By Jonty Ralphsmith
Pakenham and Tooradin each made a statement in round seven of the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association Premier competition.
In-form Lions middle-order batter Dominic Paynter had the breakout innings he’s been threatening to score all summer, reaching 164 off just 168 deliveries to give Pakenham control of the match.
The visitors reached 6/367 at Kooweerup.
Entering at 3/49 with the match in the balance, Paynter fed off Zac Chaplin’s free-flowing batting, with the pair putting on 76 off the first 11 overs of their 120-run partnership.
Chaplin scored 72 off 101 batting at number three, lifting his tempo when Paynter arrived at the crease, allowing the centurion to find his rhythm.
In a season which until Saturday had relied on bit-part contributions from batters, Chaplin and Paynter have been the most consistent.
Their ability to reach another gear in a two-day game against arguably the best bowling attack in the competition bodes well for a side in the premiership frame.
For Kooweerup, Luke McMaster was the pick of the bowlers, sending down a largely unrewarded but economical 15 over spell upfront which included three consecutive maidens.
At Gunton Oval, Cardinia struggled to a score of 100, with opening bowler Tyler Evans and tweaker Bailey Lownds putting Tooradin in a commanding position.
After a disciplined opening spell that included the breakthrough of Alex Nooy, he returned to rip through the tail.
Lownds tied down the middle-order in a 16-over spell that yielded figures of 2/10, while fellow spinner Connor O’Riordan also took wickets include the breakthrough of Bulls skipper Mark Cooper.
In response, Tooradin sits at 2/26 with star batter Cal O’Hare and night watcher Ben Parrott dismissed.
Elsewhere, Devon Meadows is well placed to move within half a game of the top four, trailing Upper Beaconsfield by 135 runs with eight wickets in hand.
The Maroons were dismissed for 178 and are still yet to pass 200 this season.
Nathan Kleinig and Zachary Bates survived until stumps for the Panthers, but the Maroons will feel in the game having dismissed Lucas Ligt for 34.
At Clyde, a 63-run 10th wicket partnership between Adam Fisher and Brendan Fairlam lifted Merinda Park from a paltry sub-200 score to potentially defendable 251.
Daniel McCalman, Tobias Van Den Heever, Campbell Bryan, Tyson Bertrand and Bevin Corneille all passed 20 but failed to reach 50 in an innings of starts for the Cobras.
Ankush Rana bowled aggressively for the Cougars and finished with 4/49.
A win for Clyde would keep it within touching distance of the top four, while the bottom-placed Cobras will be looking to close the gap between itself and Upper Beaconsfield.
