By Marc McGowan
IN the match of the Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) round, Berwick and Springvale South shared the first day honours in a rematch of last season’s grand final, which was won by the Bears.
In other Turf One showdowns, Cranbourne’s batting fired again, while Narre Warren looks set to record its third victory in the last four rounds against Doveton this weekend.
@BT Sub Sport News:TURF ONE
St Mary’s v Cranbourne
Cranbourne put the opposition to the sword for the second game running, this time smashing a huge tally against St Mary’s at Carroll Reserve on Saturday.
Brad Angus (107) continued his up-and-down season by belting his first century. He also has scores of 86 and 60, but has five totals under 10 in the 2006-07 fixture.
The suddenly hot Daniel Diwell (97 not out) ably supported Angus, in backing up his 100 from the previous round.
The pair’s 97-run partnership was the highlight of the innings, as the Eagles stormed to 6/310 by the end of the day’s play, leaving St Mary’s staring at another defeat.
Even bowling star Emmanuel Coomaraswamy (2/93) struggled to pierce Cranbourne’s excellent batting performance.
@BT Sub Sport News:Berwick v Springvale South
Berwick faced one of its first serious challenges this season when it met Springvale South at Arch Brown Reserve on the weekend.
Star import Alecs Roberts (68) continued his scoring binge, but only Ryan Crawford (47) and Brendan Lloyd (21 not out) joined him as batting contributors in an unfamiliar scorecard for the dominant Bears.
The fourth-placed Bloods were on their game from the first ball and had Berwick gasping for air at 2/11.
Despite the Bears consolidating somewhat to be 3/106, Springvale South claimed 6/51 to take charge once more behind the efforts of all-rounder Craig Slocombe (4/19), Gavin Fewkes (2/29) and Danny Law (2/81).
A superb final wicket alliance between Crawford and Lloyd garnered 55 runs for Berwick before it was eventually bowled out for 212.
The Bloods lost Steven Masterson (0) on their way to 1/16 at stumps.
@BT Sub Sport News:Doveton v Narre Warren
Narre Warren will look to charge down Doveton’s unremarkable total this Saturday after a strong bowling performance at Robinson Reserve.
The Magpies had their winning streak halted by last weekend’s rain, but showed it was very much still in form by running through the Doves’ batting line-up for 196.
Chris Pentland (6/70) bagged his second five-wicket haul in his past three matches, while Les Brown (3/27) captured his best figures of the season.
Narre Warren snuck four overs in before stumps and flew to 14 without loss – only another 183 runs from victory.
@BT Sub Sport News:TURF TWO
Hampton Park v Hallam Kalora Park
Hallam Kalora Park destroyed yet another bowling attack on its way to collating 321 against Hampton Park at Booth Reserve on Saturday.
It was a lopsided scorecard, with centuries to captain Cory Booth (144) and Steven Chapman (116, following his 168 last round), but not much else.
Hallam Kalora Park was 1/202 before Chapman’s dismissal triggered a stunning collapse, as five batsmen fell for single figures and nine wickets fell for 119.
Chris Bateman (7/148), who nailed his second seven-wicket haul for the season, did most of the damage, but Booth and Chapman’s magnificent 181-run stand may be too much for Hampton Park to overcome.
@BT Sub Sport News:HSD v Coomoora
HSD’S form slump continued as Coomoora took out its frustration at having to settle for a draw last round at Reedy Reserve on the weekend.
Coomoora, which sits 13 points clear on top of the ladder, belted 4/332 in a dominant display of hitting against the hapless bowling of HSD.
Brad Barlow (136 not out) cracked his first ton of the year and received great support from captain Rohan Paulpillai (74) and opener Andrew King (45).
With HSD crumbling to 5/26 last round before rain intervened, little hope will be held on chasing the total down.
@BT Sub Sport News:Doveton North v Fountain Gate
Fountain Gate picked up first innings points on the first day of its match for the second week running as it demolished Doveton North’s porous batting line-up at Power Reserve on Saturday.
Doveton North batted first and struggled from the outset, losing its first wicket on six before losing consistent wickets thereafter as it was bowled out for just 116.
Adam O’Donnell top-scored for his side with 30 and Kenneth Smart (25) was the only other significant contributor.
In reply, Fountain Gate lost Dean Wolfe before it had any runs on the board, but had no trouble from then on as Brad Francis (77 not out) and David Cranfield-Thompson (46 not out) cultivated an unbeaten 131-run union to stumps.
With Fountain Gate’s only challenger for fourth place being HSD, whose form has dramatically fallen away, an outright win could solidify its finals spot.
@BT Sub Sport News:North Dandenong v Maranatha Methodist
Maranatha Methodist is in massive trouble after a disastrous performance against North Dandenong at Lois Twohig Reserve on the weekend.
North Dandenong elected to bat first and found itself in difficulty at 2/22, with Adrian Harris (2) and Crispin Gomez (4) back in the pavilion.
The sixth-placed side dug in, however, and with good efforts from captain Kevin Leonard (49), Andrew Dohertry (38) and Wayne Taylor (34), it managed to produce 203.
Warren Dickson (4/43) was his typically scintillating self and has now snared 30 wickets at 11.4 this season.
Despite the total looking reachable for the second-placed Maranatha Methodist, the North Dandenong opening bowlers had different plans and rocked the former’s top order to the tune of 4/13 in the six overs before stumps.
Dickson (5 not out) will have to be as good with the bat as he was with the ball to save his side and is currently at the wicket with the team’s final recognised batsman, Nathan Monk (0 not out).
