By Marcus Uhe
Emerald has broken through for its first win of the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association’s District competition season after successfully defending 232 against Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll at home in a one-day game.
Jesse Robinson and Sam Stapleton combined for seven wickets to restrict the Marygoons to 197 as their batting problems continue.
Half-centuries to Ethan Crosher and Trent Rolfs helped the Bombers reach the defendable total for the loss of nine wickets in 40 overs.
50 of Crosher’s runs came in boundaries, who begun the innings with a 77-run opening stand with Michael Hoban.
Jess Grima took 3/20 off eight overs as the standout of the bowling pack, Carter Davis and Darcy Taylor the other Marygoon multiple wicket takers.
The Marygoons built a handful of partnerships but lost wickets in clumps on a number of occasions: separate instances of 2/1, 2/7 and 3/20 riddled momentum and brought a production line of new batters to the crease.
Greg Interlandi and Nathan Phillips put on 53 for the third wicket in what was the biggest stand of the innings.
No Marygoon batter passed 50, the lack of a big score hurting them once again.
Robinson took 4/39 to help clean up the tail while Stapleton was excellent with the new ball, finishing with 3/42.
Pakenham Upper Toomuc batted at a pace that belied the one-day format of the game, scoring at 3.5 runs per over against Upper Beaconsfield at Harry Blackman Oval.
The Yabbies set the Maroons 131 to win, a total in which they reached in the 25th over.
Daniel Brennan and Kyle Gibbs finished with identical figures of 2/13 from eight overs as chief restrictors for the Maroons.
Nick Kyval top scored with 33 but needed 89 deliveries to reach his score, personifying the cautious approach.
Upper Beaconsfield’s chase went at a comparatively speedy run rate of 5.5 runs per over to cruise to the seven-wicket victory.
Brennan added an unbeaten 25 to go with his exceptional bowling figures but it was Josh Westra who top scored for Upper Beaconsfield, hitting 34.
At Lang Lang, Cranbourne Meadows responded from a difficult last start by chasing 158 against the Tigers.
The Rebels had the unfortunate distinction of having the second day of their two-day game washed-out the week before, and yet still be on the receiving end of a big loss against Upper Beaconsfield thanks to a disastrous opening day.
But the return to one-day cricket, the format which saw them get off to a flying start early in the season, was a godsend for the Rebels, as a number of players saw a return to form.
Amreek Mann took 3/39 to keep the Tigers to a modest total and Rohit Sharma hit 60 from 73 deliveries in the chase.
Damien Quinlan made a half-century in a lone hand for Lang Lang as only he and Dale Cranston successfully passed 20 with the bat during their side’s 40 overs.
The Rebels reached the target in the 35th over, despite the best efforts of Rajind Dassanayake, whose eight overs yielded 2/20.
Sharma did the bulk of the scoring in an 81-run partnership with Harpreet Singh, and when he was dismissed at 2/105, the target was well within reach for the remaining batters to chase.
Heading into the Christmas break, Officer remains the team to beat, 20 points clear at the top of the ladder after eight rounds.
Upper Beaconsfield sit in second and Cranbourne Meadows just behind them in third, before a 36-point gap to the Marygoons in fourth, underscoring the disparity between sides in the District competition.
Play returns on 13 January for another round of one-day matches, with Upper Beaconsfield hosting the Marygoons, Officer welcoming Emerald and Cranbourne District heading to Pakenham Upper Toomuc.
