By Jonty Ralphsmith
Pakenham and Tooradin have opened up a buffer in the top two of the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association Premier competition, while Clyde and Devon Meadows continued their strong form in round seven.
The Lions proved that Kooweerup is beatable at home, comfortably defending 6/367 in a 117-run win.
Opening bowler Tom Tyrell broke through early before the hosts threw their best punch with a 119-run partnership between the always dangerous Chris Bright and in-form Ayden Mills, coming off a maiden First XI century.
Pakenham rotated their bowlers but no-one looked like breaking through, as Bright took it up to the Pakenham attack in typically bullocking fashion while Mills hunkered down and the pair looked set to take the game deep.
But a brilliant Jordan Seers spell on the cusp of tea changed the match, with the breakthrough of Bright soon followed by the wickets of Shiran Rathnayake for a rare low score and Luke McMaster.
Seers bowled nine overs before the break, with spinner Jason Williams supporting him expertly.
The durable veteran picked up three wickets including Mills just as he was looking to shift through the gears of his innings.
In his opening First XI game of the season, Chris O’Hara batted at six in a sign of the Demons’ batting depth.
Pakenham skipper Jack Anning spoke of his danger for the Lions prior to day two and he looked confident in a well-constructed 42 but saw five wickets fall at the other end which didn’t allow him to settle.
The victory lifts Pakenham into first spot on the ladder as the only remaining undefeated side and they look the most stable, with superstar opener Chris Smith still short on runs despite his team’s ominous form.
At Gunton Oval, Cardinia bowled tight lines to start the day but didn’t have enough runs to work with, defending just 100.
Josh Lownds didn’t bat with his usual fluency but was poised to anchor the run chase and spent more valuable time in the middle to continue a trusty season with the stick.
Lownds finished with 35 off 175, the fifth time in seven innings he has past 30.
Travis Wheller and Yohan Arumadura, in particular, will take some confidence from their frugal spells of bowling for Cardinia.
It was a similar story for Upper Beaconsfield, with the Maroons bowling lineup building pressure but not having enough runs to work with at Devon Meadows.
The visitors put just 178 runs on the board before being bowled out inside 53 overs – they’re still yet to pass 200 this season – which allowed Devon Meadows to take a measured approach after losing two wickets before stumps on day one.
Having scored two 40s without a half-century this season, Nathan Kleinig was in no rush, prioritising survival and remaining unbeaten on 55 off a mammoth 238 balls when the Panthers passed the target after 84 overs.
Zach Bates was similarly sedate, occupying the crease and putting a high price on his wicket in an innings of 59 off 152, before a contrastingly efficient 32 to the unbeaten Nathan Worsteling.
Clyde was untroubled in chasing down 251, keeping Merinda Park winless and moving itself to within a win of the top four.
Trevor Bauer and Kane Avard saw off the new ball, allowing Praveen Perera to bat with his usual flamboyancy.
The Cobras’ lack of bowling depth was again exposed, with opening bowler Tyson Bertrand a clear standout bowling a workmanlike 21 overs but didn’t get sustained support.
Perera hit three of his first nine balls to the rope and capitalised on the too-frequent looseners from the Merinda Park attack, finishing with an unbeaten 107 off 104 in a five-wicket Cougars win.
