The format may have switched across the landscape of the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) but there were familiar faces posting big numbers up and down the boards of the lower grades.
Nar Nar Goon will be feeling good about its position against Lang Lang after declaring at 4/237 on day one.
The Marygoons were led by significant knocks from Nick Mueller (76), JakeAnema (59 not out), Noah Hall (51) and Tim Miller (21 not out).
In the day’s remaining 10 overs, Buddhi Heshan bowled William Wykes to leave the Tigers 1/5 in the chase at stumps.
Tooradin posted 242 in its first innings at home against Devon Meadows thanks to Peter Stone’s half century and helpful contributions from Tim Huguenin (38) and Jono Sherer (29).
Merinda Park notched 215 with the bat versus Pakenham Upper/Toomuc as Tyson Bertrand (49) fell agonisingly short of a half ton.
Jonathan Rewell took three wickets for the Yabbies, who are 0/4 overnight.
The tail-end partnership of Clinton Marsh (58) and Sam Booth (58) salvaged Emerald’s innings away at Officer, with the Bombers reaching 197.
Robert Strang did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Bullants with the ball, claiming 4/57 off his 27.5 overs bowled.
Officer will take to the crease on a fresh slate on day two.
C GRADE
Robert Fuller had a day out for Carlisle Park by recording figures of 4/60 off 20 overs bowled as the Vikings bowled out Clyde for 195.
Cougars opening bats Michael Warner (66) and Jayson Dryden (41) did a lot of the scoring while Dapinder Singh (22) and Ritesh Thakkar (21) provided handy cameos.
It’s anyone’s game at Kooweerup High School after a monster knock of 116 not out from Chris O’Hara carried the Demons to 183 against Melbourne Sixers.
Sanjeewa Senarathna claimed four poles for the visitors to set up the chase, but three wickets late in the day has the Sixers nervously on 3/35 at stumps.
Upper Beaconsfield bowled well to keep Kerala Strikers to 177 on day one at home.
Jackson Townsend took four wickets and Stefan Jarosz-Setiawan bagged three to roll the Strikers.
The Maroons will begin their pursuit on day two.
A demolition job at Toomuc Reserve has Pakenham eyeing an outright result over Pakenham Upper/Toomuc.
The Yabbies were bowled out in 26.4 overs for just 48 as Ken McLeod dominated with 5/16 off 9.4 overs.
Bailey Smith provided some resistance for the visitors when the Lions took to the crease, claiming four wickets but the hosts quickly declared at 5/90.
The second time with the bat didn’t go much better for Pakenham Upper/Toomuc as the Yabbies sit at 3/27 overnight.
D GRADE
It was the Nathan Francis and Scott Kunziak show at Lakeside Oval as the Merinda Park middle order bats both raised the bat for tons.
Francis scored 102 off 115 balls and Kunziak sat unbeaten on 101 after facing 98 deliveries.
This led to the Cobras managing 328, setting a big task for Pakenham Upper/Toomuc to chase when play resumes on Saturday.
Kerala Strikers and Davis Joseph could not be slowed down in their matchup with Devon Meadows.
Joseph posted 127 off 137 balls and he was supported well by Emil Johnson (77), Jismon Joseph (48) and Raju Kuriakose (32) as the Strikers got to 9/362.
Scott Rainey secured four scalps for the Panthers.
Nar Nar Goon is in a commanding position over Cardinia as the Marygoons seek an outright triumph.
The Bulls were bowled out for 66 in the first innings as an unbelievable spell of 4/5 from Jed Taylor made it difficult for Cardinia.
Taylor wasn’t finished there as he turned around and raised the bat with 61 in his time at the crease, while Abhi Sharma (46) also batted well.
After Nar Nar Goon declared on 7/162, the Bulls were sent back in to bat for another 13 overs.
The final overs were just as disastrous as the first innings, as Cardinia is 5/36 at stumps after Virat Bishnoi took 4/23.
Pakenham is in the driver’s seat after rolling Officer for 136 at Rob Porter Reserve.
Brent Pullen (36) top scored for the Bullants but David Auld (3/35 off 19 overs) aided the Lions in restricting the runs.
Pakenham is 0/5 in its pursuit of the target.
E GRADE WEST
A batting masterclass from Andrew Myers lifted Carlisle Park to declare at 4/204.
Myers smashed 113 not out to guide the innings for the Vikings, who then took two Bullants wickets to end the day.
At stumps, Officer is 2/27.
Inez Hunter Recreation Reserve was lit up by David Carson and Shane Simpson as Devon Meadows notched 8/347 against Kerala Strikers.
Carson blasted 136 runs off 171 deliveries, including 12 fours, while Simpson raised the bat with 73.
A handy 51 not out from Mark Zoldak helped Clyde to 9/228 after contributions from Cameron Davidson (41), Yash Patel (36) and Saim Akhtar (32).
Chris Williams did damage with the ball for Merinda Park in retaliation, claiming 5/37 off 20 overs.
Tooradin had the bye.
E GRADE EAST
Oseem Dhawan’s 71 was the shining light on Officer’s innings with the Bullants bringing up 194 at Emerald.
Thomas Hill took 4/25 for the Bombers and in the next innings, Emerald is 0/3 overnight chasing 195.
Muzibur Mohammed had the innings of the round in the CCCA for Avengers as he batted wonderfully to raise the bat three times after an incredible knock of 151.
The magnificent feat came off 147 balls and included 17 boundaries.
Muthu Kamal (55) also raised the bat while Krishna Gannamraju (44) led Avengers to 9/380 against Clyde.
