By David Nagel
Cricket premierships are never won in November – but the current top four teams in the CCCA District Division have the ideal opportunity this week to rubber stamp their credentials for future glory.
Day one – round five – saw the top four collide, with fourth-placed Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (300) taking the fight up to undefeated Officer, while the clash between second-placed Cranbourne Meadows and Lang Lang (234) looks evenly balanced heading into day two.
In other games, Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (174) is searching for outright points against District newcomers Melbourne Sixers (97 and 1/18), while Carlisle Park (6/300) looks well placed to earn its second win of the season against Emerald.
The key to challenging Officer is denying the Bullants early breakthroughs, and that’s exactly what took place at Spencer Street on Saturday with Marygoon’s skipper James Markland (14) and his deputy Troy Ferguson (89) repelling the new-ball attack.
After winning the toss, Markland was circumspect early – paying respect to the dangerous new-ball duo of Cooper Pursell (2/92) and Devon Gabriel-Brown (1/57) – while Ferguson punished anything wide of its intended target.
He forced Pursell to take himself out of the attack after hitting the lefty for three boundaries in the 13th over of the match; an over before things started to take a turn.
Pursell and Gabriel-Brown both struggled to make an impact, but veteran medium pacer Dan Irvine (4/71) wasted little time in putting his unique stamp on proceedings.
The 52-year-old soon had Markland heading for the sheds – trapping the skipper dead in front – before Kade Perkins gleefully accepted a catch from Nick Mueller (3) to give Irvine his second scalp for the afternoon.
Daniel Rodger (2) was then run out by Ash Smith, who then caught Maninder Singh (12) off the bowling of Irvine to give the veteran his third.
Irvine just puts the ball on the spot and does a little with it both ways; always challenging the batter’s technique and patience.
One who did survive was Ferguson, a new recruit for the Marygoons who looks set for a successful summer.
He crunched 18 boundaries on Saturday, just one less than his 10 teammates combined, and appears a player to watch as the season rolls on.
Ferguson dominated the pre-tea session of play, but was out in the 29th over after Jaswinder Gill accepted a catch off the bowling of Smith (1/43).
The Marygoons were 5/124, with their entire top-order gone…and the scales could have tipped either way.
But the home side dug in, with fighting knocks from Gayan De Silva (42), Yasatha Kariyawasam (40), Niluka Gamage (33), Qasim Ali (19), Wil Taylor (12) and an unbeaten knock from Noah Hall (20 not out) pushing the total to an even 300.
Irvine was the clear pick of the bowlers, with Gabriel-Brown taking his only wicket after tea and Pursell cashing in late with the final two wickets of the innings.
Openers Gill and Chathura Imbulagoda hold the key to the chase when play resumes at 1pm this Saturday.
A brilliant 214-run partnership between skipper Kasun Balasuriya (119 not out) and Adam Hassan (94) has put Carlisle Park (6/300) in a commanding position against Emerald.
Balasuriya won the toss and batted on his home deck, but at 4/73 – with Ethan Crosher (3/41) taking early wickets – he would have doubted his first big decision of the match.
But Balasuriya, who carved 11 fours from 192 balls at the crease, found an able ally in Hassan, who cracked eight boundaries and a maximum from his 153-ball vigil.
The pair lifted the tempo at the right times, batting for exactly 50 overs, before Hassan departed from the first ball of the 79th over…just six runs short of a well-deserved century.
Trent Rolfs (2/88) claimed the only two wickets to fall after tea; gaining just reward for his 24 overs of toil.
A blazing half century from captain Oshadha Ariyadasa (75 from 58 balls) has pushed home-side Lang Lang (234) to a competitive score against Cranbourne Meadows.
Opener Will Wykes (51 off 172 balls) and second-drop Theekshana Hettiarachchi (72 off 132) laid the base for the Swampies, with very little support from their teammates.
Disciplined bowling from Mandhiraj Singh (3/80 off 24) had put the Rebels in a strong position, before the late flurry from Ariyadasa squared things away after 80 overs.
The skipper cracked five boundaries and a six in his 58-ball stay, which was very much needed by his side: with the winner of this one to sit in second position after five rounds of the season gone by.
And Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (174) is aiming for an outright victory after securing back-to-back first innings wins against Melbourne Sixers (97 and 1/18) at Harry Blackman Oval.
Fresh off defeating Emerald in round four, the Yabbies steamrolled through the Sixers, with a fit and revitalised Lucas Plozza (5/12 off 8) doing as he pleased through the mid-to-lower order.
Udesh Perera (51) was the only Sixer to shine in 29.1 overs of carnage.
The Yabbies then clicked over at better than four runs per over, with Mitchell Mibus (58) and Casey Thomsen (25) the best of eight players to make their way into double figures.
Perera (3/24) and Jackey Patel (3/43) were best for the Sixers, who still trail by 59 runs with nine second-innings wickets in the sheds.
