By David Nagel
Upper Beaconsfield (7/148) is within touching distance of booking itself a place in CCCA Premier Division next season after a late flurry from Aiden Whitfield (41 not out) led the Maroons to a last-over win over Devon Meadows (146).
In a game where neither team could score more than 52 runs in a block of 10 overs, the Maroons did the right things at precisely the right times to earn their second win for the season.
The victory over the Panthers puts the seventh-placed Maroons 30 points clear of relegation-favourite Merinda Park with just three rounds remaining.
The Maroons were right in the contest from over one, with Daniel Brennan (1/23 off 8) enticing Zac Shepherd (0) to slice one to Josh Westra in the covers off the fourth ball of the match.
Panthers’ skipper Lucas Ligt (30) and number-three Nathan Kleinig (5) then occupied the crease well, but struggled to hit the scoreboard on a much bigger and slower ground than they’ve been accustomed to.
Both players fell by the 19th over…the Panthers 3/38 and going at two runs per over.
A failed attempted ramp shot – that saw Ligt’s stumps rattled by rival captain Will Haines (2/18) – gave an indication of the building frustration.
Chris Cleef (37) then steadied things through the middle order for the Panthers, before Country Week squad member Ben Marsh (45) provided the impetus for the Panthers 5/52 from the final block of 10.
Haines set his fields beautifully, and was joined by Tyler Astle (2/29) on the multiple wicket-takers list…both taking their first wickets for the season
Left-armer Brennan and off-spinner Andrew McDonald (1/21 off 8) also did well to concede just 44 runs from their combined 16 overs.
The Panthers failed to apply pressure through quick singles and allowed the Maroons to bottle the game up too easily.
After the dinner break, the Maroons were a chance to win their first game since round two.
Brennan (30) and Haines (25) played fighting knocks for the home side who were 4/102 off 30…needing 45 off their final 10 overs to win.
They then lost 1/18 off their next six, with the wicket of Haines providing one of the fielding highlights of the season.
Fielding in the covers, Nathan Worsteling stopped a well-struck cover-drive from Haines with a diving right hand; before scooping it up with his left and throwing down the stumps at the bowlers’ end.
With four overs to go the Maroons now needed a more challenging 27 runs with five wickets left in the sheds.
The equation was soon 23 off three with the Panthers continuing to build momentum.
The Maroons took eight off over 38, before Whitfield changed the course of the match with a single hit in the next over.
He smashed Marsh (0/35) for a big six over long on, before two byes came off the next ball.
The Maroons needed four runs to win off the last over.
Ligt (0/5) tied things up for three balls before Whitfield struck one over mid-wicket for four to claim the points with just two balls remaining in the match.
Coby Podd (3/32) and Riley Worsteling (1/20 off 8) were best performers for the Panthers, who, along with Upper Beaconsfield, need to work hard for motivation for the remaining six weeks (three games) of the season.
Neither can make finals, and neither – barring a Merinda Park miracle – can be relegated.
Haines was delighted with the Maroons’ win with quality players such as Scott Pitcher, Kyle Gibbs, Corey Joyce, Nick Pastras, Chad McDonald and Sam Wellwood all unavailable for selection.
“It was massive for us, particularly with a few key players out, and it was great for some young guys to step up and play their roles,” Haines explained.
“It was a great feeling to get across the line, being undermanned and coming off some very poor performances…to bounce back and get that win was great.”
Tactics played a big part on Saturday, with Haines and his bowling group frustrating the Panthers into error.
Even the usually meticulous Ligt was forced to play a rash shot, with an around-wicket ball from Haines crashing into his stumps.
“We set fields to prevent them from hitting boundaries, and we even packed the off side to Ligty knowing that the cover drive is one of his strongest shots,” Haines said.
“We tried to bowl a consistent line outside off and build the dots and try to build his frustration.
“Our plan all day was to build the pressure because that ultimately brings about wickets.
“On the flip side, we made a focus of getting quick singles because we know that’s how you win games of cricket on our ground.
“You can’t blast your way out of a situation at Upper Beacy like you can at some other grounds.
“I got Ligty in the end, but that was the result of the pressure built up by others.”
While not quite safe just yet, Haines is excited at the prospect of maintaining the club’s Premier Division status next season.
“We wanted to set ourselves to a higher standard and compete with the better teams,” he said.
“We haven’t done that, but we’ve got two wins now and we think we’re a chance of getting more in the last three games if we can perform like we did on the weekend.
“If we could finish the season with three wins, given our circumstances with players being in and out all year, I’d see that as being a relatively successful year.
“We’ve had some bad losses and it would have been easy to drop our heads, but I’m proud of the way we’ve stuck at it and we got rewarded for it on the weekend.”
Haines said the Maroons had no choice but to set the foundations for when the next season begins in October.
“We’ll rely on the young guys for the rest of the season, which I’m absolutely happy to do; they can come in, get a lot out of it and especially with us not being in a position to play finals,” he said.
”It’s good for them to come in, develop, and understand what it takes to perform at the Premier level.”
The Maroons head to Pakenham this week, while Devon Meadows returns home to Glover Reserve to host second-placed Cardinia.
PAKENHAM V KOOWEERUP
Kooweerup (2/136) has taken its biggest and most important step yet towards playing finals cricket this season after a clinical eight-wicket win over a disappointing Pakenham (135) at Toomuc Reserve.
Played in front of a big crowd – with Pakenham celebrating its Life Members, Sponsors and Social Members Day – the Demons were visibly superior with both bat and ball.
They first disarmed the Lions with a disciplined display in the field, before exposing just how far under-par the Lions’ score really was…taking down the total with two balls left in the 20th over.
Pakenham began well enough after winning the toss and batting, being 1/49 after 10.
Chris Smith (26) and Jason Williams (24) looked well set, but the Demons fought back by taking 3/27 from the second block of 10.
With Adam McMaster (3/22), Shiran Rathnayake (2/10), Steve Dillon (2/26) and Luke McMaster (2/40) all playing a role, the Demons then squeezed even tighter allowing just 3/18 from overs 21 to 30.
Dom Paynter (32) once again tried to lift the Lions, top-scoring for the third time in his last four hits, while Marcus Martini (20) also helped postpone the inevitable.
The Lions’ score was never going to be enough, and Luke McMaster (65) and Chris Bright (40) proved that point in a hurry.
Bright was brutal on anything slightly short or over-pitched, making 40 of a 64-run opening partnership that took just eight overs to assemble.
During his innings, Bright became the first player to crack the 500-run tally in Premier Division cricket this season.
Upon Bright’s dismissal, McMaster then took charge, crunching 52 of his 65 runs in boundaries, with 13 masterful fours.
The classy right-hander fell one shy of his best score for the season, but hit the ball crisply in a great sign of things to come.
Ayden Mills (22 not out) played second fiddle to McMaster, but the lefty provided the highlight of the innings, with a beautifully struck pull shot for six that rolled through the gap between the two structures at Toomuc Reserve.
It was a gap certainly not as big as the huge chasm that existed between the two sides on the day.
Kooweerup will be undermanned when it hosts third-placed Clyde this week in a tantalising two-day contest, while the Lions will hope to turn things around and claim win two of their last five outings against Upper Beaconsfield at Pakenham.
Being top of the ladder after round seven the Lions have now dropped to fifth place on the ladder.
CARDINIA V TOORADIN
Cardinia’s (3/130) credentials as a serious premiership contender can no longer be denied after the Bulls dismantled ladder-leaders Tooradin (129) at the Tooradin Rec Reserve on Saturday.
A lot of people – including yours truly – have had the Bulls pegged slightly below Tooradin and Kooweerup, and alongside Pakenham and Clyde, in the race for this year’s premiership.
But the facts simply don’t lie; the Bulls have now defeated all of the remaining premiership hopes at least once throughout the season and now sit in a threatening second place on the ladder.
The Bulls run home – against Devon Meadows (6th), Merinda Park (8th) and Clyde (3rd) – is favourable, with two wins from three outings more than likely to see them host a semi-final on March 15.
Skipper Mark Cooper (2/28) and a bowling attack led by Josh Grogan (2/24), Matt Welsh (3/24) and Yohan Arumadura (1/3 off 8) shrugged off the loss of suspended opening bowler Trishane De Silva to hold the dangerous Seagulls to a moderate score.
Russell Lehman (27), promoted to number three, top scored for the Gulls, anchoring the innings nicely before a nasty incident saw him retired hurt.
Lehman pushed a ball from Matt Welsh to point and took off for a single, with the Cardinia fielder picking up and throwing to the non-strikers end.
Lehman made his ground, but the ball flew high over the stumps and collected him in the neck region as he ran past the crease to safety.
The star all-rounder was dazed, and didn’t bowl after the tea break; but Cooper and his Tooradin counterpart Mick Sweeney have since enquired and Lehman has recovered well.
Sweeney (20) and Tom Hussey (18) were the only others to make worthwhile contributions for the Gulls, after Josh Browne (1/20) and Arumadura had Seagulls openers Josh Lownds (0) and Cal O’Hare (8) back in the sheds early, testing a mid-to-lower order that has been on ‘watch alert’ for much of the season.
Surprisingly the Gulls left 21 balls in the tank; on just the second occasion they’ve left the last man standing not out.
The Bulls run-chase started horribly, with Jacobus Hynes being stumped by Ben Parrott, off the bowling of Bailey Lownds (2/15 off 7), for a duck, before experienced-Bull Alex Nooy (67 not out) piloted his beloved club to victory.
Nooy shared a 28-run stand with Bradey Welsh (11), a 46-run union with Arumadura (24); before finishing off the job with an unbroken 53-run partnership with Matt Welsh (26 not out).
Nooy is in fine touch at the moment, with scores of 46 not out, 43, 81 and 67 not out from his last four innings, while Welsh is looming as a key figure in the Bulls’ push for a premiership.
The stylish right-hander has remained unbeaten in his last two outings against Pakenham (68 not out) and Tooradin, and joined Nooy on Saturday as the only Bulls to have made more than 300-runs this season.
Cooper said he totally understands the scepticism surrounding his Bulls at the start of the season, with Cardinia clearly off the pace last year.
“In terms of figures we were a long way off the top couple of teams for sure, so we were very particular with our recruiting and also in the way we wanted to play,” Cooper said.
“That’s taken a long time to bed in and our performances before Christmas highlighted some inconsistencies in our game.
“We have made improvement, and I think there were positive signs on Saturday and even the week before against Pakenham.
“The data would suggest that we’re going to be more competitive when the crunch time of the season comes along.
“That wasn’t Tooradin’s best version that we saw, but we’ll give ourselves credit that we executed plans and most of all held some catches.
Cooper praised Nooy for his recent run of form and his adjustment to the mental side of his game.
“One of the challenges of taking on the job this year was, how you elevate Alex’s game to go from a good player to a really good player in the comp,” Cooper said.
“Consistency is probably what the league has been waiting for; he made a slight tweak technically to start the season but it’s more about mindset with Alex.
“He’s picking his moments better and assessing the risk factors a lot better.
“When to go, when to hold, picking his moments better is something we’ve been working on together.”
The Bulls head to Devon Meadows this week while the Seagulls host Merinda Park.
MERINDA PARK V CLYDE
The fluctuating fortunes of Clyde (5/178) and Merinda Park (176) were the defining features of a fascinating round 11 of CCCA Premier Division on Saturday.
Expected ‘Australia Day’ fireworks between the perennial top four (Tooradin v Cardinia and Pakenham v Kooweerup) turned into fizzers; leaving the remaining two games to provide the long-weekend highlights.
The games between the Cougars and Cobras; and Upper Beaconsfield and Devon Meadows, went all the way down to the wire…with both contests being decided deep into the final over of the match.
Merinda Park will once again be ruing its luck after a clinical last-over finish from Michael Vandort (63 not out) led Clyde to third place on the ladder and its sixth-consecutive victory.
After winning the toss and batting, Merinda Park set up a competitive total via healthy contributions from Cambell Bryan (46), Daniel McCalman (40) and Tyson Bertrand (44), who overcame some fine bowling from Clyde’s Nick Shannon (3/41), Ankush Rana (2/20) and Max Adams (2/26).
In reply the Cougars got off to a solid start through openers Kane Avard (35) and Trevor Bauer (32), before Cobras’ skipper Mat Campbell (3/14) bowled his team back into the contest.
Campbell removed both openers and number-three Praveen Perera (2) in a great period for the Cobras who claimed 3/15.
But a 62-run partnership between Vandort and Dev Brijesh (29) meant this one was going all the way down to the wire.
The repercussions for both teams were huge as Suraj Kandasamy (9) faced up to Tyson Bertrand (1/37) with the Cougars needing eight runs to win off the final over of the match.
With seventh-placed Upper Beaconsfield having already secured its win over Devon Meadows, the Cobras needed to defend their total to keep their hopes of avoiding relegation alive.
If the Cougars made the eight runs required, they would finish round 11 in third place; while a failure to do so would see them slip to fifth.
The fluctuating fortunes of both clubs were on the line.
Merinda Park made the perfect start, with Bertrand dropping short and Kandasamy pulling straight to Ash Slater at deep mid-wicket.
The Cougars now needed eight runs off five balls, with Shannon (3 not out) walking to the crease…with 33 runs under his belt for the season!
Shannon pulled his first ball for two, and then played a lofted drive to mid-on for a single to bring Vandort back to the hot-seat.
The equation; four runs to tie or five runs to win off three balls.
Vandort then hit a straight drive off a low full toss for two runs; with the left-hander returning to strike with three runs to win off two balls.
The former Sri Lankan international then summoned up all of his courage and skill, moving across his crease and playing a lap shot to backward square-leg for four.
The Cougars celebrated in grand style; their hopes of a first finals series since 2020 still alive…while Campbell and his Cobras were left crestfallen.
Once again, for the sixth time this season, they had proved ultra-competitive without walking away with the points.
The Cobras now need a miracle to avoid losing their Premier Division status; a proud title Merinda Park has held since 2012/13.
After winning the District Division flag in March 2012, the Cobras made an immediate impact in the top flight by making the Premier Division grand final against Tooradin.
The Cobras have played in three finals series since, and most recently narrowly avoided relegation at the expense of Officer on a remarkable last day just two years ago.
But this time their hopes look forlorn.
They need to defeat Tooradin, Cardinia and Upper Beaconsfield in their last three to have any chance of avoiding relegation…their flickering hopes this time look shot!
The Cobras head to Tooradin this week – with the Seagulls on the rebound – while the Maroons make the trip to Pakenham.
