By DAVID NAGEL
DANDENONG DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION
TURF 1 – Round 3 (Day 2)
HOT, muggy conditions replaced the wet weather from last week in DDCA Turf 1, with last season’s Turf-2 champions Cranbourne confirming its finals’ credentials with a comfortable one-day victory on Saturday (as a result of the washout of day one of Round 3).
CRANBOURNE v NORTH DANDENONG
IN the battle between third and fourth on the ladder it was North Dandenong (6/120cc) which didn’t cope with the pressure, dropping outside the top four after its batsmen struggled in reply to Cranbourne’s (7/171cc) competitive total at Casey Fields.
Cranbourne skipper Steve Spoljaric won the toss and decided to wield willow, Lucas Ligt (24), Jordan Cleland (31), Spoljaric (24) and powerhouse, Te Ahu Davis (34), all making considerable contributions at the top of the order, but none kicking on for that match-winning innings.
Ben Maroney (18) and Cam Dinger (19 not out) also chimed in for the Eagles, while North Dandy’s Michael De Kauwe (3/45) and Jurgen Andersen (2/26) took wickets at precisely the right time to avoid some serious carnage.
But the real story was just beginning to be told.
North Dandy had triers, led by Craig Gunawardana (22) and Nasrat Mulkezada (20), but provided no serious threat to the ridiculous depth of the Eagles’ bowling attack. Tim Fathers (2/13), along with Marty (2/15) and Cam Kelly (2/15) were the pick of the home side’s eight bowling options.
HEINZ SOUTHERN DISTRICTS v LYNDALE
WOW… what a difference seven days can make… just ask HSD (170) who turned its fortunes around in stunning style to take the points against Lyndale (59) at Reedy Reserve.
Resuming in all sorts of trouble at 5/67, the home side recovered, courtesy of a momentum-changing 66-run stand between Shehan Bandaranayake (53) and Michael Davies (25). Paul Stockdale (19 not out) then dished out some lower-order pain for the visitors, who collapsed in reply.
HSD was ferocious, with Davies (3/10), Justin Davis (3/10) and Chad Van Estrop (3/13) taking just 24 overs to secure their sides first points for the season.
PARKFIELD v BUCKLEY RIDGES
PARKFIELD (7/157) scored its second win for the season, chasing down Buckley’s (154) mediocre score from day one.
No individual Parkfield scores were available at time of going to press, but for Buckley, Lukas Hoogenboom (3/49), Matt Goodwright (2/22) and Wes Nicholas (2/49) kept their gloves up in a losing fight.
MORDIALLOC v BERWICK
TOO much time was lost on day one, meaning the much anticipated clash between Mordialloc (0/62) and Berwick (8/187dec) petered out to a draw at Mordialloc’s Ben Kavanagh Reserve.
The Bears resumed on 2/51, but slipped to 4/52 as Mordialloc’s Stuart Squires (5/27) made early inroads. Those two wickets stopped the Bears from having an aggressive approach, with survival becoming the key and the draw a red-hot favourite.
Dushan Wickramarathna (74), Bathiya Perera (28) and Dan Brown (26) did well to repel Squire’s advances, before Leon Kennedy (50 not out) and Tim Richardson (10 not out) saw the home side through to stumps with the loss of no wicket.
DANDENONG WEST v HALLAM KALORA PARK
Dandenong West (160) put its feet up after securing victory, and a top-four berth, over Hallam-Kalora Park (105) over the Victoria Derby weekend at Greaves Reserve.
COOMOORA v SPRINGVALE SOUTH
COOMOORA (74) and Springvale South (1/75) also lock horns in a one-day contest (due to last week’s weather blowing the cover off the pitch prior to day one of the round) at Coomoora Reserve on Sunday. Wielding the willow to great effect for Springvale South were Craig Slocombe (39 not out), Nathan King (29) and Ruwantha P. Kellepotha (4 not out).
THIS WEEK (Round 4 – Day 1): Lyndale v Cranbourne, Berwick v Dandenong West, Hallam Kalora Park v Parkfield, North Dandenong v Coomoora, Buckley Ridges v Heinz Southern Districts and Springvale South v Mordialloc.
