One of the all-time great wins against one of the all-time great enemies.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc came from the clouds and stole victory over Nar Nar Goon at Harry Blackman Oval in round four of the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) A Grade competition.
The Yabbies were chasing 206 on their home deck but started firmly on the back foot as the top order completely collapsed.
The hosts stumbled to 5/31 as Will Selleck took three poles and put the Marygoons in control.
However, a middle order stand between Allan Collins and skipper John Langley stemmed the pain momentarily as the pair added 74 runs.
Collins (29) then departed and Langley (47) wasn’t far behind him, meaning victory still seemed completely out of the question as it left Pakenham Upper/Toomuc at 7/111.
Liam Cumiskey (13) came and went before Raja Sohail became the saviour for the Yabbies.
The superstar pace bowler is used to winning games with his blistering strike bowling, but this time he won it off his bat.
He hit 59 not out, including six sixes to lift the hosts to the unlikeliest of triumphs at 9/206.
“It was a fantastic win,” Pakenham Upper/Toomuc captain Langley said.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting to get it done, you don’t win many games of cricket when you’re 5/31.
“Even when I went out I didn’t think we were much of a chance.”
When Sohail hit the winning runs, pure celebrations poured out onto Harry Blackman Oval.
The Yabbies couldn’t believe what they achieved.
“It was probably one of the top five wins of my career,” Langley said with a laugh.
“Honestly, it was just pure elation.”
“I sat there in my seat and I pretty much couldn’t move for the last 30 runs.
“I was gripped to the cricket out on the ground and when we won it was just elation.”
Despite one hiccup against Merinda Park, Pakenham Upper/Toomuc has started 3-1 in the campaign.
The win also saw the Yabbies retain the Ron Milnes Shield, a friendly trophy that is contested for every time Nar Nar Goon and the Yabbies’ first XI play each other.
“The shield does mean a lot to both clubs, it means a fair bit to be able to keep the shield,” Langley said.
“I think we’ve done pretty well to get to the position we are.
“This comeback win just shows what our group is capable of.
“There’s still a lot of work to do because if we want to win more serious games of cricket, we need our top order to fire.
“Hopefully those guys can get into some form and make it a little easier on us down the bottom of the order.
“If we can hook all that up I think we’re a serious contender for the flag.”
Merinda Park and Sasindu Perera sent another message to the competition with a convincing win over Emerald.
Perera’s spell was simply unbelievable as he took 8/38 off 24.4 overs to rip through the Bombers.
Emerald was bowled out for 144, giving the Cobras a resounding 118–run victory.
Carlisle Park bagged the extra eight points by completing an outright victory over Cardinia.
The Vikings declared at 5/196 with Jarrod Armitage reaching 90, sending the Bulls into bat for the second time.
Cardinia struggled again at the crease, being rolled for 118 with Jaan Balasuriya taking four wickets and Adam Hollingworth grabbing three.
Carlisle Park finished off the result in nine overs, making 1-52 to win with the ladder boost.
Pakenham successfully defended 9/239 as the Lions knocked over Clyde for 183.
John Simpson (57) raised the bat for the Cougars and Steven Russell (43) provided hope, but a strong bowling attack from Pakenham gave it the edge.
Jordan Seers took four poles while Jack Melbourne and Marcus Martini both claimed three each.
Tooradin took the win but Kooweerup avoided the outright after being sent into bat again on day two.
In the first inning, the Demons could only post 98 as Tom Rodgers (4/33) and Luke Townsend (3/22) caused major issues.
Kooweerup was forced back to the crease, but John Bright (95) ensured the Demons wouldn’t give away the extra points, finishing the day at 4/209.
In round five, Tooradin is at home against Emerald, Pakenham Upper/Toomuc visits Pakenham, Cardinia hosts Clyde, Kooweerup travels to face Merinda Park and Nar Nar Goon welcomes Carlisle Park to town.
