By Marcus Uhe
Parkmore’s second loss of the Dandenong District Cricket Association Turf 2 season has seen the Pirates fall from first to third, unable to defend 122 against HSD.
HSD has leapfrogged its vanquished opponent and moved into second place as a result, having seen off a pair of mid-innings wobbles to secure the six points with three wickets remaining.
Separate slips of 4/15 and 2/3 kept Parkmore’s slim chances of defending their target alive, but HSD’s batting depth ensured they walked away with the points.
Brent Patterson was the first player dismissed for 21, before seamer Ankit Saxena removed Mackenzie Gardner and Triyan De Silva in the space of four deliveries to reinvigorate their defence.
When Ethan French fell a few overs later for 12 at 4/44 the warning signs were there, but the middle order weathered the storm to reach win number six of the summer.
Zahoor Sarwari finished unbeaten on 26 with Saxena’s incredible consistency continuing for Parkmore, taking three wickets for the fifth time.
At Parkfield, there’s a pulse.
It’s faint, but it’s undeniable, and it will leave fourth-place Coomoora sweating.
One of the biggest surprises in Turf 2 competition this summer (for all the wrong reasons) is now just eight points back from fourth place, following an outright defeat of Narre Warren.
Rolling the Magpies for 122 gave the Bandits a 31-run lead after the first innings, thanks to Sahan Jayawardana and Nicholas Jeffery taking three wickets apiece, and set in motion a plan for extra points.
They made a dashing 6/143 from 21.1 overs, exceeding a run-per-ball scoring rate, before declaring and taking the final 10 Magpie wickets in the final session to record a brilliant and much-needed 74-run win.
Now just one outright win away from unseating the Roos in fourth, an unlikely finals run would add another element to an already complex run to March in Turf 2.
Narre Warren, meanwhile, remains in seventh place, six points ahead of St Mary’s.
The Saints did nothing to improve their chances of a dreaded double-relegation, unable to capitalise on a promising close to last week’s first day against Lyndale.
A steady 47 from opener Brendan Ash was complemented by flurries from Ciaron Connolly and Himesh Don in the middle order.
Don’s pattern destructive flurries continued for the Two Blues, making 57 off just 33 balls, with five sixes and three fours, while Connolly made 44 from 47, in a 87-run partnership that lasted just 10 overs.
Lyndale reached the target of 198 eight wickets down, before declaring and bowling at St Mary’s again.
Rumesh Ranasinghe and Junaid Kari each took four wickets for St Mary’s but were the only two St Mary’s bowlers to strike.
St Mary;s reached 6/143 in their second innings.
Parkmore and Parkfield’s head-to-head shapes as the biggest contest next week, while Coomoora and HSD will likely push for outright results against St Mary’s and Narre Warren respectively.
