By Marcus Uhe
Berwick’s 192-run win over North Dandenong made it five wins on the trot for the Bears in the Dandenong District Cricket Association, thrashing the Maroons and falling just shy of an outright win in Turf 1 on Saturday at Arch Brown Reserve.
North Dandenong lasted just 41.3 overs in the first innings, reaching 106 in the face of a red-hot Berwick bowling line up.
Chasing 299 for victory was a huge ask for the Maroons’ faltering batting line up, which had just one score in excess of 200 to show for its season, and has failed to apply itself for long periods of time.
Captain, Imran Laghmani top scored with 21 as the only batter to pass 20.
After reaching 3/75, Berwick took the final six wickets of the innings for just 31 runs to lock-away first innings points.
With just shy of half a day available, Berwick tried its hand at grabbing another 10 wickets and an extra four premiership points, but the Maroons offered more resistance.
Laghmani top scored with 40, Tahsinullah Sultani reached 30 and Riley Shaw made a defiant 26 as they finished 7/113 from 38 overs.
Berwick;s bowling attack shared the wickets across the two innings’, with Toby Wills taking four, and Ellit Mathews and James Trodd taking three each.
Alarmingly for North Dandenong, it has lost a combined 34 wickets, made 394 runs and faced 159.1 overs in its last four innings.
They remain anchored to the bottom of the table and face a tough battle to retain their place in Turf 1 next summer, despite being tied for points with Beaconsfield and Narre South.
Springvale South did what Berwick could not, bolstering its chances for making a serious tilt at Buckley Ridges’ grasp on top spot thanks to an outright win over Dandenong West.
The Bloods’ 10 points puts them just two points in arrears of the Bucks with four rounds to play, and opens the door for a potential top-of-the-table showdown between the two sides in the final round of the home-and-away season when the two square off at Alex Nelson Reserve.
Josh Dowling was the hero for Springvale South, but not in the manner anyone at Greaves Reserve would have anticipated heading into a pivotal day in the season.
Needing eight runs to claim first innings points but with just two wickets in hand when play resumed, Dowling made his way to the wicket in the first over of play after Jarryd Straker fell to Amrith Sri Mahan for three.
He and Nick Boland survived the next seven overs to pass the Bulls’ total of 107, before Dowling showcased his batting prowess with an entertaining half-century.
In just his second Turf 1 innings for the season, the Showgrounds were Dowling’s stage, hitting four sixes and three fours in an innings that was simultaneously a delight for his teammates but incredibly frustrating for the Bulls.
He did the bulk of the scoring in the unbroken 64-run final wicket partnership before captain Cam Forsyth declared the innings closed, with a 57-run lead and just over half a day’s play remaining to grab the extra points.
Dowling made a brilliant start to the bowling innings by removing Shaun Weir and Venuk Hemachandra in his opening spell, before his teammates combined to make a mess of the Bulls’ middle order.
The wickets were shared amongst Boland, Straker, Blade Baxter, and Jackson Sketcher, who combined to dismiss Dandenong West for just 94 in 41 overs.
It left Springvale South with a chase of just 38 in the fourth innings, a mark they reached for the loss of three wickets.
A loss could have put the Bloods right back into the chasing pack for a top four spot, but they now have a 10-point cushion on third-placed Berwick.
Springvale South will host Berwick in round 11 as the two form sides of the competition square-off at Alex Nelson Reserve.
Dandenong West, meanwhile, faces a huge task to force its way back into the top four, now 12 points adrift of Hallam Kalora Park in fourth.
In Turf 1’s final contest of the weekend, Hallam Kalora Park cruised to an eight-wicket win over Narre South.
Ben Hillard (46) and Damith Perera (85) completed the majority of the assignment in a 59-run stand as the home side reached the target in the 42nd over, before the Hawks took the opportunity to boost its percentage with additional time in the middle.
Mahela Udawatte hit his fourth half-century of the summer before the Hawks were dismissed on 268.
Jeevan Mendis took 6/93 for Narre South as the primary wicket-taker in the attack.
The Lions were sent back in to bat for a second time, with play called at 5/65 after 21 overs.
