By JARROD POTTER
DANDENONG DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION
REVIEW – ROUND 2 (day 1)
OUTMUSCLED on their home turf, Buckley Ridges was left to watch on as Berwick (9/311) flayed a monster tally at Park Oval.
From all parts of the order Berwick had the upper hand. Buckley Ridges could not break the partnerships quickly enough as Ryan Williamson (36), Jarrod Goodes (20) and Bathiya Perera (21) started the onslaught. The true feast began after Dan Brown (28) fell to Wes Nicholas (2/102). It brought Dushan Wickramarathna (83) to the crease to commence his bombing raid. Wickramarathna was lethal to the flora and fauna surrounding the Dandenong Creek as he pummelled the river with six after six. His 83 came at one-day speed, leaving the last flourishes to Cory Bevan (41 not out) as Berwick surmounted 300. Dan Haasbroek (3/36) was tidy with his quicks and Matt Goodwright (2/54) also chipped in to claim a couple of wickets.
Cranbourne (277) has shown Heinz Southern Districts (1/15) its intent to be the best in the City of Casey, with a Steve Spoljaric (70) led smash-fest. The three-time Wookey Medallist has taken aim at Wookey number four after his dissection of the Cobras’ bowling attack created a launching pad for his team mates. Spoljaric thumped his 70 from 91 balls and including seven fours and a six just for good measure. The next wave of Eagle attacks came from Te Ahu Davis (58) and Cameron Kelly (56). The Davis-Kelly partnership put 64 in the bank for Cranbourne and Kelly kept on chugging to get to his first Turf 1 half-century. For the home side, Justin Davis (4/70) toiled across 26 overs to curtail the Eagles. Davis (1/3) cashed in with one last flourish in the dying overs – snaring Keith Perumal (3) to cap off an emphatic day for Cranbourne.
Steve Masterson (80) led Springvale South (277) to an imposing target as the Bloods dripped down the order against Hallam Kalora Park (0/4). Masterson, Nathan King (29) and Mitch Forsyth (24) pushed the tally to 3/143 before leaving it to the lengthened batting order to get the job done. Captain Craig Slocombe (31) went the tonk for a quick-fire salvo while the recently landed imports Ruwantha Kellepotha (25) and Yoshan Kumara (23) steered the Bloods towards stumps. Hallam could only contain the Bloods’ effort as wickets fell but not quickly enough. William Whyte (3/48) and Jordan Hammond (3/53) speared through half the order as Jake Cutting (2/46) also inflicted some pain on the visitors.
