Devon Meadows B Grade captain Corey Leslie is living proof that a week is a long time in cricket.
Just a week after battling his way to one run from 33 balls, Leslie cracked 98 from 94 deliveries to lead the Panthers (3/214) to a comfortable victory over Lang Lang (8/118).
After being sent in by the Swampies, Leslie shared a 62-run opening stand with Peter Deighton (38) before consolidating the start with a 117-run partnership with Lee Thomas (47).
Leslie agonisingly fell two runs short of his century, being bowled by opposition hand-shaker Damien Quinlan (2/32).
But the Panthers had done enough, William Wykes (44) and Quinlan (21 not out) the only players to provide resistance after the Swamp Tigers fell to 5/36 in reply.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (8/157) is two from two in B Grade after Addison Tucker (4/14), Alfie Howat (3/37) and Ryan Mibus (2/21) restricted Emerald (156) to a gettable score at Chandler Reserve.
The Bombers were cruising before tea, sitting at 1/109, with Jacob Carroll (66) and Mark Alenson (30) keeping the Yabbies at bay.
But the Yabbies’ trio turned the tide in a hurry, with Adam Tucker (44), Allan Collins (42) then completing a stunning turnaround after the break.
Collins was explosive against the new nut, smacking five to the ropes and two blows over the fence.
Nar Nar Goon is undefeated after two rounds, the Goon (9/178) dominant in a 108-run win over Tooradin (70).
Daniel Rodger (50) set things up with the bat, repelling the best that Riley McLeod (3/15) had to offer, before the Goon bowlers struck with force.
Shamraiz Mehdi (4/28), Noah Hall (3/12) and Maninder Singh (2/17) proved too hot to handle, the Seagulls succumbing in 22 overs; Tom Rudeforth (24) the only bat to show some fight.
And Merinda Park (2/90) sits top of the table after a thumping win over Officer (86).
The in-swing of Brenton Huyskens (3/20) proved troubling for the Bullants, while Brendan Fairlam (2/16) also got amongst the wickets.
Skipper Danny Diwell (37) and Brad Hodge (34 not out) then enjoyed a leisurely afternoon at the crease.
C GRADE
Clyde’s (1/199) impressive top order is looming as a key element this season after an impressive run-chase victory over Kooweerup (6/194).
The Demons set a decent target, with all-time champion Chris ‘Tubsy’ O’Hara (87) at his creative best before the dinner break.
But the Cougars came out blazing, just a week after making 2/260 in round one.
Steve Russell (44) backed up his 132 not out with another solid performance, while Jayson Dryden (94) added significantly to his 81 from last week.
Chris Jones (46 not out) also joined the party; the Cougars rollicking their way to victory inside 30 overs.
Dryden cracked nine boundaries in his 90 balls at the crease.
Carlisle Park (6/189) is also undefeated, producing a great chase against Kerala Strikers (7/185).
The Strikers would have been content with their work at half time, but the Vikings timed their chase to perfection.
Kye Prior (69) was the dominant figure at the top, with contributions from Aaron Straughair (39) and Dean Lyddy (26) setting up a thrilling finish.
Scores were tied with one over left to play, but a first-ball boundary from Raj Arivazhagan (12 not out) saw the home side home with five balls to spare.
Sujith Sugathan (2/27) stuck to his guns for the Strikers.
Melbourne Sixers (7/169) are also yet to taste defeat after a rapid-fire victory over Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (8/168).
The Yabbies were good early, with Mark McDonald (57), Santosh Motwani (36 not out) and Jake Abel (23) seeing off the best of Ishen Kuruppuarachchi (4/26), before the Sixers went to work with the willow.
The Yabbies clearly had the upper hand, with Bailey Smith (3/27) and Motwani (2/32) having the Sixers in all sorts at 6/71 in reply.
But a brilliant partnership between Jackey Patel (51) and Senthuran Kathiramalainathan (30 not out) saw the Sixers home with three wickets and 50 balls to spare.
And Pakenham (4/59) is on the board after Ken McLeod (4/5), Alexander Brennan (2/2) and Jarrod Palin (2/14) put Upper Beaconsfield (58) to the sword on the main ground at Toomuc Reserve.
Nice knocks from David Sollberger (29 not out) and Lincoln Varty (20) ensured a stress-free ride to victory.
D GRADE
Devon Meadows (7/155) bowler James Brown (5/13) is feeling good after his five-wicket haul propelled the Panthers to their first victory of the season against Cardinia (9/102) on Saturday.
Asked to bat first the Panthers set a decent target, with Geoff Wilcock (69) and Arthur Churchill (37) leading the way with a steadying partnership for the third wicket.
Chris Lyne (23 not out) also contributed some valuable middle-order runs, before Brown and Riley Worsteling (2/15) went to work after tea.
Worsteling made the early inroads before Brown took five-consecutive wickets to take control of the contest.
From 3/60, the Bulls fell to 8/79; signalling the end of the penny section.
It was Brown’s first five-wicket haul, with his younger brother Blake taking two catches off his bowling.
Nar Nar Goon (97) has made it back-to-back wins with a great defence of a small total against Merinda Park (78).
The Cobras were miserly early, with Meaul Karunaratna (3/21), Kirti Sharma (2/11) and Gurpreet Singh (2/13) proving tough nuts to crack; Nipuna Rajapaksha (43) the only Goon bat to shine.
Gagandeep Mangat (4/18), Seamus Hill (2/15) and Abhi Sharma (2/18) then bowled the Goon to victory, the Cobras falling with six overs left in the tank.
In other games, solid efforts from David Auld (3/3), Steven Kidd (2/3), Russell Little (26), Gitansh Taneja (22) and Dene North (20) led Pakenham (5/105) to victory over Nasib Sunny-inspired (59) Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (9/102), while some solid batting from Gary Plunkett (68 not out), Kieren James (43) and Matt Lucas (20) led Officer (3/149) to success over Kerala Strikers (9/148).
Anoop Murali (39) and Christy Thomas (37) were two of the best for the Strikers.
E GRADE WEST
A jubilant Tooradin (8/168) is one of two teams undefeated after two rounds after a thrilling run-chase against Carlisle Park (6/160) at the Hunt Club.
After winning the toss, Carlisle Park posted a competitive total with Steve Godfrey (49), Andrew Myers (34) and Alok Chaudhri (28) staving off good spells from Stanley Freeman (2/21) and Phil Skeats (2/33).
The Gulls then lost regular wickets in reply, with opener Shaun Tongue (67) holding the top-order together while others fell around him; with Lee Wolfe claiming four wickets for the Vikings.
Skipper David Freeman (52) then dug deep for his side, his fighting half century leading the Seagulls to victory.
In other games, solid performances from David Carson (53), Jason Brzezowski (39 and 3/15), Mick Floyd (19 not out) and Bill Loudon (2/3) have steered Devon Meadows (6/182) to success over Merinda Park (8/125), with Aarush Sharma (41) best for the Cobras, while Clyde (128) sits at the top of the table after a comfortable win over Kerala Strikers (83).
Shazaib Umair (27), Shane Jack (20) and Wes Smith (18) set the scene for the Cougars before Jack (2/6), Mark Zoldak (2/12), Ben Cooper (2/17) and Jatin Unadkat (2/19) finished off the job after tea,
E GRADE EAST
Emerald (6/169) is the only team still undefeated in E Grade East after the Bombers flexed their muscles with a big win over Avengers (9/91).
Batting first, Andrew Ferrier (58), Dale Street (42 not out) and Rutvik Patel (27) were in good touch for the Bombers, with Ferrier and Street not afraid to go aerial when required.
Avengers were never in the hunt in reply, with Tom Ferrier (3/9), Thomas Hill (2/5) and Andrew Ferrier (2/25) ensuring the 12 points would return to Emerald.
Pakenham (8/131) has snuck home against Officer (129) with late runs to skipper Paul Hart (12) and Joshua Stingell (10 not out) getting the job done at Rob Porter Reserve.
Rob Blackwell (34), Riley Blackwell (24) and Brett Oldfield (22) gave the Lions a rock-solid start, but the loss of key wickets…and poor running between the wickets…gave the Bullants a sniff of victory.
Earlier in the day, David Green (61) and Ravindra Singh (32) batted well for Officer, against some probing stuff from Hirenkumar Joshi (4/33) and Gary Sewell (2/31).
The victory sees the Lions join the Bullants with one win each for the season.
And finally, terrific bowling from Chris Remy (2/1), Sahin Ayres (2/8), Evan Webster (2/13) and Jarryd Taylor (2/15) has driven Cardinia (3/47) to an easy win over Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (46).
Ryan Dennis (19) and Vihaan Pratap (16 not out) then guided the Bulls to the 12 points, despite a terrific spell of bowling from Hiren Patel (3/12).
