By Marcus Uhe
It’s a bad time to be in need of a maiden season win for two fancied Dandenong District Cricket Association Turf 1 sides.
The only two yet to register a victory this summer, the tests don’t come much harder for Berwick and Narre South, swapping round four opponents in round five.
Berwick heads to Park Oval to tackle Buckley Ridges, where Narre South welcomes Springvale South to Strathaird.
Cast your minds back to round 13 last summer – Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 February – and keen followers of Turf 1 will recall these four sides were entangled in a dramatic weekend of cricket.
Berwick saw their finals chances effectively evaporate, finally put out of their misery on day two after a horror batting collapse against the Bucks at Park.
Cruising to an extraordinary total in the first innings on the back of a sumptuous Matthew Hague hundred, Berwick completely fell apart, losing its final nine wickets for 25 runs.
The combination of Ishan Jayarathna’s swing and Wes Nicholas’ guile worked hand-in-hand to suffocate Berwick’s batters into submission amid one of the most extraordinary collapses you’ll see.
Buckley Ridges chased the total with six wickets in hand on Sunday, facing no such troubles and putting the Bears in the horror predicament needing to down Springvale South at home to sneak into the top four in round 14 – a task that ultimately proved too much.
One the same day as Buckley cruised home, Narre South’s golden run of close wins added another chapter with a famous result over Springvale South.
With the match shortened to a one-day contest due to playing conditions on Saturday, the Lions miraculously defended 211 to inflict the Bloods’ second loss of the summer.
Skipper, Kyle Hardy, put in a herculean effort with the ball, taking 5/51 as the Bloods were dismissed in the final over for 205.
What bearing either of these contests has on the upcoming weekend remains to be seen.
Berwick may possess some unhealed mental scars, while the tense atmosphere at the close – and abandoned beginning on day one – at the other contest may add extra fuel to the fire in Narre Warren South.
Both the two grand finalists have barely put a foot wrong in the opening month of action, while the other two dropped games they would have expected to take points from in the opening weekend of action.
Declaring that one team’s finals chances could be up in smoke if they lose is a little dramatic, but there’ll be some serious soul-searching to do if the equation gets much worse for both sides.
Other clashes in round five sees Dandenong West venture to Hallam to face the momentum-riding Hawks, and North Dandenong welcome Beaconsfield to Lois Twohig.
While both Hallam Kalora Park and North Dandenong were both victors last week, neither will be pleased with their batting efforts.
The pressure will be on the Hawks’ top six to show stronger mettle when Nuwan Kulasekara and Malina Bandara come to town, with an intimate knowledge of star Hawks batter Mahela Udawatte.
Kulasekara and Udawatte played a handful of ODIs together in the Caribbean in 2008 for Sri Lanka and both spent plenty of time around the extremities of the national side.
North Dandenong don’t possess a player of international repute within their midst but its clash with Beaconsfield will be integral to any potential finals hopes under new coach Lee Vowles.
Tips: Narre South v SPRINGVALE SOUTH, HALLAM KALORA PARK v Dandenong West, BUCKLEY RIDGES v Berwick, North Dandenong v BEACONSFIELD.
