By JARROD POTTER
DDCA Turf 1 – Round 9 (day 1)
TWAS a mixed homecoming for Steve Spoljaric as he led Cranbourne away from perilous danger and towards victory in a matter of overs.
PARKFIELD v CRANBOURNE
Returning back to the club he captained to a flag less than 12 months ago, Cranbourne (99 and 0/42) skipper Steve Spoljaric made the trek back to Dunblane Reserve to take on his beloved Parkfield (47).
Dunblane Reserve proved the backdrop for a wicket-taking onslaught as neither side could stick at the crease. Jordan Cleland (33) gutsily held on as the scalps fell around him, before he finally succumbed as Nilochana Perera (5/28) and Shane Bell (3/34).
There wasn’t much to smile about for Cranbourne by the end of its 40-over knock, failing to crack the ton and looking down the barrel at another defeat.
Luckily for the Eagles, the script still had more surprises to reveal.
Spoljaric (6/26) and Cam Kelly (4/18) would bowl unchanged to run absolute riot with the ball against Parkfield – dismissing the home side for spare change.
Matt Aslett (20) was the best of a woeful batting card as it only took 27 overs for Spoljaric and Kelly to dissect the Bears.
From battling to stay afloat to 52 runs ahead on the first innings, Cranbourne’s second go fared a lot better as Cleland (22 not out) and Brayden Roscoe (14 not out) stuck at it to set up an interesting second day on Saturday.
LYNDALE v SPRINGVALE SOUTH
Gritting its teeth and pushing towards the par score, Lyndale (170) have already started delivering headaches against finals-bound Springvale South (4/59).
Charles Thurson (40) and Ricky Foulstone (22 not out) made their influences felt with the bat as Springvale South sprayed 28 extras, which may yet prove critical in the run-chase. Yoshan Kumara (4/44) made up for his nine no-balls with four big scalps while Ruwantha Kellepotha (3/38) and Jarrod Armitage (2/48) finished the visitors off.
The Bloods are on the hunt already, but have lost four important wickets in pursuit as Jackson Sketcher (10 not out) and Harry Staude (4 not out) survived the last push on Saturday from Lyndale.
DANDENONG WEST v NORTH DANDENONG
In a Dandy battle, the West (143) and North (2/34) are well-and-truly locked in for a nail biter. The Bulls struggled from the get-go as North Dandenong paved inroads with wicket after wicket. Anthony Brannan (48) dug in from the middle order alongside Matt Collett (25) to prevent a complete collapse at the hands of Northern spearhead Jurgen Andersen (5/38). Andersen left little meat on the Bulls’ carcass as the home side struggled to build any tangible lead. Brannan’s gallant knock would soon come to completion and after he left the tail did not wag much more, with Jamie Brown (11 not out) unbeaten.
The Northern response revolved around Dean Gunawardana (17 not out) as he saw off Peter Atkinson’s (2/10) six over onslaught approaching the day’s end.
HALLAM KALORA PARK v COOMOORA
Coomoora continued letting sides off the hook as Hallam Kalora Park (6/265) wriggled from the net after the Booths put the boot in.
The Kangaroos hopped through the Hawks’ top order as Saliya Saman (1/21) and Joseph Hawke (1/57) kept the early going difficult for the home side. It would take Cory Booth (125) and Ben Hilliard (32) to begin the turnaround – as the duo notched 59 for the fourth wicket before Hilliard holed out.
Enter Leigh Booth (70) – who relished the ball coming onto the bat and making light work of the opposition’s best.
The two Booths notched a 151-run partnership – the second 150-or-more stand for the Hawks in consecutive rounds – and demoralised the Kangaroos run by run. Cory Booth raised the bat on his first significant score this season – his eighth DDCA century in a whopping career.
The duo would come unstuck chasing the last morsels to add to the tally, but walked off to thunderous applause after the complete rescue.
BUCKLEY RIDGES v MORDIALLOC
Buckley Ridges (1/12) was powerless to stop the rampaging Mordialloc (290). Leon Kennedy (68) started the pillaging of the Ridges’ attack – which was gallantly held together by Lucas Hoogenboom (4/41) and Matt Goodwright (1/70). At 5/136 the match was in the balance, but the Bloodhounds sniffed out another 150 as Chathura Athukorala (56) added to the rain with a boundary-laden display at the postage stamp-sized Park Oval. The Bloodhounds’ all-rounder – in league with Cameron Tomkinson (34) finished the job the top order started to give Mordialloc the best part of 300 to defend next week.
