By David Nagel
Just a week after being teammates in Casey Cardinia’s confidence-building win over Mornington Peninsula – two captains of their respective CCCA Premier Division teams used the final Saturday of 2023 to highlight their individual brilliance.
Kooweerup (4/246) captain Luke McMaster was the shining light in round eight, blasting a magnificent 145 not out from just 106 balls to lead the Demons to victory over a competitive Cardinia (199) at Gunton Oval.
McMaster hit 16 fours in his brutalising knock, with five balls sailing over the leg-side boundary fence for good measure.
Meanwhile, just a short drive away at Glover Reserve – headquarters of the Devon Meadows Cricket Club – Panthers’ left-handed opener Lucas Ligt (107 not out) continued one of the more remarkable runs of form in recent memory.
Ligt hit 10 fours and one six in his 102-ball innings to chalk up his third century of the season.
Devon Meadows (4/216) won its fourth game for the 2023/24 campaign against Merinda Park (177) on Saturday…with Ligt making centuries (107, 125 not out, 107 not out) in three of those four matches.
The term ‘match-winner’ doesn’t get thrown around here lightly; but McMaster and Ligt are certainly two of the best ‘game-breakers’ in CCCA cricket right now.
KOOWEERUP CONTINUES ITS DOMINANCE
The century of Luke McMaster not only propelled him to fourth (313 runs) on the CCCA Premier Division run-scoring list this season…but capped off another successful calendar year for the dominant club in the competition.
The Demons won a remarkable eighth premiership in 14 years; defeating Cardinia back in March, and are showing no signs of slipping off the pace.
They turn the ‘Christmas’ corner this season with an undefeated record; with a tantalising run-chase (246) against Tooradin being thwarted before it began – due to the weather gods prevailing on day-two of their round seven clash at Tooradin.
Day one certainly lived up to the pre-game hype, with the two undefeated giants of CCCA cricket not conceding one single inch of ground.
If anything; respect grew for each other that day, with Kooweerup bowling strongly and Peter Sweeney showing his resolute class for the Seagulls in the top order.
But if winning premierships is number-one on the Demons’ hit-list, then defeating Cardinia at least twice during the season is right up there at number two.
They achieved that on Saturday against their great rivals, backing up a comfortable round-one victory over the Bulls.
McMaster called correctly for the fifth time this season, but elected to bat first for just the second occasion.
Chris Bright (29 off 32) was the dominant figure in a 47-run opening stand, which ended when Dean Henwood gleefully accepted a catch off the bowling of Morteza Ali (8-1-23-1).
McMaster then slipped through the gears for the first time in a 34-run partnership with Steve Dillon (12); the Demons 2/81 mid-way through the 15th.
Walking to the crease; being greeted by McMaster…was an out of form Gamini Kumara.
Arguably the best bat to have played in the Warragul and District Cricket Association over the last decade, Kumara made an instant impact with the Demons; becoming a premiership player in his first season at the club earlier this year.
But scores of 8, 3, 1, 18 and 3, crumpled around a season-highlight of 31 not out, were not the output we expect from such a player of obvious class.
Kumara is hugely important to the Demons; providing classical balance and workmanship to an another-wise ‘boundary-hitting’ top-order.
He regained some touch on the weekend, hitting 43 from 56 deliveries; including six boundaries and one towering maximum.
His boundary count was higher than usual, but a useful contribution will provide Kumara with impetus moving forward.
Kumara and McMaster shared a 93-run stand for the third wicket, before Henwood (5-1-23-1) got his man.
The Demons were 3/174, with eight overs left to cause some raucous.
McMaster was now in top gear, dominating a 56-run union with Brannon Harrison (4) in the next six overs of play.
Harrison was run-out off the last ball of the 38th over; which McMaster took for 21 runs from the first five balls.
The damage was done, the Demons had a massive total of 4/246 to bowl at.
Cardinia has been in red-hot form with the willow of late, making 7/335 and 5/331 declared in its previous two innings.
But this Demons’ attack; well, they’re a pretty tough nut to crack!
Needing more than six runs per over to win, the Bulls fell behind the run-rate early and never really looked like threatening.
Daniel Salvato (33 off 86) played steadily at the top of the order, and Bradey Welsh (42 off 52) came in with a flurry; but by the time of his dismissal the Bulls were 4/114 off 30 and never a chance of victory.
A rate of more than 13 – for 10 overs – against Kooweerup…yeah, good luck with that!
Travis Wheller (62 off 35) showed the necessary intensity, but the Bulls mid-to-lower order was forced to surrender cheap wickets late as they unselfishly chased late runs.
Five wickets fell in the last 11 balls of the innings, with Cody Miller (3.4-0-23-4) and Matt Bright (7-0-36-3) the main beneficiaries of the mayhem.
The Demons next host Tooradin in a one-day blockbuster on Saturday 13 January, while the Bulls finals prospects go on the line against Devon Meadows.
The Bulls (fifth) will fall two games behind the Panthers (fourth) if they don’t prevail at Gunton Oval on the first Saturday of cricket for the New Year.
But a win will see the Bulls climb into fourth place…comfortably on percentage.
LIGT SHINES ONCE AGAIN
At the risk of sounding like a broken-record; Lucas Ligt (107 not out) once again dominated the Glover Reserve landscape with a brilliant century for Devon Meadows (4/216) against Merinda Park (177) on Saturday.
Ligt won the toss for the fourth time this season; and kept his perfect record intact of deciding to bat first.
But winning the toss against Mat Campbell is an easy task at the moment, with the Cobras’ skipper winning just two of eight to this point of the season.
Let’s hope he doesn’t spend Christmas at the casino!
This was a hugely important game for both clubs, with the Panthers one game clear of the Cobras heading into the contest.
Ligt lost Will Halton (3) early, before settling in for a 37-run stand with Steve Robinson (20 off 22).
Arthur Churchill (33 off 76) then took a back-seat role in a 79-run partnership…the Panthers 2/119 and going well.
But the loss of Churchill and 250-gamer Lucas Carroll (0) next ball; saw the Panthers falter to 4/119, with Ligt watching on from the other end.
But that would be the last taste of success for the Cobras, with Nathan Worsteling (44 not out off 40) providing the perfect support role for his captain, who celebrated his century with a six from his next scoring shot.
The Cobras were once again well served by Tyson Bertrand (8-1-35-2) – who took his tally to 13 wickets for the season to sit top-10 in the league – while Country Week representative Rumesh Ranasinghe (5-1-32-2) was once again resilient with his spinners.
The Cobras then started their chase in the worst possible fashion.
Daniel McCalman (4) and Liam Bertrand (0) were back in the sheds in a jiffy, with openers Coby Podd (5-0-30-1) and Jamie Cape (7-1-23-1) sharing the early accolades…just 10 balls into the innings.
Ranasinghe (24 off 33) and Cambell Bryan (37 off 55) then made a good fist of things; before both departed, leaving the score at 4/74 after 17.
Needing more than six runs per over for the last 23, the Cobras lost Jude Johnstone (8) before Bevin Corneille (61 off 69) and Adam Fisher (23 off 32) revived Cobras’ hopes with a 54-run stand for the sixth wicket.
But Fisher would become the second of three wickets for Carroll (8-0-31-3); leaving the Cobras with 68 runs to get from just 40 balls with four wickets left in the tank.
The Panthers then tightened the screws with the ball, taking 4/28 from those last 40 balls of play to close out a clutch victory.
It was an impressive win for the Panthers, who now haven’t lost a game since round four, Sunday 22 October, against Kooweerup.
The Panthers head to Gunton Oval after Christmas for a crunch encounter against Cardinia, while Merinda Park will look to bounce back to the winners’ list on a tricky trip to Clyde.
A win will keep the Cobras faint hopes of playing finals alive.
LIONS OVERPOWER COUGARS
Pakenham (3/201) is celebrating its first win since round four after the Lions proved far too strong for bottom-placed Clyde (93) at Toomuc Reserve on Saturday.
The Lions surrendered winning positions against Kooweerup and Devon Meadows – in rounds five and six – before wet-weather deemed their day-one 207 against Carlisle Park irrelevant in round seven.
But this was the day the Lions would finally get back on track.
The Lions were rock-solid from the outset, with Jack Anning (31 off 47) and Chris Smith (37 off 50) seeing off the shiny white ball.
Anning went first with the score on 62, before Smith followed a short-time later.
At 2/80, it was over to the experienced pairing of Dale Tormey (47 off 48) and Rob Elston (63 not out off 88) to cash in for the last half of the innings.
The pair put on 82 for the third wicket, with Tormey continuing his consistent run: cracking five boundaries and one six in his third highest score for the season.
Scores of 116, 26, 61 and 47 from his last four hits have the Lions’ skipper on 338 runs; just second to Lucas Ligt (439) on the run-scoring list this season.
Tormey’s belligerent play is perfectly counterbalanced by the workmanlike style of Elston.
They put on a magnificent 161-run stand against Kooweerup in round five, and backed it up with an 82-run union on the weekend.
Elston is very busy at the crease, with his strike-rate creditable despite just two boundaries coming from his 88 balls in the middle.
Elston continues to churn out runs for the Lions, with the 42-year-old keeper-bat sitting third behind Tormey (338) and Chris Smith (234) on his club’s run-scoring list this season.
There’s no disguising it…Clyde was terrible in reply!
Michael Vandort (0) and Dev Brijesh (0) were both gone for ducks early – and so too were the Cougars’ chances.
Mahie Bodahandi and Daniel Lever both scored 18 runs to be equal-top scorers for the innings; while a 24-run partnership was their biggest threat to the Lions across 32 overs at the crease.
For Pakenham, Tom Tyrrell (6-1-10-1) and James Close (5-1-18-2) were tight and miserly with the new rock, while up-and-coming leg-spinner Jordan Seers (7-0-15-3) took bowling honours with a classy three-wicket display.
The Lions have consecutive games at home after Christmas, against Carlisle Park and Kooweerup, while the Cougars are quickly running out of chances to secure a first win.
They get a big chance first up after the break, hosting Merinda Park at Ramlegh Reserve.
SEAGULLS IN CRUISE CONTROL
Tooradin (1/114) has celebrated the 250th game of legendary clubman Cal O’Hare with a crushing performance against Carlisle Park (113) at Tooradin.
O’Hare has been one the most recognisable figures in the WGCA/CCCA over the last 15 years; with his hard-hitting approach with the bat, and steep bowling angle – at pace – with the ball, making him a terrorising threat in both arts of the game.
A debilitating knee injury may have slowed him down with the ball; but he is still one of the best bats in the competition, sitting seventh on the CCCA list with 265 runs this season.
This one became a non-contest early after master-seamer Russell Lehman (4-0-26-2) made two early strikes with the new ball.
David Nutting (0) and Ryan Hughes (0) were both on their way for nought, after Tyler Evans held onto a Nutting catch and Lehman caught-and-bowled Hughes.
Ethan Davies (25 off 46), Ben Perry (21 off 42) and Kasun Balasuriya (21 off 57) did well to prevent complete carnage from prevailing, but 113 were never going to be enough.
Josh Lownds (6.1-1-14-4) doubled his best-wicket haul for the season for the Gulls, with four, while Peter Sweeney (8-1-12-1) was at his ruthlessly efficient best also.
The left-arm offie bowled 48 balls on Saturday; with 36 dots and 12 singles a true indication of his command over the Vikings batters.
The Seagulls wasted no time in completing the rout, with Lownds (48 not out off 54), O’Hare (30 off 68) and Dylan Sutton (14 not out off 14) completing the job inside 21 overs.
O’Hare (2-0-3-1) provided a highlight when he took his first wicket of the season in the Vikings innings.
Christmas fare will taste good for the Gulls over the break, sitting on top of the ladder by percentage from Kooweerup.
The two gun teams of the competition will lock horns at Kooweerup on Saturday 13 January; the same day the Vikings head to Pakenham to take on Dale Tormey’s Lions.
