By Marcus Uhe
A five-wicket haul from Officer captain Cooper Pursell spearheaded the Bullants’ defence of 234 against Emerald in a one-sided contest in CCCA District Division at Chandler Reserve.
The Bombers’ chase never got going, losing regular wickets throughout, before being dismissed for 108, with Sembakuttige Lakshan, Clinton Marsh, and Michael Hoban all top scoring on 17.
Pursell took the first two wickets of the afternoon, removing Ethan Crosher and Jordan Robinson in the 15th over.
Jonty Bennie then took over with two wickets in three balls, removing Owen Thorne and Trent Rolfs to reduce the hosts to 4/29.
Opening batter Hoban persistent for 87 deliveries and welcomed six batters to the crease but was run out at 6/54 by Devon Gabriel-Brown.
Pursell claimed the wickets of Sam Booth and Sam Stapleton to complete his five-wicket haul before Clinton Marsh and Nicholas Karman added 24 for the final wicket in what was the Bombers’ largest stand for the innings.
Pursell finished with 5/43 from 19 overs and Bennie 3/36 from 13 as the Bullants consolidated second place on the District table.
Leading the chasing pack is Cranbourne Meadows, which moved to four wins from four matches against Pakenham Upper Toomuc.
The Rebels made light work of the Yabbies’ total of 216, reaching the figure in the 47th over for the loss of seven wickets at a run rate of 4.6.
A total of 26 fours and four sixes were struck as bowlers economy rates felt the pinch, Raja Sadiq, Alex Prendergast, Danuka Prabath, Sankara Manivannan and John Langley all conceded more than four runs per over.
Manu Goraya led the charge for the Rebels with an unbeaten 69, batting at number four, with Mandhiraj Singh (34) and Rohit Sharma (29) the other major contributors for the undefeated Cranbourne Meadows.
Upper Beaconsfield’s chase of an outright victory over Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll was unsuccessful but they walked away from Nar Nar Goon Recreation Reserve with first innings points after a dominant day one.
Resuming the day at 3/74 and just 39 runs in arrears of the home side, the Maroons reached the total in the 31st over without the further loss of a wicket as captain William Haines and Imesh Jayasekara steered their side to safety.
Haines top-scored with 57 before declaring an end to the innings at 9/199, allowing his side an evening session to pursue the outright result.
Daniel Brennan was electric for the Maroons, and they would have liked their chances when the hosts slipped to 5/36 in the 23rd over.
Brennan had Nick McLennan and Brandon Interlandi given out LBW in the same over during a disastrous period for the Marygoons who lost 4/14.
It was up to captain Nathan Phillips and Jess Grima to provide stability for the home side, adding 49 for the fifth wicket to see the day out five wickets down.
Brennan finished with 4/24 from his 12 overs.
The Maroons will be hoping the winning form continues against Emerald next week while the Marygoons have the chance to respond against Lang Lang.
Cranbourne Meadows’ clash with Officer, meanwhile, shapes as a blockbuster.
