By JARROD POTTER
DDCA Turf 1 – Round 9 (day 2)
ANOTHER outright victory, this time miraculously from a 99-run first innings tally, rocketed Cranbourne clear of the chasing pack in the race for DDCA finals.
PARKFIELD v CRANBOURNE
WITH two innings completed on the first day, Cranbourne (6/173dec) was able to set the pace on Saturday in the only way it knows how – through and over the boundary. The stand and deliver play from Te Ahu Davis (38) – two fours, three sixes – Ben Maroney (33) – five fours and a six – and captain Steven Spoljaric (28 not out) – six fours – left the Bears sore and sorry after the opening salvo, despite the best efforts of Nilochana Perera (3/61) and Shane Bell (2/70).
Taking only 41 overs to flog a whopping 225-run lead, Spoljaric sent his troops back in to his former clubrooms at Dunblane Reserve in order to hunt down outright win number three this season.
Despite a gallant knock from Perera (72), the rest of the Bears’ cove crumbled under pressure from Steven Miller (4/24) – promoted from Turf 3 this round – and Martin Kelly (2/23). Perera would hole out to Davis off Miller at 6/145 and from there on it was a matter of when, not if, Cranbourne would snare the maximum triumph.
The win gives the Eagles an eight-point lead atop the DDCA Turf 1 table before its first versus second showdown against Springvale South this round. Parkfield sits 10 points out of the final four and will need a miracle from here to have a chance at defending their 2013/14 premiership.
HEINZ SOUTHERN DISTRICTS v BERWICK
KEEPING their season alive, the Cobras (9/367) easily chased down the Bears (156) on the back of a Matt Cox (114) century.
Needing to win to stay in touch with the top four, Heinz Southern Districts flew out of the gates to erase any Berwick hopes.
The early hiccups of last week, falling to 4/65, were removed instantly as Cox and Shehan Bandaranayake (53) put on 118 and most importantly, took the first innings points. The Cobras batted on as the shadows lengthened with Cox pushing on to knock in his third Turf 1 century as he returned to the exceptional form from last season that earned him 557 runs at a whopping 55.7.
Cox would lose his stumps after an exceptional knock, bowled by Jarrod Goodes (3/86), but not after adding another hundred with Michael Davies (99) – who joined the smack about as he walloped six boundaries and five huge sixes around Reedy Reserve.
Davies cost himself his third DDCA century – and what would have been his first in Turf 1 – after Goodes knocked over his castle. Stumps finally arrived to save the Bears from any further horror, with Adam Watson (3/90) the only other Bear to significantly find the wicket column.
Seventh placed Berwick – only four points removed from third placed Mordialloc – heads to bottom-placed Coomoora this week while fourth placed Heinz Southern Districts has a do-or-die clash against sixth North Dandenong.
HALLAM KALLORA PARK v COOMOORA
GALLANT in defeat, Coomoora (166 and 1/75) didn’t just fold in the face of a whopping tally from Hallam Kalora Park (6/265). Led by Charith Fernando (48) and Saliya Saman (26), the real damage to the Hawks came from their own bowlers as they sprayed 30 extras in the 55-over innings. It would pose no real difference in the long term as Ben Hall (3/19), Will Whyte (2/19) and Amila Perera (2/41) took the visitors to task – causing a seven-wicket slump. The Kangaroos fell from 3/114 to dismissed for 166 in the blink of an eye and requiring another 99 to avoid outright defeat, were sent back in for Round 2.
This time around the Kangaroos held their own as Lance Baptist (40 not out) and Saman (25 not out) ensured the day’s play was reached without risk of another outright loss. The win has Hallam Kalora Park sitting only percentage outside the top four before its clash with Mordialloc while Coomoora’s second last chance to earn some points this season comes against Berwick at home this round.
