When the back is against the wall a response is needed.
And Pakenham Upper/Toomuc’s back is pressed hard against the wall in a matchup with top of the table Merinda Park after day one of round 13 of the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) A Grade competition.
The Yabbies are fighting to keep their season alive and need to win to play finals but are in a dire position heading into day two.
To begin the day at Harry Blackman Oval, the Cobras decided to bat first but faltered early, losing Bevin Corneille (2) and Cambell Bryan (0) within three balls in the sixth over to be 2/17.
Jordan King and Sasindu Perera then picked up the slack and put the innings back on track.
King (38) was then undone by a Niran Warnakula delivery and Merinda Park was 3/98.
But another massive stand grew between Perera and Ashley Slater, with Perera inching past 50.
Slater (39) was the next man to depart, becoming Ryan Mibus’ second victim but the Cobras had their noses in front at 4/165.
The hosts fought back to take 4/50, courtesy of Mibus picking up his third, Warnakula notching his second and Raja Sohail rattling the stumps of Daniel Diwell (0) and Luke Dinger (3).
Perera remained patient for his moment and it eventually came, achieving the long-awaited milestone of a century, his first of the season.
He carried on to 128 from 189 balls before he was caught and bowled by John Langley.
Warnakula finished off the visitors by dismissing Matt Dennerley (11) and Merinda Park was bowled out for 262 after 69.4 overs.
Warnakula and Mibus both recorded three wickets each.
It left Pakenham Upper/Toomuc with seven overs to survive to round out the day, and the Yabbies certainly didn’t get through unscathed.
Dinger had the ball on a string and darting around, finding the wickets of Mibus (0) and night watchman Ryan Yeates (0).
The hosts were 2/0, and things only got worse when Dennerley trapped Langley (1) in front.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc limped to 3/14 at stumps, still requiring 249 runs to win three down.
Emerald showed its impressive resilience by posting a very solid total of 287 at home against Carlisle Park.
Opener Ethan Crosher (52) raised the bat and Jack Raukola (42) provided a strong platform before skipper Owen Thorne batted up the order and produced another classy knock.
Thorne followed up last week’s brave 75 with 97 to uplift the Bombers to a competitive score.
Club legend Clinton Marsh was brilliant in the tail, scoring a fast-paced 53 from 53 deliveries to annoy the Vikings even more.
Adam Hollingworth and Ethan Davies both snagged three scalps to eventually knock over the hosts, leaving Carlisle Park one over to bat, subsequently settling at 0/4 overnight.
Nar Nar Goon has one foot in the finals door as the Marygoons have already secured first innings point by rolling Cardinia on day one.
Magnificent bowling from Will Selleck (three wickets) and Ketan Bakshi (3/9 from 8.1 overs) held the Bulls to just 84 after 51.1 overs.
Nar Nar Goon then cruised to the total with Rajiv Kumar (37) and Troy Ferguson (24) leading the way.
At stumps, the Marygoons are leading by nine runs at 4/93 with a decision to make on day two to potentially hunt an outright result.
It’s game on at Clyde Recreation Reserve as the Cougars are 1/20 chasing the target of 180 set by Tooradin.
The Seagulls batted first and were fuelled by Thomas Rudeforth’s (53) half century and handy performances from Aaron Avery (38) and Tye Whitnell (36 not out).
Brett Reid (four wickets) and Tristan Walton (three wickets) did their best to help Clyde slow down the visitors.
A fierce battle at Toomuc Reserve saw momentum punches thrown between Pakenham and Kooweerup.
The Lions started with the bat and were boosted by Jackson Luka (77), Joshua Murray (50 not out) and Steve Insall (31) to bring up 211.
Indiana Boswell (six wickets) and Ethan McDonald (four wickets) combined beautifully to combine for all 10 Pakenham wickets.
The Demons saw the day out batting, finishing at 1/12 at stumps.
