Springvale South has the runs on the board against Buckley Ridges after day one of the Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) round 13 top of the table clash.
The blockbuster was entertaining from the word go, with both teams full of talent and looking to go all the way this season.
The last time the sides met was back in round 8 and it was the Bloods who handed the Bucks their first loss of the season, winning by 120 runs.
As it stands, Springvale South has beaten every team in the Turf 1 competition, but the reigning premier hasn’t ticked that one off yet … needing to sink Springvale South to do so.
After day one, the game currently sits in favour of the Bloods after a brilliant team performance saw the side reach a total score of 386 off 80 overs.
But with the huge scores we have witnessed at Park Oval in recent times, you cannot rule the Bucks out just yet.
Springvale South captain Cam Forsyth said it was a great foundation, but added his side still had “plenty of work to do”.
“Any day you get a score of 385, it is obviously a pretty good day at the office,” he said.
“I was really pleased with the way the boys went (on Saturday), we were fortunate to have seven or eight guys post decent scores.
“But it is a small ground and good conditions, so by no means is the game done, we will have to bowl well this weekend.”
After batting first last week on the friendly deck and posting 427, it was somewhat expected that the Bucks would bat first again in pursuit of a similar total given the chance.
However, skipper Jayson Hobbs won the toss and opted against it, deciding to bowl first in a bid to restrict the visitors.
The Bloods boast brilliant consistency and depth and this was on display as each of the top six batters scored more than 40 runs.
This performance wasn’t an outlier as Springy has been doing this all season, with six players having scored 240 plus runs in 2025/26.
“We spoke about it after the game, usually in cricket you want a couple of guys to go big and that is the key to success because some guys miss out,” Forsyth said.
“Our depth with bat and ball from my perspective is as good, if not better than anyone else in the competition.
“I think other teams have probably got more star-studded players who have played higher levels, but we have a lot of depth across our playing XI.”
Mitch Forsyth’s unavailability saw Chathuranga De Silva earn the opportunity to open the batting alongside dangerous left-handed batter Ryan Quirk.
De Silva scored 48 against the Bucks last time and has mainly batted at number five this season, scoring at a strike rate of greater than 90.
But he played a different role at the top, anchoring the innings and rotating the strike while Quirk was the aggressor.
In just the seventh over of the day, Quirk took 16 runs off Ishan Jayarathna’s fourth over, including three consecutive fours to round out the over after a big LBW appeal was turned down.
Quirk continued to score freely, reaching a rapid 42 before he was caught at point off Harry Snowden after the ball rocketed off his bat.
De Silva (43) was joined by his captain Forsyth and the pair of them added 54 runs for the second wicket, before Forsyth (41) unluckily chopped on.
It was Snowden who had another breakthrough and didn’t the big fast bowler love it, taking off past Forsyth and streaming away from his teammates.
But at 3/157 at the halfway mark, the foundation was set for the in-form Jordan Wyatt to come in and belt the leather around.
Wyatt (53 off 39 balls) compiled an entertaining half century, clearing the rope on four separate occasions and continuing his impressive form.
His consistent performances have seen him overtake Quirk and Forsyth to lead the team for runs, with 432 at 61.71.
But it was arguably the most consistent batter in the competition, Dasun Opanayaka (83), who top-scored for the Bloods.
“He has had a fantastic season … he has shown it with both bat and ball and is the ultimate professional in terms of a local cricketer at our level,” Forsyth said.
“He contributes well and is always in the game – he has exceeded everyone’s expectations I think.”
With further contributions from Blade Baxter (45) and Christopher Diston (33), the Bloods reached 386 at the end of the day’s play.
Michael Davies (3/78) and Adharsh Kannan (3/48) were the best performers for Buckley Ridges, who will be looking to bat well this weekend.
In round 8, Opanayaka got the dangerous Dale Tormey, who leads the competition with 612 runs, out for a duck.
Getting Tormey and Ben Wright for cheap scores will go a long way to reaching a favourable result on Saturday afternoon.
Tormey has hit a rich vein of form, having scored 221 runs across his past two innings and he loves dealing in boundaries at Park Oval.
“You just have to bowl well and make it as hard as possible for them and try to create chances – if we play well and they chase the score down, you tip your hat to them,” Forsyth said.
“We are confident we can create enough chances and pressure with the scoring rate to give ourselves a good chance to win.
“But knowing their lineup and the ground, it’s definitely not game over yet.”
In other games, Beaconsfield was bowled out for 168 against Hallam Kalora Park, but a late four-wicket haul from Tigers’ Jake Cutting flipped the game on its head to leave the Hawks 4/32 at stumps.
Andrey Fernando (33) and Sam Read (62) led the way for Beaconsfield in the first innings, but Jawid Khan (4/56) made things tough and helped the Hawks take 6/31 to wrap up the innings and keep the Tigers to 168.
Opening bowler Cutting (4/17 off 10 overs) was clinical at the end of the day, getting Ben Hillard for a duck, before getting Khan and Damith Perera (both 2) to leave the score at 3/8.
Hawks captain Jordan Hammond (15) stabilised before he too hit the ball in the air off Cutting and was caught, leaving the game in the balance at 4/32 at the conclusion of day one.
It wasn’t just any random players that Cutting dismissed, it was Hallam Kalora Park’s fourtop batters, who have combined for 58 percent of the team’s total runs this season.
If their combined 19 runs turns out to be 58 percent of the team’s runs in this innings, then the Hawks are in trouble – they need Jagveer Hayer (7 not out) and Leigh Booth (5 not out) to save them from defeat.
Three-wicket hauls from Berwick pair James Trodd and Jarrod Goodes restricted Parkmore to only 129, before the Bears finished day one at 1/72.
Berwick is well poised for an outright victory, with Jarryd Wills (34 not out) and Jake Hancock (36 not out) occupying the crease.
It is a brilliant opportunity for the Bears to cement third spot on the ladder with an emphatic victory over the 0-11 Pirates.
Narre South’s Oshadha Ariyadasa blasted a 28-ball half century against Dandenong West to put the Lions in the box seat heading into day two.
Ariyadasa finished with 62 off 37 deliveries, while bowler Tom Arnold (57 off 107 balls) dug in to score his first half century of the season and get Narre South to a competitive total of 231.
The Bulls batted for 19 overs and finished at 5/54, as Jeevan Mendis had a huge impact to claim 4/28 off his nine overs.
Mohit Mandora (31) played a lone hand, losing teammates Nathan Power, Riley Siwes and Bradley Sheehan all for ducks.
Shaun Weir is yet to bat and will have to be the saviour for Dandenong West if the side is to chase the runs this weekend, currently requiring 178 runs for victory.
