A GRADE
Match of the week: Cardinia defeated Kooweerup by 14 runs.
After being 7/89, Cardinia’s victory was set up off the back of its tail wagging.
Caleb Boswell top scored batting at eight with a fearless 42 off 33 balls when his team was on the ropes.
Josh Browne was probably still padding up as the seventh wicket fell, after a mini-collapse of 3/3, and he also played an important hand with 29 off 46 balls.
Ben Monckton’s counter-attacking 16 off 12 finished it off as Cardinia clawed its way to 8/181.
The visitors carried that momentum into their bowling innings to have Kooweerup 5/40 with five of its top six failing to make it to double digits.
Opener Paul Bright still scored at a fluid rate, however while Cardinia got on top at the other end, a wagging tail still got Kooweerup close.
Number seven Hunter Cairns and the ageless Matt Davey combined for a 40-run partnership but once that was broken, Cardinia had the upper hand.
It was a strong all-round bowling performance, with Josh Browne, Trent Wheller and Brady Boswell each picking up two wickets, led by Caleb Boswell’s 3/28 off eight.
Other results: Tooradin def Officer by 45 runs; Pakenham def Clyde by five wickets; Merinda Park def Carlisle Park Vikings by seven wickets
B GRADE
Match of the week: It was a team performance that guided Cranbourne Meadows to a thrilling one-wicket win in the final over against Upper Beaconsfield.
No bowler tore the game apart for the home side with ball in hand, but all bowlers were damaging at different moments, with Jujhar Singh and Amreek Mann leading the way with multiple wickets.
That restricted Upper Beaconsfield to a gettable 9/168, before top and middle order players all got starts for Cranbourne Meadows to chip away at the deficit.
Amarpreet Singh (15), Harpreet Singh (26), Harpreet Singh (33), Gujrant Singh (22) and Jujhar Singh (50) were the key contributors up top, but none were there at the end so it was up to the lower order.
The 10th wicket partnership came together when they were still in arrears by seven, with Adrian Savage’s nine not out therefore proving crucial in the context of the game and Sukhraj Singh Aujla also importantly remaining zero not out.
Other results: Clyde def Pakenham Upper Toomuc by seven wickets; Devon Meadows def Tooradin by 96 runs.
C GRADE
Match of the week: NNG/Maryknoll defeat Lang Lang by 20 runs
Ash Bailey just loves taking wickets!
The Marygoon, who earlier this season finished with figures of 9/14, already has 22 C Grade wickets to his name, going at an economy rate of less than two in his 108 overs which includes 42 maidens.
Four of those wickets were taken against Lang Lang on the weekend.
Needing a very reachable 156, Lang Lang appeared to be cantering to the total as openers William Wykes and Nicholas Peake put on 61 before the first wicket fell.
But Wykes demise brought the Marygoons back into it and once his teammates gave him a sniff, Bailey went on the hunt.
After Bailey got his first, Lang Lang lost 5/19, Bailey taking four of those in between a run-out in a game-changing spell of bowling.
Earlier, Marinder Singh was the anchor for the Marygoons, making 59.
Other results: Cardinia def Devon Meadows by 59 runs; Pakenham def Officer by two wickets
D GRADE
It was a batter dominated day at Kooweerup, which hosted Clyde, as in excess of 400 aggregate runs were scored for the loss of just 12 wickets.
Clyde took wickets with enough frequency, despite conceding 200 runs, but Gurinder Singh kept the scoreboard ticking over in the first part of the innings, making 65 of his team’s first 106 runs.
Paul West’s dismissal of Singh, however, cued Cameron Davidson’s arrival.
After Singh’s 65 off 69, Davidson played the same role in the second half, batting with several partners in making 68 off 59 including two maximums.
In pursuit, Brent Wilson scored 96 and Lachie Walsley 62 as the pair combined for 161 in a decisive partnership which proved match winning.
Other results: Emerald def Officer by 85 runs; Pakenham def Cardinia by 127 runs.
E GRADE
You can’t get any closer.
Defending just 102 against Pakenham Upper Toomuc, four wickets to each Brendan Finch and Anjana Karawugodage saw Officer to a one-run win.
Pakenham Upper Toomuc was never able to inject any momentum into the tricky, low run chase, with just one partnership exceeding 20 runs.
Finch did the damage early, claiming the first four wickets with the visitors only having 34 runs on the board.
Karawugodage kept the pressure on, the pair finishing with 8/39 off 14.4 overs to help bowl Pakenham Upper Toomuc out inside 32 overs, on a day where everyone knew the visitors needed to be trundled if Officer was any chance of winning.
At 8/85 on a low-scoring day, Officer appeared on top, but the tide appeared to subtly shift as Pakenham Upper Toomuc inched their way closer, until Ryan Yeates fell to Emmanuel Rossi.
It left the final partnership needing nine to win, and they could only manage seven before Karawugodage broke through for the final wicket.
Earlier Lachlan Taylor (30) and Matthew Collins (25) shared a 44-run partnership which provided the bulk of Officer’s runs.
Other results: Tooradin def Pakenham by five wickets; Cardinia forfeited against Lang Lang; Clyde forfeited against NNG/Maryknoll
F GRADE RESULTS: Devon Meadows def Merinda Park by four wickets; Upper Beaconsfield def Kooweerup by eight wickets.
