By Marcus Uhe
Berwick’s winning streak in the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf 1 competition has to halt at six matches at the hands Buckley Ridges and of one of the most explosive talents in the competition.
Ishan Jayarathna, a man likely to vie for the Wookey Medal come the end of the season for his bowling exploits, swung the complexion of the contest in dramatic fashion late on day one of the contest by blitzing a century to push his side beyond the 300 mark.
His unbeaten 107 came off just 76 deliveries and included eight sixes and five fours.
The Bucks looked set for a below par score at Park Oval when set batting pair Dale Tormey (48) and Ben Wright (57) were both removed in quick succession, having reached just 157 from 58 completed overs.
In a rare bowling performance, middle order batter Jarryd Wills proved an ace up Berwick’s sleeve with the wickets of former Bear Josh Holden for a patient 13 and Jayson Hobbs for 14 at the top of the card, and the returning Roshane Silva could only 10 at number four.
Jayarathna’s whirlwind century however ensured he and his fellow bowlers had a handsome total to defend on Sunday, where they completed a 71-run win.
Jayarathna was supported brilliantly by Troy Aust’s run-a-ball 51, as the pair added 140 for the sixth wicket in 20 overs.
Buckley Ridges posted 7/329 on Saturday before keeping Berwick to 258 in reply, snapping the Bears’ winning streak in the process.
Missing middle order lynchpin Jake Hancock through injury, the total was a big ask for Berwick to chase down, and the challenge ultimately proved too much.
Compounded by an injury to opening batter Matthew Hague, Berwick lacked the firepower to chase such an intimidating score.
Nicholas Shirt made 57 opening the batting in his first Turf 1 innings of the summer and Wills hit a fluent 75, but with no batter going big, the ask was too high.
Jayarathna added 3/54 with the ball to go with his blistering century, with fellow seamer Hussain Ali also finishing with three wickets.
The result keeps Buckley Ridges at the top of the Turf 1 ladder, but only by two points from Springvale South and Hallam Kalora Park.
Hallam Kalora Park closed the gap between itself and Springvale South, continuing its post-Christmas dominance with a demoralising innings victory over Dandenong West.
Dandenong West succumbed twice over the two days, for 103 in its first innings and 86 in its second, with the Hawks’ total of 9/212 declared in between the two, enough to secure the 10 points.
Will Whyte set the wheels in motion with an excellent new-ball spell that removed the dangerous Shaun Weir and Don Pulukkuttiarachchi before the Bulls reached double figures and things barely recovered from there.
Consistent wickets in the middle order dogged Dandenong West, before Lauchlan Gregson collected four quick wickets to extinguish the tail.
Hallam Kalora Park reached 212 in reply in 55 overs, declaring nine wickets down to allow extra time to bowl at the Bulls for a second time.
Leigh Booth reached his second half-century of the summer and Jordan Hammond added a quickfire 64 to finish with a lead of 109.
Whyte then took up the assignment in the second innings, raising the ball for a five-wicket haul in his eighth over.
He took the first five wickets of the innings and was twice on a hat-trick after taking wickets in consecutive deliveries, delivering exactly what his captain in Hammond would have requested for his side.
Pulukkuttiarachchi, Nathan Power and Malinga Bandara each made ducks at numbers three four and five as things went from bad to worse for the home outfit.
When Matt Collett became Hammond’s third victim, the score read 8/43 at the beginning of the 20th over.
Nuwan Kulasekara and Adam Reid each added 22 in an attempt to stop the bleeding but their resistance only delayed the inevitable demise of the Bulls’ batting card.
Spinner Lee Brown grabbed the final two scalps to bring the innings to a close in the 31st over for 86, 23 runs away from forcing the Hawks to bat for a second time.
Whyte finished with 5/30 to continue his excellent season.
After a promising start to life in Turf 1, the Bulls’ campaign appears to be falling in a heap, having suffered two outright losses since the Christmas break and falling to seventh on the table.
All four sides outside the top four, in Beaconsfield, Narre South, North Dandenong and Dandenong West are tied for 24 points but Dandenong West’s percentage took a major hit on the back of the hammering, leaving them just one place clear of the dreaded eighth place with two rounds to play.
North Dandenong holds the unwanted eighth place, with Beaconsfield climbing to fifth after a sizable victory over the Maroons.
