By David Nagel
The season of Upper Beaconsfield (60) is somehow going from bad to even worse in CCCA Premier Division after the Maroons were embarrassed by Cardinia (0/66) at Gunton Oval on Saturday.
The Maroons’ season-low score of 41 – against Kooweerup in round three – was seriously in trouble of being beaten after the visitors waved the white flag and fell to 8/28 off just 16.3 overs.
By that stage Yohan Arumadura (5/5 off 8) had sizzled through a brittle top-to-middle order, while skipper Mark Cooper (2/16 off 8) took two wickets in three balls to have the Maroons batting scorecard looking as sick it would over its 29-over duration.
The Maroons did show some fighting spirit, with Taylor Joyce (19) showing his teammates how it’s done in his first hit in Premier Division this season, while number-10 Kyle Gibbs (9 off 45 balls) played with determination in a 28-run partnership that doubled his team’s score.
Cardinia wasted no time in finishing off the job with Alex Nooy (46 not out) cracking five fours from his first 45 balls, before hitting Gibbs for six to end the contest, while Jacobus Hynes (15 not out) struck at a tick over 100 from his 14 balls.
The Bulls resume after Christmas with a trip to Kooweerup, while Upper Beaconsfield host Top-of-the-table Tooradin.
The good news for the Maroons; being a one-dayer, they won’t be able to lose outright as they did to the Seagulls in round five.
Clyde (5/119) has joined Tooradin as the only team to have won its last three completed games of cricket after the Cougars knocked Pakenham (118) from the top of the ladder at Toomuc Reserve.
The Cougars have now defeated Devon Meadows, Merinda Park and Pakenham, and were in a strong position (0/26 chasing 192) against Upper Beaconsfield before rain intervened in round six.
It’s been a phenomenal rebound from Trevor Bauer’s troops, who drew with Kooweerup in round one before consecutive losses to Cardinia, Tooradin and the Lions.
Loyal Lions Jack Anning (27) and Jason Williams (29) had the home side going along nicely at 1/65 before the wheels fell off in a hurry.
The Cougars really kept the pressure on the Lions, with Ankush Rana (4/22) taking a fair slice of the spoils while Teddy Fonseka (2/31) snared two and Praveen Perera (1/16 off 8) kept things tight from one end.
The visitors never had too many concerns in reply, with Dev Brijesh (36), Bauer (25) and Perera (21 not out) steering their team to victory.
Emerging leggie Jordan Seers (3/18) was the pick of the bowlers for the Lions; providing a glimmer of hope by securing the wickets of Michael Vandort (15) and Fonseka (0) within the space of three balls.
James Close (2/23) bowled tidily for the Lions, who hit the road for their first two games after the break.
They first head to Tony Way to take on Merinda Park before a much shorter trip to Cardinia.
The Cougars can really consolidate themselves as a final’s contender in the three one-dayers after Christmas; with consecutive games against Devon Meadows, Upper Beaconsfield and Merinda Park.
Tooradin’s (2/158) premiership defence is purring along very nicely indeed after the Seagulls made light work of Devon Meadows (157) at Tooradin.
Panthers’ skipper Lucas Ligt (12) called correctly and elected to have a hit, but it was an innings that never really reached great heights.
Nathan Kleinig (30) showed promising signs at the top, backing up his unbeaten half century from last round with another polished display, while Rajind Dassanayake (34), Chris Cleef (22) and Riley Worsteling (19 not out) kept the reigning champs at bay.
The Seagulls bowling effort can accurately be described as even; with Dylan Sutton (3/37) narrowly claiming bragging rights over Bailey Lownds (2/19), Josh Lownds (2/29) and the league-leading wicket taker Tyler Evans (2/37).
The Seagulls lost Country Week skipper Cal O’Hare (2) early in reply, before Mick Sweeney (95) showed his ruthless side with a brutal innings that included 12 fours and three sixes from just 75 balls at the crease.
After a slow start to the season, Sweeney has now made scores of 64, 26 and 95 to take his season tally to 221…to sit twelfth on the CCCA Premier Division list.
Josh Lownds (44 not out) is now the leading runscorer for the Gulls this season; now on 281 runs after his third undefeated knock from his last four hits.
Tooradin, which won with almost 15 overs up its sleeve, heads to Upper Beaconsfield after the break; the Panthers head to Clyde.
And the top order of Kooweerup (7/217) has proved too big and powerful for Merinda Park (83) in a one-act affair at Tony Way.
Cobras’ skipper Mat Campbell would have been ruing his decision to bowl first after Demons’ dynamos Chris Bright (62) and Luke McMaster (41) got off to a lively start.
The Cobras did well, through the efforts of Campbell (2/34), Luke Dinger (2/39) and Matt Dennerley (2/48) to keep the Demons in check, but healthy contributions from Ayden Mills (56 not out) and Nathan Voss (25) saw the Dees post a competitive score.
Mills has now made 116, 71 and 56 not out in his last three hits; with his 243 runs from rounds six to eight clearly the best in the competition.
The Cobras were never in the hunt in reply, with the talents of Shiran Rathnayake (4/13), McMaster (3/16) and Jess Mathers (2/1) proving far too hot to handle.
Rathnayake took three wickets from the first 11 balls of his spell, with Tobias Van Den Heever (15), Tyson Bertrand (12) and Luke Dinger (0) all finding the going too tough.
Kooweerup- currently fourth – faces a huge three weeks after Christmas with games against Cardinia, Tooradin and Pakenham…the three teams that currently sit above the Demons on the ladder.
With Clyde (fifth) and Devon Meadows (sixth) having winnable games after the break, the Demons could find themselves in the rare position of being outside the top four.
Play resumes in the CCCA on Saturday 11 January.
