Buckley Ridges couldn’t have started the season any better, with the side posting big scores in the first two rounds and banking two early wins in the DDCA Turf 1 competition.
The formidable Bucks are not planning on stopping short in their three-peat quest, with plans to continue their dynasty beyond the 2025/26 season.
Led by captain Jayson Hobbs, the side registered a convincing win against Dandenong West after bowling the Bulls out for 190 on day two, well short of their 278 target.
The Bucks posted 278 last week, as Ben Wright (69)and Ishan Jayarathna (59) went big, making it look easy.
While there were plenty of other contributors across the board with Troy Aust (42), Michael Davies (33), Ayush Patel (25) and Dale Tormey (23) all making starts.
Being bowled out with around 10 overs remaining on day one was the perfect scenario for Buckley Ridges, as it challenged Dandenong West to survive nine overs late in the day.
After claiming the early wickets of Nipunaka Fonseka and Nathan Power (both ducks) late on day one, the Bulls were in some strife at 2/26.
And as the second week approached, the equation for Riley Siwes and his team was tough, 253 runs needed and eight wickets in hand.
Despite walking out to the crease on day two with the scoreboard reading 2/26, Bulls opener Shaun Weir was not deterred.
He and Madushanka Perera went about their business as usual in a bid to dig their team out of trouble and pull off what would be a remarkable comeback victory.
The pair added 50 runs for the third wicket and things were looking positive, before the worst possible scenario, a run out.
Perera cut hard forward of point and beat the fielder at cover, taking off down the pitch before he was sent back by Weir.
He attempted to turn around, sprint back towards safety and dive, but some clean fielding from Triyan De Silva and brilliant glovework had Perera short of his ground – run out for 21.
Perera lay motionless on the ground for a few seconds, before slowly getting to his feet and walking off, looking more disappointed than angry.
Was there a run there? Probably if Weir also went straight away, but hesitation is the last thing you want when running with a partner and it cost Perera from turning his start into a big score.
What made the dismissal sting even more was the fact that the Bulls lost a couple more wickets shortly after with Malinga Bandara (four) and Riley Siwes (five) both falling victim to the same shot.
The dismissals of the pair looked like an exact replay, both flicking the ball off the pads directly to square leg as Harry Snowden and Jayarathna honed in on the stumps.
Weir finally found the partner he was longing for when Nuwan Kulasekara strolled out to the crease.
The pair looked comfortable and quickly began to get the run rate ticking, putting on 63 runs and breathing some life back into the run chase, getting the score past 150.
That was until the Bucks’ new recruit Snowden got the breakthrough wicket, removing Weir for 87 with a short ball that apparently found the edge of the bat or a tickle of glove – whether it did or not is another story.
It was Weir’s best innings since he made the move into Turf 1 at the beginning of last season, scoring 87 off 142 deliveries as he kept the fire of hope burning.
Kulasekara (30) and Matthew Collett (17) did their best late in the innings, but the team was bowled out for 190 off 59.5 overs.
Ultimately, losing both Fonseka and Power for ducks late on day one came back to really hurt the side, which needed just a few more wickets in hand and a better platform to build upon.
Ishan Jayarathna revisited his Wookey Medallist form, scoring a damaging 59 off 53 balls and taking 4/47 with the new ball, while Snowden also took four wickets in the victory.
In other games, Berwick is on top of the ladder after an outright victory over last year’s grand finalist Hallam Kalora Park.
Where there is a will, there is a way and where there are two Wills, there are even more ways to achieve success.
The Wills brothers performed beautifully in round 2, Toby taking 10/48 off 17 overs to go with the 28 with the bat, while Jarryd belted 53 and 23 not out.
The Bears batted first in the match and scrapped together 171, before bowling the Hawks out for 54, and sending them back in.
Prior to the season, Berwick captain Michael Wallace said Toby Wills was the surprise packet to watch down at the Cave, and that is a call that aged beautifully in round 2.
He has now taken 11 wickets at 6.45 which has him four wickets clear of Harry Snowden (Buckley Ridges) and Jarryd Straker (Springvale South).
Wills produced a remarkable spell of bowling in the first innings, taking 5/9 and a broken stump with him as he terrorised the Hawks late in the day.
There was no doubt that it was quite a difficult wicket to bat on, especially on day one, with 23 wickets falling for the day, but Hallam Kalora Park didn’t even throw a punch in the first half of the match.
It wasn’t until Saturday in the Hawks’ second innings where the middle order got going a bit and managed to return fire through Jawid Khan (73) and Damith Perera (43).
But after such a poor first innings, the outright was always going to be hard to avoid.
The Hawks were bowled out for 171 in their second innings – the exact same total that the Bears managed the previous week.
Berwick had 54 runs to chase and did it with ease, as Lachlan Brown (29 not out) and Jarryd Wills (23 not out) reached the target in the ninth over.
Wills took another three wickets on day two to finish the match with figures of 10/48 off his 17 overs.
Despite a rocky start to the run chase where Springvale South lost 2/16 on day one, the Bloods successfully chased down Narre South’s target of 210.
Mitch Forsyth (63) and Chaturanga De Silva (66) were pivotal in the chase, while Jordy Wyatt (36 not out from 19 balls) provided some late fireworks helping the side win by five wickets.
Lions captain Jeevan Mendis took 3/61 from 17 overs and was the pick of the bowlers in the loss.
After an unbeaten knock of 136 from Beaconsfield’s Ashan Walgamage, the Tigers bowled out Parkmore for 193 to win by 85 runs.
The Pirates started the day 3/16, so some credit has to go their way for digging in almost reaching 200.
Batting at number eight and nine, Jack Farrington (75) and Ankit Saxena (60) put some respect on Parkmore’s name with a brilliant partnership, but there wasn’t much else to smile about.
It was a strong win for Beaconsfield and a confidence-boosting win after a tough season opener against Buckley Ridges.
Tigers bowling pair Alex Nice (3/46 off 18 overs) and Sam Read (4/48 off 18 overs) were brilliant with the ball and made life hard for the Pirates.
LADDER: Berwick 16, Springvale South, Buckley Ridges 12, Dandenong West, Beaconsfield 6, Narre South, Parkmore Pirates, Hallam Kalora Park.
R3 FIXTURE (One-Day): Springvale South (2) v Berwick (1) at Alex Nelson Reserve, Beaconsfield (5) v Dandenong West (4) at Perc Allison Oval, Buckley Ridges (3) v Parkmore Pirates (7), Hallam Kalora Park (8) v Narre South (6).
