By ROY WARD
DANDENONG West is priming itself for the biggest test of its DDCA turf 1 premiership hopes when it faces Springvale South at Alex Nelson Reserve this Sunday.
The Bulls sit atop the turf 1 ladder but have several sides close behind. With the time-tested Bloods hitting top form, Bulls coach Justin Stanton says his side has to be at top form for the match.
The Bloods chased down Parkfield’s 6-243cc on Saturday, posting 6-246 in reply. The Bulls made 6-187cc before bowling out Mordialloc for 136.
Stanton said Bloods batsmen led by Jeevantha Kulatunga, Warren Ayres and Craig Slocombe would pose a monster challenge for his bowlers.
“The Springvale South game is a huge challenge for us,” he said. “They chased down a huge score on Saturday and their confidence will be sky high. In my mind they have the best batting line-up in the competition.”
With second-placed Buckley Ridges, Hallam-Kalora Park and Coomoora still to come, Stanton said the Bulls had plenty of work to do to remain in top spot but would relish the challenges ahead.
“We have four games left and four strong sides to play. We can’t sit back and relax.
“This is what we have been looking forward to and if we keep playing competitive cricket we will be in a good position come finals time.”
In the win over Mordialloc, Stanton said his team struggled early in the match but bowled well to seal the win. “We had a shaky start and fell to 3-30 but from there onwards we met all our targets and were confident 186 was enough for our bowlers to defend.
“We were a bit erratic with the ball early in the innings but once we got the first couple of wickets they came pretty consistently.”
Matt Fielding made 79 for the Bulls while Ryan Buckley took 6-19 and Peter Atkinson 3-34.
Springvale South star Kulatunga scored 84 and Craig Slocombe 59 as the Bloods chased down 6-246 against Parkfield, which could not defend its total of 6-243 after star all-rounder Steve Spoljaric made 160 not out.
Doveton got back on the winners list by bowling out North Dandenong for 114 and making 6-117 while Heinz Southern Districts overcame Coomoora, making 3-155 to beat the Roos’ 7-154cc.
Buckley Ridges beat a disappointing Narre Warren, making 5-167 and bowling out the Magpies 165.
Berwick took care of Hallam Kalora Park making 7-202 and bowling out the Parkers for 167.
The DDCA Twenty20 competition reaches the semi-final stage this Wednesday night.
Lyndale will face Heinz Southern District at Barry Powell Reserve while Cranbourne will host Buckley Ridges at Casey Fields Oval 2. Both matches start at 5.15pm.
The Twenty20 grand final is expected to be played on January 30 but that date is not finalised yet.
DDCA Turf 1: Dandenong West 36 points, 2.24 percentage; Buckley Ridges 30, 1.52; Berwick 28, 1.11; Mordialloc 27, 1.16; Springvale South 24, 1.11; Heinz Southern Districts 24, 1.07; Narre Warren 24, 0.82; Coomoora 18, 0.74; Hallam Kalora Park 15, 1.02; Parkfield 15, 1.01; North Dandenong 6, 0.43; Doveton 3, 0.59.
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