By Marcus Uhe
A captain’s knock from Silverton skipper Rob North saw the Bakers execute an early-season upset over Berwick Springs in the opening matches of the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf 3 competition.
Set 167 for victory against last season’s runner up, North hit an unbeaten 68 to steer the Bakers home in the 37th over, four wickets down.
His bowlers put their side in an excellent position early in the match, neutralising the Titans’ dynamic top order.
Jackson Marie (four), Riley Hillman (zero) and Braydon Hillman (20) all failed to put the bowling attack under pressure, despite winning the toss and electing to bat.
Wickets fell regularly in the 45 overs, with only Shalika Karunanayake (78) passing 50.
Four of Silverton’s frontline bowlers, in Harkanwal Singh, Charith Anthony and Dylan Hayes, all produced economy rates of three or less, with Varinder Verk, the man who claimed both Braydon Hillman and Karunanayake, not far behind.
The Bakers were excited to land Singh in the offseason, having departed from Turf 1 side, Berwick, and it didn’t take him long to show his class at the level.
Silverton’s chase also hit early turbulence, with both openers sent packing for single-figure scores, but North formed partnerships with his middle order teammates to guide the chase home with eight overs to spare.
Kalapu Gamage, Hemal Ratnayake and Harsha Dampahalage, each passed 20 to prove North with adequate support.
Sachintha Rajapakse was Berwick Springs’ only multiple wicket-taker with 2/31.
An early-season premiership favourite, the Titans may come to rue this performance in the season’s later stages.
Keysborough, another side with high expectations having been relegated from Turf 2, made an awful start to life in Turf 3, thrashed by Lynbrook at home by 153 runs.
Half-centuries from Adithya Naron and Jatinder Singh pushed the Lakers to 8/237 in the first innings, before rolling the Knights for just 84 in reply.
Singh’s 52 came in unusual fashion, featuring five sixes and coming off just 46 deliveries.
Keysborough conceded 34 extras with the ball and had just two batters reach double figures, in captain, Christo Otto and number 11, James Wright as their innings came to an end in the 23rd over.
Singh added tidy figures of 4/20 from seven overs to go with his runs earlier in the day, and likely pocket Ian McDonald medal votes.
Doveton also capitulated with the bat against Fountain Gate, reaching 87 in pursuit of the Gators’ total of 141.
At 1/69 chasing 141, the final nine wickets fell for just 18 runs, with all batters at number four and below posting single-figure scores.
Doveton had its opponents on the ropes at 6/48 in the 22nd over of the first innings, thanks to excellent bowling performances from Haadi Kari and Hamed Azadzoi.
The pair combined to take 4/14 early in the innings to put Fountain Gate on the back foot, before John Mirranay and Jasdeep Singh added 71 for the seventh wicket to guide their side to relative stability.
The tail wagged and got the Gators to 141, with Kari taking 5/22, before the dreadful collapse with the bat brought the Dove’s innings to a close in the 31st over of the second innings.
Sixty balls was all it took for the Gators to claim the final nine wickets as Doveton crumbled in spectacular fashion with an upset win for the taking.
Jasdeep Singh and Surya Pratap each took three wickets for Fountain Gate, while Bilal Heras top scored with 43 for Doveton.
Narre North, meanwhile, was given a rough introduction to life in Turf 3, struggling with the bat against Hampton Park in a three-wicket loss.
The newcomers crawled to 102, dismissed in the 40th over, with just two players reaching double figure scores, led by coach Kiruba Sathiyaseelan’s 32.
Ranees Khaleel led the Hampton Park bowlers with excellent figures of 4/20.
No Hampton Park players fired with the bat, but enough starts ensured they reached the target with three wickets and 13 overs to spare.
Travis Lacey did the bulk of the scoring with 35 runs at number three.
Sathiyaseelan took 3/25 to continue his excellent game in his first Turf 3 outing.
