By David Nagel
Dandenong West (226) has leapfrogged Beaconsfield (201) into the top four of the DDCA Turf 1 competition after Nuwan Kulasekara (5/24) led the Maroons to a crucial 25-run win over the Tigers at Perc Allison Oval.
On an ideal day for batting, the Bulls needed to make early inroads and it was Kulasekara who answered the prayers of his captain Anthony Brannan.
Kulasekara rattled the woodwork of out-of-form Tigers’ opener Tyler Clark (0) and number-three Sasith Livera (3) to have the home side in all sorts of trouble at 2/4.
Beaconsfield’s reply came via a steady innings from Andrey Fernando (26), who handed over to Abaseen Taniwal (40) and skipper Susantha Pradeep (53) for the crucial partnership of the day.
Taniwal and Pradeep had the Tigers in command at 3/133, but an inability to convert those impressive starts into a match-winning contribution would soon prove costly.
Pradeep fell to Adam Reid (2/47) to make it 4/133, and when Taniwal hit Malinga Bandara (2/58) to a jubilant Riley Siwes – on the same score – the Bulls were licking their lips at the prospect of victory.
Kulasekara then removed Ashan Madhushanka (8), Joel Matthews (1) and Mitch Tielen (4) in quick succession and the visitors were almost home.
Michael Dunstan (31) then gave the Tigers a glimmer of hope before Bandara ruined the party.
Brannan was a relived Bulls’ skipper; knowing 226 was a reasonable score on day one but it could have been much better.
“Probably bit a bit of column A and column B to be honest,” Brannon began.
“Anytime you’ve got over 200 you’ve probably got enough to play with, but you have to bowl well.
“Having said that, we felt like we left 30 to 50 out there, with eight overs to bat, and a lot of blokes, including myself, getting to 15 to 25.
“That’s when you feel like you’re in and should get a few more, but we were guilty through the middle order of not doing that and that stopped us from getting to 250 to 280…which would have been more than enough.
“We feel like we bat deep and the aim is to bat 80 overs; if we do that, we feel like we won’t lose too many games of cricket.”
The Bulls have now won three and lost two, with their back-to-back wins against Narre South and Beacy coming hot on the heels of consecutive losses to North Dandenong and Hallam Kalora Park.
Their next three, against Buckley Ridges, Berwick and Springvale South, will give us a greater understanding of where the Bulls truly sit in the pecking order.
“I think we’ve proven, over five games now, that we’re competitive; even though we understand we haven’t played Buckley Ridges or Springvale South because of the wet weather early in the season,” Brannon said.
“We feel like we belong, we feel like we compete with everyone, but we know we have to get better, because our next opponent, Buckley Ridges, is a team that has performed well for many years.
“We know they’ve got good players, but so do we, and if they make a mistake and we capitalise on them; we’re right in the game.
“We look forward to this weekend, because won Turf 2 so we could get into Turf 1 and take on the powerhouse clubs.
“We’ll go in with a positive attitude and see where that takes us.
“If we’ve got 200 on the board, we’re a chance, because we’re bowling well and creating chances.
“We just need to hold those chances.”
Beaconsfield, meanwhile, will need to begin converting starts into meaningful scores, or its slide down the ladder will continue.
The Tigers have now had 17 innings of 20 or better this season, with Pradeep (79 and 53) and Taniwal (51) the only players to kick on to a half century.
Their batting stocks will be tested on an away trip to Springvale South this week, before a home game against Narre South rounds out its 2024 campaign.
Kulasekara and the Bulls will look to make it three wins on the trot when they host the Bucks at Greaves Reserve.
TURF 1 SUMMARY
ROUND 7 RESULTS
North Dandenong 160 and 1/19 def by Hallam Kalora Park 9d/279. Beaconsfield 201 def by Dandenong West 226. Berwick 3/269 def Narre South 265. Buckley Ridges 269 def by Springvale South 3/277.
LADDER
Hallam Kalora Park 30, Buckley Ridges 30, Springvale South 24, Dandenong West 24/ Beaconsfield 18, Berwick 18, Narre South 12, North Dandenong 12.
FIXTURE – R8
Hallam Kalora Park (1) v Berwick (6)
Narre South (7) v North Dandenong (8)
Dandenong West (4) v Buckley Ridges (2)
Springvale South (3) v Beaconsfield (5)
