By Jonty Ralphsmith
The top four teams in the Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) Turf 2 competition have separated themselves from the pack after the first post-Christmas weekend of action.
A late Cranbourne collapse of 4/7 against Heinz Southern Districts (HSD) at Casey Fields saw it fall 19 runs short, leaving its season languishing.
In a game of momentum swings, HSD finished with it on their side to now sit second on the ladder and in a strong position to back up its grand final appearance last season.
Meanwhile, Mick Sweeney’s men sit equal bottom of the table and two games outside the top four with six games remaining in a home and away season where they were viewed by many as clear favourites for the premiership.
Between their two wins there have been several tight losses, which has put them in a position where they can probably only lose one more game if they are to qualify for finals.
“You analyse where you’re going wrong and for most games when I look back at them, it’s either been a 50-50 game in the balance situation, or we’ve been in control and we’ve probably lost 10-15 per cent of the match through two big moments…or because of contextual or decision-making mistakes,” Mick Sweeney said.
“I think talking about relegation or finals with where we’re at is a moot point, we need to get back to the process and individuals need to have a look at what made them successful in the last two years when we’ve finished in the top two.
“Maybe I need to change my messaging a little bit, maybe what was being received well in the past, you could get stuck going through the motions of the same message.
“(We don’t want) to overhaul either because we’re putting ourselves in positions to win, so we don’t want to have the adverse affect of giving too many players who aren’t ready a go, and they flounder, and you lose and lose worse, so there’s plenty to think about.”
On Saturday, Cranbourne’s bowling attack had HSD on the ropes at 6/92, but their death bowling let them down.
Kevin Seth pumped 41, as did Jett Kearney, batting at eight and averaging just 5.66 for the season from five previous hits, which gave the HSD attack something to bowl at.
Sitting at 4/36, victory seemed a long way away for Cranbourne, but three consecutive 30-plus run partnerships got the home side back into it.
Peter Sweeney controlled the innings with an innings of 56, combining with Matt Collett (23), Pardeep Boyal (21) and Jakeb Thomas (16) as the hosts inched towards the target.
But the dismissal of Thomas sparked the collapse, Ryan Patterson being brought on late and taking two wickets, while there was also two runouts.
Peter Sweeney led the way for Cranbourne, the Turf 2 leading wicket-taker opening up with his left arm orthodox and snaring 2/17 off 12 overs before his controlled half century.
Thomas also bowled his best spell for the season, getting 2/32 off his eight overs.
At Perc Allison Reserve, Beaconsfield tasted defeat for the first time this season, falling seven runs short of Narre Warren.
The visitors established partnerships and maintained free-flowing run-scoring throughout the innings en-route to 8/208.
Luke Clarke (30), Zach Allen (43) and Chamara Liyanaarachchi (30) got Narre Warren off to a flyer before Mark Cooper and Ashan Madushanka looked to get the hosts back into it.
The pair were the only wicket-takers, collecting four apiece from their 12 overs, before lower-order bats Bevan Radhakrishnan and Daniel Boyle each made 35 to bump the score above 200.
Tyler Clark and Cooper were back to the best at the top of the order, each passing 50, with Clarke scoring 62 runs in a 90-run opening partnership.
Cooper kept the scoreboard ticking over with the middle order before he was run out by Allen, his team ultimately lacking an experienced head to guide the run-chase after that as their tight loss came with still three wickets in the shed.
Cameron Dinger collected two important late wickets to stall the mild momentum Beaconsfield had established.
The continued strength of Beaconsfield’s opening partnership does leave some question marks around the rest of their batting line-up, which Cooper will want his side to sure up prior to finals.
Doveton’s batting, meanwhile, let it down against Keysborough, as the 123 the Doves put on the board was chased down easily by Keysy, which was in desperate need of a win.
Tellingly, the total was the most Doveton has managed all season, the bowlers generally carrying the team to be competitive.
The opening pair of Ricky Johnson and Kaine Bundy put on 65, but Nathan Wilson’s men couldn’t capitalise on that platform, with number nine Mustafa Nader (23 off 24) the only other player to pass 10.
Spinners Yohan Arumadura (3/19 off 12) and Christo Otto (3/41 off 12) went through the order with three each before Jonathan Mohamed (21 off 69), Mehakdeep Singh (21 off 27) and Stephen Hennessy (29 off 39) laid the foundations with the bat in a six wicket win with 73 balls to spare.
Positively for the Doves, big-hitting opener Mitch Daley and ex-England cricketer Darren Pattinson were absent and will be handy inclusions going forward to bulk up the batting order.
The victory for bottom-placed Keysborough sees it draw level with Parkfield and Cranbourne on points as the end of the season draws nearer.
“Christo said ‘let’s start again’; we had to be honest after we had results not go our way at the start of the season,” said Keysy president and First XI player, Daniel McConville.
“It was pretty much like going out to a final.
“When the boys came back to the club, it was a little bit of a celebration but we know we still have work to do.
“It’s a different vibe when you’re winning.
“We were probably bowling one bad ball an over and releasing the pressure whereas on the weekend we bowled dot balls and had maidens which built the pressure.”
Lyndale proved far too strong for Parkfield in the other Turf 2 match, winning by 58 runs to solidify a top-four spot
A silver-lining for Parkfield was Matthew Goodier, who played just two games in the first half of the season, finding form opening the batting and bowling, nabbing 3/34 and hitting a quickfire 59.
TURF 2 LADDER
Beaconsfield 36, HSD 30, Lyndale 30, Narre Warren 27, Doveton 18, Cranbourne 15, Keysborough 15, Parkfield 15.
FIXTURE – R9
HSD v Doveton, Keysborough v Cranbourne, Narre Warren v Lyndale, Parkfield v Beaconsfield.
