Centuries from Narre South pair Oshadha Ariyadasa (125) and Vineth Jayasuriya (130) have helped the Lions post a big total of 331 against the in-form Hallam Kalora Park in the DDCA Turf 1 competition.
It was a good toss to win for Narre South, who chose to bat as extreme temperatures threatened all round 11 matches, which had to start earlier as a result.
The innings didn’t get off to the perfect start for the Lions as they lost opener Kyle Hardy (1) inside the first five overs, snicking off to third slip off a Jawid Khan delivery.
Jawed Hussaini (23 off 77 balls) dug in and put on 55 runs with Jayasuriya, before he was undone by William Whyte in the 28th over, the score at 2/61.
Over the next 38 overs, Ariyadasa and Jayasuriya did as they pleased, scoring freely and putting together a mammoth 219-run partnership.
Both of them reached triple figures, Ariyadasa for the second time this season with an aggressive 125 off 116 deliveries, while Jayasuriya was a fine anchor with 130 off 198 balls.
At 2/281 with almost 15 overs remaining, a huge score was on the cards but credit to Hawks captain Jordan Hammond who took a 5fa to pull the score back.
While much of the damage was done, Hammond led from the front and gave his side something to smile about.
Narre South passed 300 and thanks to a nice cameo at the end from skipper Cal Tout (31 not out), the Lions reached 9/331 after the 80 overs – their highest score of the season.
It puts the side in a great position to win its first game since round five, as it will hope to defend its strong total this Saturday.
Hammond was the pick of the bowlers with 5/59 off 21 overs, toiling away in the heat for his side, while Whyte took 3/87 off 18 overs.
There were also plenty of runs scored at Greaves Reserve as Dandenong West posted 326 against Beaconsfield thanks to a second Shaun Weir century in the space of two weeks.
There were plenty of contributions, but none better than Weir at the top of the order as he belted 101, batting beautifully with fellow opener Mohit Mandora (67).
There were some other starts for the Bulls, but a highlight later in the day was a classy half century from Joel Zietsman (57) at number seven.
Ashan Walgamage and Abaseen Taniwal took three wickets each as the score ended up on 326 after day one.
After a couple of 49s and a 43 in recent weeks, Springvale South all-rounder Dasun Opanayaka raised the bat for a half century for the first time this season, leading the Bloods to 267 against Berwick.
Opanayaka, who averages 76.15 this season, top-scored with 71, as Mitch Forsyth (47) and Jordan Wyatt (44) contributed well.
Berwick’s Vinuda Liyanage did a power of work with the ball, taking 4/40 off 22 overs (including six maidens).
Buckley Ridges has its sights set on an outright victory against Parkmore after bowling the Pirates out for 125 on day one and scoring 3/91 in reply.
Young star Ashen Hettinayaka had a day to remember, taking a remarkable 6/20 off 12 overs to rip through the Pirates’ batting order, with only Lochana Premarathna (48) offering any resistance.
The Bucks batted 30 overs on day one and lost Ayush Patel (21), Dale Tormey (14) and Josh Holden (21).
