Buckley Ridges (8/242) will take enormous belief into its quest for back-to-back DDCA Turf 1 premierships after the Bucks staged a beautifully-timed run chase against Springvale South (6/241) on Saturday.
The top-of-the-table Bucks won off the third last ball of the match, with their leading runscorer this season Ben Wright (1 not out) scoring his only run for the innings to put the finishing touch on a wonderful precursor to this year’s finals series.
The visitors really did time their chase perfectly; never veering far from the asking rate of 5.38, before two big overs swung the game their way in the last block of 10.
The core of the chase was put together by Dale Tormey (59) and Roshane Silva (59), who shared a 96-run stand between overs 11 to 30.
Ishan Jayarathna (53 not out) then took control of the wheel, guiding the Bucks to victory with the help of Michael Davies (18) and a few other minor contributions.
Springvale South just couldn’t find a way to stem the flow, with the Bucks winning despite needing 128 off the last 20 and 65 runs from their final 10.
The game was still in the balance; with 39 needed off six, before Jayarathna released the pressure with a huge haul of 17 runs in over 40.
The Bucks then required a more manageable 22 off five and then timed the final run to the finish line with precision.
Earlier in the day, Springvale South received a huge boost with gun-opener Ryan Quirk (64) playing his first game in Turf 1 this season after returning from wrist injury.
Quirk immediately imposed himself on the game, hitting six fours and one six in a timely reminder of his skillset.
Dangerman Jordy Wyatt (55 off 43) also threatened to go large, while Jordan Mackenzie (30 not out) and Jackson Sketcher (22) helped push the total into the ‘more-than-competitive’ bracket.
Most bowlers on the day copped some tap; but Cronin (3/62) and Sam Bates (2/39) took multiple wickets for the Bucks to keep the home side under wraps.
Buckley Ridges finished the season on top, just two points clear of Hallam Kalora Park, with the two top teams to meet at Park Oval this weekend as they look to earn direct entry into the Turf 1 grand final.
Springvale South – who has now lost to all of the other top-four teams over the last four rounds of the season – finished fourth, and will head to Berwick this week for a cut-throat eliminator.
Berwick (8/162) can once again thank its lower-order batting depth for getting it out of trouble after the Bears locked in a home elimination final with a two-wicket win over Narre South (161).
Last week it was skipper Jarrod Goodes who produced the goods in a one-wicket win over Beaconsfield, while this time around it was an even batting effort from the lower half that got them across the line after the Bears’ big guns failed to fire for the second week running.
Berwick lost Matthew Hague (9) and Jarryd Wills (0) within the first five overs of its chase; and was further in trouble when Jake Hancock (15), Nick Shirt (2) and Michael Wallace (11) all fell within the space of seven balls.
Jordy Cleland (39) and Toby Wills (16) began the rebuild for the Bears, who still required 65 runs from their last 10 overs with only four wickets left in the sheds.
The task was soon 60 from nine overs, with only three wickets remaining; with Cleland falling to Lions’ skipper Callan Tout (2/29).
Lachie Brown (35) and James Trodd (23 not out) then put on a crucial 51-run stand; but the Bears still required an imposing 18 runs off the final two overs to win.
Brown took nine off the first four balls of the penultimate over, before Joel Zietsman (3/52) removed him; leaving nine to win off seven balls with a fresh Goodes (4 not out) at the crease.
Goodes cracked a crucial boundary off the final ball of Zietsman’s over, leaving Trodd at the strikers’ end with five needed from Tout’s final six balls.
Trodd tied the scores with a boundary off ball two, before running a single to win with three balls remaining in the contest.
Earlier in the day, several Lions got starts but couldn’t push on to big scores.
Morteza Ali (25), Riley McDonald (23), Stephen Brooks (26) and Adam Snelling (33) all threatened to shine, but had the gloss removed by Toby Wills (3/24), Goodes (2/16), Elliot Mathews (2/30) and Trodd (2/42).
The Bears’ top order needs to be better when they host Springvale South this week, while Narre South finish in second-last place…avoiding relegation only by percentage.
Kyle Hardy led the Lions with 373 runs for the season, while spinner Jeevan Mendis was the pick of the bowlers with 24 wickets.
Second-placed Hallam Kalora Park (5/267) is the only team taking a five-game winning streak into finals after the Hawks toyed with the now officially-relegated North Dandenong (85) at Hallam.
The Hawks have been smashing sides since Christmas; with last week’s 149-run victory over Springvale South the top pick of their 2025 results.
The Hawks are exuding confidence at the moment and this one was never in doubt from the time Jordy Hammond won the toss and elected to have a hit.
Hammond (39) and fellow-opener Leigh Booth (78) put on a 76-run stand before Booth was joined by league-leading runscorer Damith Perera (40) for a rock-solid 90-run union.
Perera and Booth both fell in quick succession, but the class of Mahela Udawatte (67 not out off 39 balls) ensured the tempo was ramped up even further.
Udawatte and Austin Fardell (24) put on 80 for the fourth wicket; providing an in-form pace attack with a huge score to defend.
William Whyte (5/30) then made a mess of the Maroons after Ghairat Mangal (26) got the visitors off to a flyer.
Whyte was simply superb; joining this year’s Wookey Medal winner Ishan Jayarathna as the leading wicket taker in DDCA Turf 1 this season with 34 wickets apiece.
Lauchie Gregson (2/32 off 4.4) fought back after bearing the brunt of Mangal’s early aggression, while Lee Brown (2/1) also struck twice in his two-over cameo.
North Dandenong is now demoted to Turf 2; with two wins over Dandenong West and another over Narre South their only success stories of the season.
Imran Laghmani will be a hotly sought-after proposition for Turf 1 clubs after making 457 runs; while Charith Keerthisinghe finished equal-seventh in the league bowling with 27 wickets.
And Dandenong West (1/153) has broken the equal-longest losing streak in Turf 1 this summer with a thumping victory over Beaconsfield (9/152) at Greaves Reserve.
The Bulls ended their horror-run of six-consecutive losses after skipper Riley Siwes called correctly and elected to bowl first.
Beaconsfield showed good signs early, with Ashan Madushanka (39) and Tyler Clark (44) putting on 68 for the second wicket, but the Bulls’ bowlers fought back…and fought back hard.
Siwes (3/16) and Malinga Bandara (2/29) claimed the two set batters for the Bulls, and then went to work on the middle order.
The Tigers lost a steady stream of wickets, with number-eight Mitch Tielen (17 not out) the only player outside of Madhushanka and Clark to make double figures.
The Bulls then made their last visit to the middle an enjoyable one, with Shaun Weir (79 not out), Don Pulukkuttiarachchi (38) and Venuk Hemachandra (27 not out) polishing off the target in 32 overs.
Despite losing six-straight between rounds eight and 13; the Bulls finish the season in fifth place with four wins and eight losses.
Hemachandra (376 runs) finished the season as their leading runscorer while Nuwan Kulasekara led the way with the ball with an impressive 28 scalps.
For Beaconsfield – the other team to lose six-straight this season – Clark (395 runs) was the leading gatherer with the bat while Madhushanka worked hard for his 27 wickets with the ball.
The Tigers ended the Turf 1 competition in sixth place.
