.”
North Dandenong now faces the fight of their lives to remain in Turf 1, with contests against Buckley Ridges and Hallam Kalora Park in the final two rounds.
The Maroons’ draw is comfortably the most challenging of all sides fighting for survival as the only team that will face two finals-bound outfits.
Charith Keerthisinghe continues to be a bright spot on the Maroons’ season, taking 6/62 in the first innings.
