By David Nagel
A sparkling all-round effort from Kasun Balasuriya has propelled Carlisle Park (144) to its first win of the season against a luck-deserted Clyde (134) at Ramlegh Reserve on Saturday.
Balasuriya came to the crease with his team in all sorts of trouble at 3/7, after his skipper Ben Perry called correctly and elected to bat first.
Clyde openers Roshan Bandara (6-1-18-4) and Max Adams (8-1-21-2) were well nourished early; hitting the right spots and claiming the scalps of Hasintha Jayasuriya (5), Ethan Davies (0) and Mark Henry (0) in quick succession.
Balasuriya and Perry (17) then settled in for a much-needed fightback…reassessing their target-score in an attempt to be competitive.
The pair put on an innings-reviving 39-run stand before Perry became the first of three victims for Brett Reid (8-1-29-3).
The Vikings were now 4/46, and soon 5/60, after the experienced David Nutting (9) had his stumps disturbed by the unwavering accuracy of Cougars’ off-spinner Daniel Lever.
Balasuriya and Habara Perera (21) then nudged the total towards the century mark, before Perera gave Adams his second wicket for the innings.
Kasun was then joined by his brother Jaan (31); taking the score to a competitive 120 with a steadying 22-run stand.
Jaan then repeated the dose with Duke Miller (3), who played his role as vital runs were added to the total.
Would 144 be enough…with both teams chasing their first wins for the season?
The Balasuriya boys then struck some massive blows; with Kasun (8-2-16-3) having the dangerous Michael Vandort (8) removed, before Jaan joined the party…catching Trevor Bauer off his own bowling for just 8.
Kasun then claimed the critical wicket of Reid, and when he trapped Ryan Adams (4) in front of his stumps…the Vikings were up and about with their opponents struggling badly at 4/23.
But the wise heads of ‘Teddy’ Fonseka (39) and Mahie Bodahandi (24) then steadied the ship for the Cougars to set up a thrilling finish.
A true captain’s knock from Zac Davis (33) got the Cougars close…but some wonderful bowling at the death from Ryan Zealley (4.5-1-15-3) made the difference in the end.
Zealley claimed three of the last four wickets to fall; including the final wicket of Davis, who fell off the eighth-last ball of the match.
The result saw the Vikings leap-frog the Cougars into seventh place, with Clyde continuing to be competitive but facing a tough task against Tooradin in the second of the weekend one-dayers on Sunday.
If you bowl a bad ball to Kooweerup (7/169) opener Chris ‘Wombat’ Bright (74) …you will get punished, as Merinda Park (125) discovered in an otherwise competitive contest against the Demons at Tony Way Reserve.
The hard-hitting opener has had a shaky start to the season, but enhanced his free-flowing reputation with a clinical display with the willow.
Bright faced just 56 balls for his 74 runs on Saturday, with a high-percentage 16 of those deliveries hitting the boundary ropes.
Bright dominated an 84-run opening partnership with Luke McMaster (15), before falling a short-time later himself.
The Demons then wasted their fast-start with some poor batting through the top-to-middle order.
From 1/95, the Demons were soon 6/122…losing 5/27, as Mat Campbell (8-1-27-2), Tyson Bertrand (8-1-26-2) and Bevin Corneille (8-1-35-2) fought their way into the contest.
The Cobras don’t have a menacing attack…but have looked organised in the field when they get it right.
One player who has been getting it right in the early part of the season is Lachie Ramage (38 not out) …who once again dug the Demons out of a hot spot.
Ramage remained unconquered for the season on Saturday night, with his 38 added to earlier unbeaten scores of 11 and 23 in rounds one and two.
His unbeaten 47-run partnership with Suchintha Lakshan (19 not out) ensured the Demons took the momentum into the second half of the contest.
The Cobras were in trouble early, at 2/9, with the pace of Luke McMaster (7-2-24-2) proving too hot for Rumesh Ranasinghe (2) and Adam Fisher (0) to handle.
When round-one century-maker Corneille (13) departed the scene, it gave Lakshan (8-2-24-3) the first of three wickets and the Demons the upper hand.
Raveen Kadirahettiarachchi (21), Cambell Bryan (18) and Campbell (25) gave the Cobras some fleeting hope…which was crushed immediate by three consecutive run outs.
The Demons were still not at their best, but remained undefeated after round three…while it’s becoming increasingly obvious what the Cobras main target will be this year.
Games against Cardinia, Carlisle Park, Clyde and Devon Meadows will determine their finishing position this season.
Pakenham (7/172) has bounced back strongly from its round-two loss to Tooradin with a testing run-chase against Cardinia (8/171) at Toomuc Reserve on Saturday.
Chasing more than four runs an over for victory is never easy; and with Pakenham’s five best players in the sheds with still 58 runs required…this one was up for grabs!
Chris Smith (44), Jack Anning (29) and Rob Elston (20) had threatened to take the game away from the Bulls, but when Morteza Ali had Elston caught by Danny Salvato, this was game on.
The Lions have relied heavily on their much-vaunted top-order in recent seasons, but needed lower-order resistance on Saturday, and needed it fast.
In great signs for the Lions, Stuart Johnson (31 not out) relished the step up from A Grade to guide the home-side to victory, while a valuable knock from Nick Sadler (20) backed up some promising signs against the Seagulls last week.
Travis Wheller (8-3-20-2), skipper Dean Henwood (8-2-16-1) and Matt Welsh (7-3-28-2) gave everything for the Bulls, but to no avail.
Earlier in the day, a 74-run partnership between opener Alex Nooy (41) and number-four Jacobus Hynes (57) had the Bulls in a strong position.
But the Lions fought back well, with Smith (8-0-37-3) taking three of the last four wickets to fall…which fell for just 20 runs.
The Lions conceded 24 extras…which made their chase just that little bit more difficult.
The Lions ended Saturday with a 2-1 record, the reverse of the Bulls on 1-2.
Tooradin continued its perfect start to the season on Saturday (6/240) and provided a reality check in the process after a 153-run romp over Devon Meadows (87).
Batting first at Glover Reserve, the Gulls lost a couple of quick ones but soon found their rhythm with the stick in hand.
Mick (52) and Pete Sweeney (53) were once again outstanding for the Seagulls, sharing an 85-run stand that took the game away from the home side.
The Sweeney’s then handed over to Tom Hussey (43) and Russ Lehman (54 not out), with the right-left combination bringing the Panthers to their knees.
Hussey backed up his classy 44 against Pakenham last week with another stylish display, while the knock of Lehman showed just how difficult the Gulls are going to be to defeat for this season’s title.
He became the fourth Gull to score a fifty, with five others likely to join that club by season’s end.
Minus their star batter Lucas Ligt for the weekend, the Panthers were never a chance, with Jakeb McVicar (26) the high-point at the top of the batting list.
Lehman (5-0-8-2) and Kallan Braid-Ball (5-0-20-2) were superb early for the Seagulls, before Tyler Evans (5-1-14-4) ran through the mid-to-lower order with gusto.
