By RUSSELL BENNETT
WEST GIPPSLAND CRICKET ASSOCIATION
REVIEW – ROUND 13 (DAY 2)
MERINDA PARK clinched its first win over Tooradin on Saturday since winning its way into the Premier tier and man of the moment Jamie Smith played a huge role in the home side’s victory.
The Merinda Park player-coach strode to the crease as a night-watchman late on day one, but as Cobras captain Danny Diwell said in these pages in our last edition: “He can definitely hold a bat in his own right – he’s no mug. He’s made plenty of runs in the MPCA and he really deserves some runs.”
Resuming at 1/15 at Donnelly Reserve on Saturday, chasing Tooradin’s modest 166, Smith (59) and opener Daniel McCalman (78) put on a 129-run stand to essentially guide their team to victory. But from 2/141, the Cobras lost another four wickets before eventually wrapping the contest up at 6/170. There’s clearly still plenty left to work on with willow in hand, but McCalman – Merinda Park’s best batsman this season – said the result proved the side could beat any opponent on its day.
“We know we have what it takes now,” he said.
“The conditions were tough out there (on Saturday) – it was pretty hot – but the longer we stayed out there the easier it became.
“Twig (Smith) and I wanted to get through the first five or 10 overs to start with but we really had to dig in against Hammer (Steve Hamill) and Azz (Aaron Avery) as long as we could.
“It was tough work out there for the bowlers, too, and I thought they bowled well.”
McCalman said his side was wary of falling into the trap of getting too defensive in chasing a smaller total.
“Against Upper Beac we were chasing 90 and we were all out for 70-odd,” he said.
“You have to be positive – no matter what the total you’re chasing is.”
After starting off the season well from a personal perspective, McCalman went through a rough patch of form either side of Christmas and he’s hoping Saturday’s innings has him back on track.
“I just try to keep it simple and play straight,” he said.
Hamill finished with 3/50 from 18 overs; while importantly for the Gulls, Avery – who has battled injuries throughout the season – opened the bowling and got through 20 overs to finish with 2/50.
While the likes of McCalman and Kooweerup skipper Michael Giles look to have struck some form right at the business end of the season, one of the league’s most dangerous hitters notched his first half-century since a Twenty20 Kookaburra Cup clash in November.
Cardinia player-coach Simon Parrott (64 not out) put on an undefeated 129-run stand with Alex Nooy (also 64 not out) to steer their side to a strong 3/195 in 40 overs from their rain-shortened match against Beaconsfield at Holm Park Road.
In the other Premier results of the round, Pakenham (8/206) – led by a stunning 7/17 from gun all-rounder Russell Lehman – proved far too much for Upper Beaconsfield (107) to handle; and Kooweerup (9/260) defeated Emerald (187) off the back of strong batting performances from Matt Bright (96) and Matt Davey (80).
In District division, Cranbourne Meadows (8/311) defeated Lyndhurst (299) in a high-scoring battle; Devon Meadows (6/173) upset Pakenham Upper-Toomuc (155); Officer (8/182) defeated St Francis Xavier (109); and Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll (63 and 4/92) was no match for Clyde (136).
