By Marcus Uhe
Berwick has made a dream start to the Dandenong District Cricket Association T20 and sent a message in its performance by thrashing Springvale South in the competition’s opening round on Thursday night.
The Bears rolled the defending champions for just 107 and completed the chase for the loss of just three wickets, as opener Jarryd Wills steered his side home with ease in the 17th over.
Springvale South’s opening pair of Jordan Wyatt and Brett Forsyth carried big expectations, and with the Bloods batting first, a big chase loomed for the Bears in a battle of the competition’s two previous winners.
But with both openers back in the pavilion within the opening four overs, the Bears seized the momentum and rarely looked back.
Regular wickets saw the Bloods fail to build partnerships with only Blade Baxter occupying the crease for more than a handful of overs.
Baxter did his best to rotate the strike and arrest the slide of his teammates at the other end, but eventually fell for 27 later in the innings to top-score for his side.
Blessed with bowling options – so much so that skipper, Jarrod Goodes, chose not to bowl himself – it was the part time spin of opening batter Matthew Hague that caused the most damage for the Bears, outshining former Wookey Medal winner Ruwantha Kellapotha by taking 4/14 from his four overs.
Hague could not replicate his heroics with the bat, skying a tough catch for Jordan Wyatt behind the stumps for just eight, but his opening partner in crime in Wills made the required big score to get his side over the line.
The left-hander smacked an unbeaten 69 to steer the chase, with particular success targeting Alex Nelson Reserve’s short straight boundaries.
One six, which landed on a water tank at the nature reserve end of the ground and bounced in the fauna behind it, saw the ball require replacing.
With Kellapotha and Jake Hancock making just three runs each and the Bears finding themselves at 3/41, Springvale South had a chance to make inroads, but Wills was joined at the wicket by the mature head of Michael Wallace.
The pair added 70 for the final wicket, with Wallace unbeaten on 24, and finishing the contest with a huge straight six.
Around the competition, Turf 1 clubs North Dandenong and Narre South posted monster totals in their wins over Berwick Springs and Parkfield, respectively, while Turf 3 clubs Hampton Park and Narre North upset their respective Turf 2 opponents to open their campaigns with important wins.
ROUND ONE RESULTS
Hampton Park 7/155 (Travis Lacey 79, Ankit Saxena 4/27) def Parkmore 5/154 (Satheesh Fernandu 58, Ranees Khaleel 2/23) by three wickets.
Cranbourne 5/107 (Jordan McDermott 32, Davandeep Premi 2/24) def Fountain Gate 8/106 (Julius Sumerauer 3/16) by five wickets.
St Mary’s 5/95 def Doveton 91 (Junaid Kari 2/9) by five wickets.
Berwick 3/111 (Jarryd Wills 69) def Springvale South 107 (Matthew Hague 4/14) by seven wickets.
Narre North 3/124 (Kamesh Lokuge 92) def Narre Warren 8/123 (Kim Bentick 3/16) by seven wickets.
North Dandenong 9/177 (Tahsinullah Sultani 60, Sachintha Rajapakse 3/33) def Berwick Springs 6/141 (Joshua Sawrey 56, Sushant Gupta 3/32) by 36 runs.
Lynbrook 8/123 def Keysborough 8/122 by two wickets.
Narre South 6/192 (Zac Wilson 39, Dishan Malalasekera 3/38) def Parkfield 8/133 (Hansika Kodikara 41, Kyle Hardy 3/19) by 59 runs.
FIXTURES – ROUND TWO
Wednesday 11 December, 5.15pm (Home listed team first)
Parkfield v Dandenong West
Beaconsfield v Fountain Gate
Berwick v Buckley Ridges
Berwick Springs v Silverton
Keysborough v HSD
Hallam Kalora Park v Doveton
Narre Warren v Coomoora
Lyndale v Hampton Park
