By David Nagel
It feels a little strange to write this – but three teams that lost by a combined total of 463 runs walked away with their heads held high in the CCCA Premier Division on Saturday.
An extraordinary opening day of round 12 left Merinda Park (368), Carlisle Park (447) and Clyde (400) with virtually impossible run-chases on the weekend, but all three acquitted themselves well.
Normally you would expect one of the bottom three teams in the competititon to roll over and die in such circumstances, but the three remaining teams in the relegation battle can head into the final two rounds of the season with their confidence in check.
The one game that retained a competitive balance heading into day-two was the clash between Kooweerup (9/255) and Devon Meadows (9/228) at Denhams Road, where the Demons had a tricky run-chase on their hands.
And at 2/31 it became even trickier after Lucas Ligt (16-3-55-3) and Tom Rowe (10.1-0-40-2) removed Lachie Ramage (1) and Suchintha Lakshan (3) in quick succession.
Kooweerup’s two big guns – Luke McMaster (36) and Chris Bright (58) – then chipped away nicely at the total, but the Demons were 4/114 with both of those players in the sheds.
We might look back at this game as the ‘changing of the guard’ for Kooweerup, with Steven Dillon (75) and Mitch Davey (40) taking responsibility to get their team across the line.
It’s no coincidence that Dillon and Davey were chosen as co-captains for the Demons’ successful Kookaburra Cup campaign recently, with both recognised as future leaders of the club.
At age 29, Dillon has already experienced leadership responsibilities throughout his career at other clubs, but held no such place in that ‘leadership’ status at Kooweerup.
That domain was held by Bright, Michael Giles and now McMaster, but Dillon’s growth as a cricketer has been outstanding.
This has well-and-truly been his breakout season, with 338 runs to his name; 157 (82 not out and 75) of those being match-winning.
He also sits equal-12th in the competition with the ball, taking 15 wickets for the season.
While Dillon has matured as a cricketer, Davey looks finally set to realise his enormous potential after back injuries threatened to ruin a highly-promising junior career.
Standing roughly 195cm, his combination of pace, bounce, and being a lefty, makes him a difficult proposition to handle.
And his clean hitting also makes him dangerous with the bat.
Both forms of his game are still nowhere near their top, but Saturday’s innings will give him the confidence to take things to the next level.
Dillon and Davey put on a crucial partnership of 80, taking the score to 4/194 and the Demons to relatively safe ground.
They made hard work of the remaining 35 runs for victory…passing the Panthers seven down.
Cody Miller (18) then made his highest Premier Division score for the season, in a campaign that has only consisted of six hits.
Who knows…those runs could be highly-valuable come late March.
Ligt took bowling honours for the Panthers, with his three wickets well supported by Rowe and Lucas Carroll (14-1-78-2).
Kooweerup host Merinda Park in round 13, while Devon Meadows face a tough trip to ladder leaders Tooradin.
Clyde (9/288) will take a healthy dose of momentum into this week’s crunch game against Carlisle Park after the Cougars produced their highest score of the season against Tooradin (5/399).
The Cougars produced an incredible looking scorecard, with the top-10 on their list all making double figures.
Nick Miles (74) knocked in his first half-century for the season, while classy left-hander Michael Vandort (54) produced his highest score from 12 completed innings.
Teddy Fonseka (38) and skipper Zac Davis (25) were others to shine bright as the Cougars did well to bat out their 80 overs.
The Seagulls threw the ball around on the weekend, with nine bowlers having a trundle.
Josh Lownds (3/30) completed a spectacular all-round performance – backing up his 116 from day one – while Ben Mantel (2/23) chimed in with the last two wickets to fall.
The Gulls host Devon Meadows this week, while the Cougars head to Carlisle Park for a must-win encounter.
The Cougars just need to win to confirm their Premier Division status next season.
Carlisle Park (212) proved it will be a tough nut to crack for the Cougars this week after the Vikings batted deep against Cardinia (3/446).
There’s no ‘rule-book or master-plan’ on how to bat when you’re chasing 447 for victory, but the Vikings decided it was best to dig in for the long haul.
Hasintha Jayasuriya (55) took his season-tally to 291 with an impressive second half-century, while skipper Ben Perry (60) broke through the 300-run barrier after a back-to-back 50.
Perry has now made 331 for the season and is the highest scoring Viking, just ahead of Kasun Balasuriya (325).
Jaan Balasuriya (23) and David Nutting (17) made some valuable lower-order runs to push the home side past 200.
For the Bulls, skipper Dean Henwood (3/32) jumped into the top-10 wicket-takers for the season with a typically tidy spell, while Matt Welsh (3/44) joined his captain in the three-wicket club.
Josh Browne (2/40) was also impressive…taking the key wickets of Perry and Mark Henry (11).
Cardinia host Pakenham this week in what should be a cracking game of cricket.
And Pakenham (8/367) had little trouble defending its huge score against Merinda Park (249) after James Close (3/48) did some early damage with the ball.
The improving youngster removed Tyson Bertrand (3) and Bevin Corneille (15) before the score had reached 20 to put the Cobras on the back foot from the get-go.
The silky-skilled Daniel McCalman (64) looked in glittering touch for the home-side, while Luke Dinger (79) surprised with a mid-order cameo.
Dinger faced 124 balls and cracked 10 boundaries, adding significantly to the 12 previous runs he had made in the Premier Division this season.
Jordan Bertrand (22) and Rajan Rana (18) also dug in for the Cobras, who perished with 13 overs left to bat.
Dale Tormey (2/48) and Chris Smith (2/49) joined Close as multiple wicket-takers for the Lions; with Smith backing up his magnificent 210 not out from day one.
Three Votes: C Smith!
