By RUSSELL BENNETT
WEST GIPPSLAND CRICKET ASSOCIATION
REVIEW – ROUND 6 (DAY 2)
MERINDA Park’s Premier side started its chase of Cardinia’s 231 promisingly at Donnelly Reserve in Cranbourne, and was at one stage sitting pretty on 1/54 with opener Daniel McCalman (25) and Jason Pongracic (48) at the crease.
But when McCalman and then Glen Ward were both dismissed with the score on 55, Pongracic and skipper Danny Diwell (21) had to dig deep. Again, just as they looked set, they were dismissed – within a run of each other.
It was the story of the innings, really – plenty of batsmen making starts but not going on to convert them to that one, big decisive score.
Still, at 5/128 at the 53 over mark and needing little more than 100 runs still with five wickets in hand, the home side was still well and truly in the hunt.
But instead of providing a middle and lower-order counter-punch, Merinda Park’s last five batsmen could only add 16 runs as the side was rolled for 144.
Bulls skipper Neil Barfuss (3/32) and the in-form Dean Henwood (3/42) finished with three wickets apiece while Travis Welsh took 2/12 from his three overs.
Cardinia’s attention now turns to back-to-back games against Emerald and its potent pace attack in the crucial Round 7 and 8 block prior to Christmas.
There’s already a divide forming between the top four and bottom four Premier sides and these two rounds will be make or break for the likes of Emerald, Pakenham and Upper Beaconsfield.
Cobras player-coach Jamie Smith, meanwhile, said the Cobras – himself included – needed to work on their lower-order batting at training.
“We need to improve there and not just lose wickets in clumps,” he said.
Smith gave plenty of credit to the Bulls bowlers on Saturday, and not just Henwood who leads the Premier grade with 16 wickets.
“Cardinia is the best side in the competition right now – just a very professional unit,” he said, adding that the Merinda Park batsmen also struggled to use their feet against the flight of spinner Ben Darose (1/24 from 17 overs).
The Cobras will next face the Tigers and Smith vowed not to take the last-placed side lightly.
“We’ve got a couple of big games coming up against Beaconsfield,” he said, pointing to Don Kerslake and Brendan Johnson as real danger men with the willow.
“We have some improvement left to come but we need to worry about what we’re doing because at the moment we’re only batting to six or seven.
“We’ve definitely got some work to do before Christmas.”
Meanwhile at Tooradin, a massive 378-run first innings total was always going to be brutally tough for Upper Beaconsfield to chase down, but skipper Chris Savage (91) really showed his class and just why he’s the leading run-scorer in the top tier.
After stumbling to 2/4, Savage put on a pair of strong counter-punching partnerships – first a 67-run stand with Julian Bayard (11), and then another 51 with Will Haines (28) – before his quickfire innings was brought to an end.
Scott Pitcher (33 not out) and Jayden Joyce (23) also contributed valuable runs later in the innings before the Maroons were eventually dismissed for 223 in the 70th over.
Tooradin seamer Bodie Brown (3/50) took his first wickets of the Premier season with Steve Hamill (2/43) and Jarred Thompson (2/47) the other multiple wicket-takers.
Upper Beac will look to build on its improvement with the bat in its Round 7 clash with Kooweerup.
Despite their inconsistencies, if the Maroons can upset the reigning Premiers they’ll be well and truly back in the mix for a finals berth.
In other local Premier scores from across the weekend, Kooweerup (304) stumbled early but passed Beaconsfield’s 186 eight wickets down and Pakenham’s (6/204) middle order stepped up in the side’s win over Emerald (194).
In District division, Cranbourne Meadows skipper Brent Murdoch capped off a brilliant individual game against Pakenham Upper-Toomuc with 5/85 on the second day’s play to follow up from his 128 on day one as the Rebels (285) knocked over the Yabbies (228), the Lyndhurst Vikings took the points in a walk-over after St Francis Xavier forfeited, and Clyde (222) pair Nick Sadler and Nick Miles took three wickets apiece as their side defeated Devon Meadows (142).
