By David Nagel
It’s had the potential from a long way out to be the best round of cricket for the season; and round 10 of the CCCA Premier Division looks set to live up to its billing on Saturday.
The top-four teams – all still with a realistic chance of finishing top-two and hosting a final – go head-to-head, with Tooradin hosting Kooweerup and Cardinia welcoming Pakenham to a recently scarified and very sandy Gunton Oval.
The ‘bottom-four’ matches also have huge potential, with Clyde facing the very real possibility of being third on the ladder on Saturday night if it can dispose of Upper Beaconsfield at Clyde.
If the Cougars win convincingly, and Cardinia and Kooweerup go down…we’re going to have a different looking ladder than what we’ve become accustomed to in recent years.
And Devon Meadows – currently in no-man’s land on the ladder – simply has to defeat bottom-placed Merinda Park at Glover Reserve to kickstart a revival and keep its faint finals hopes alive.
It’s a fine line-up of matches, beginning with the clash of the last two premiers – league heavyweights Tooradin and Kooweerup – at Tooradin.
TOORADIN V KOOWEERUP
The Seagulls, Tooradin, provide a very interesting case study, having faced fewer overs (324) than any other team in the competition and having made the second least number of runs (1352) behind Upper Beaconsfield (1213).
But while Upper Beaconsfield’s numbers simply come down to poor batting, the Gulls are on the list due to their dominance and efficiency.
The top-of-the-ladder Seagulls have bowled first in every game since round three and have not left one wicket remaining in the tank.
They’ve taken all 80 wickets on offer in seven games, including 20 scalps in an outright victory against Upper Beaconsfield in round five; and 10 against Kooweerup in round six…before day two was washed out.
Their only losing chase (232) was against Devon Meadows (270) in round four, while their five wins batting second have all been completely dominant.
They’ve taken 60 wickets in those five winning games, but have only lost 15 wickets in six hits in reply.
They’ve also left so many overs in the tank; and it’s scary to think just how high some of their scores could have been.
The Seagulls are averaging 37.56 runs per wicket lost this season, while claiming wickets at 16.93.
That’s why their percentage (2.22) is almost a full-point clear of second-best Kooweerup (1.36).
Tyler Evans and Connor O’Riordan have been the clear standouts with ball in hand this season, taking an evenly-balanced 39 wickets between them, while Josh Lownds, Dylan Sutton, Liam Simpson and Bailey Lownds – nine wickets from his last four games – are keeping non-stop pressure on for the full duration of the innings.
It’s a case of one threat comes off; another threat comes on!
But this week that conglomerate faces its biggest challenge with Kooweerup stacked with batting threats.
Chris Bright (468 runs) clearly leads all-comers this season while Shiran Rathnayake (352), Ayden Mills (271) and Luke McMaster (191) round out a very dangerous top-four.
While Bright’s stats are incredible, it’s McMaster’s wicket the Seagulls will rate as highly; with his season just simmering along compared to his impressive standards from years gone by.
‘Lukey Mac’ normally makes at least one huge score a season…and his current high of 66 definitely won’t last long.
He would love nothing better than righting that wrong right against a fellow premiership contender on the weekend.
The Gulls batting also wreaks of class, with Cal O’Hare (333) and Josh Lownds (320) pushing through the 300-run barrier last week, while skipper Mick Sweeney’s last three knocks (64, 26 and 95) indicate he is nearing peak form.
This one will be a ripper; with the Gulls to sneak home by 10 runs if batting first…or by two wickets if chasing.
CARDINIA V PAKENHAM
The other big clash this week sees fourth-placed Cardinia roll out the welcome mat for second-placed Pakenham in a hugely important game for both sides.
These two met back in round six, with Cardinia making a competitive 218 on day-one before day-two was declared a washout.
Matt Welsh (89) and skipper Mark Cooper (71) were the stars for the Bulls that day, while Lions’ spin-twins Jason Williams (4/54) and Jordan Seers (3/61) fought hard with the ball.
Tellingly, the half-centuries of Welsh and Cooper that day were two of only six the Bulls have made this season.
Pakenham fares even worse on that list, having just five scores of 50 or better; while, in comparison, Kooweerup leads the way with 14.
The Bulls and Lions are still winning games, and will say it’s a sign of their strength and depth; but there’s no doubt that a top-order firing and scoring big runs is definitely the preferred option.
Welsh is an interesting player, who times the ball as cleanly as anyone in the competition.
He only made nine against Kooweerup last week, but every shot sounded like a ball firing out of a cannon.
He has consistently made starts this season, but that 89 was 60 runs clear of his next best.
It’s time to turn those solid starts into big scores and become a key weapon for the Bulls.
This really is a huge game in the context of both club’s seasons.
Win this and the Lions skip a game-and-a-half clear of the Bulls, who do have a slightly easier run home.
But lose, and Jack Anning and his Lions could be looking in from outside the top four in just seven days’ time.
The emergence of Clyde has applied added pressure to our four perennial finalists.
The Lions overcame a serious push from a winless Merinda Park last week, with the game in the balance until the final overs.
Nick Sadler (53 not out) saved the day with the bat, while stalwarts Rob Elston, Dom Paynter and Jason Williams also chipped in with important knocks in the first game back after Christmas.
This one is almost impossible to call; but we’ll bank on Pakenham dynamo Chris Smith to return to his classy best and steer the Lions to victory.
CLYDE V UPPER BEACONSFIELD
Winning games when you’re meant to is all part of developing into a good cricket team and Clyde will face that increasing pressure when the Cougars host Upper Beaconsfield at Clyde.
The Cougars are one of only two teams, alongside Tooradin, to have not dropped a game since round four, and are now looming as a serious finals’ contender.
If they are a good team, Clyde should defeat Upper Beaconsfield and Merinda Park over the next fortnight and find itself inside the top four ahead of a tough ‘two-day’ finish to the season against Kooweerup, Tooradin and Cardinia.
And even if the end-goal fails, just putting itself in that position will be a huge success for Clyde this season.
And it hasn’t happened by fluke.
The Cougars are one of only two teams – along with Kooweerup – to have three players inside the top-10 run-scorers this season with Trevor Bauer (323), Michael Vandort (297) and Teddy Fonseka (295) all scoring centuries, alongside teammate Praveen Perera who made 107 against Merinda Park in round seven.
No other team in the competition can boast four century-makers this season!
With the ball the Cougars have a heavy reliance on Ankush Rana, who has taken 21 wickets, with Nick Shannon, Max Adams and Perera providing the back up.
There are too many weapons mentioned above for the disappointing Maroons to handle at Clyde on Saturday…it’s the Cougars to win in a canter.
DEVON MEADOWS V MERINDA PARK
Sixth-placed Devon Meadows needs to win to remain relevant when the Panthers welcome bottom-placed Merinda Park to Glover Reserve.
The Panthers need an injection of enthusiasm to finish off their season and upcoming games against the Cobras and Upper Beaconsfield could provide that spark.
Nathan Kleinig has batted well for the Panthers in recent times, while Jakeb McVicar, Ben Marsh and Chris Cleef are all capable of great spells with the ball.
But it won’t be easy against Mat Campbell’s Cobras this week, who have been competitive and very unlucky not to have more points on the board.
It started all the way back on day one of the season, when they were the only team to lose on a day of washouts, and they’ve put together some really competitive performances ever since.
The loss of that six points in round one could prove fatal for the Cobras, who currently sit a game-and-a-half behind seventh-placed Upper Beaconsfield.
It means they need to win two games to avoid relegation, instead of one, and this might be their best chance until a round-14 meeting with the Maroons.
Win this and the Cobras are a massive chance of retaining their Premier Division status.
Expect the likes of Daniel McCalman, Ash Slater, Bevin Corneille and Campbell to rise to the challenge and cause the big upset of round 10.
It’s Merinda Park to win a nail-biter.
