Berwick captain-coach Alex Roberts punished the Doveton bowlers on his way to an unbeaten 158 following a similarly blistering performance of 6/24 with the leather.By Marc McGowan and Paul Pickering
BLAZING sunshine greeted Dandenong District Cricket Association teams on the weekend and several thrilling battles ensued.
Narre Warren and Berwick were the two local Turf One winners, but the most intriguing encounters were those of the Turf Two variety.
Hallam-Kalora Park, bereft of competition at the secondary standard for much of last season, found a challenger in the Southern Pirates, while Fountain Gate won on the last ball against Maranatha Methodist.
In other matches, the HSD juggernaut continued against St Brigid’s-St Louis, and Hampton Park received a thumping from Springvale South.
@BT Sub Sport News:TURF ONE
Narre Warren d Buckley Ridges
Chasing 238, Narre Warren resumed at 0/7 on a sun-baked Park Oval deck on Saturday.
But the loss of openers Matt Darvell and Michael Dennis in quick succession saw the Magpies struggling at 2/11 as John Simpson joined skipper Wendell Perumal at the crease.
The pair formed a match-defining partnership of 143 to steer the Magpies towards first innings points.
While Perumal fell for 54, Simpson (100) began again with fellow all-rounder Shane Simpson (55) to take Narre Warren within 30 runs of victory.
And as the Magpie tail tumbled rapidly to the pace of Anthony Clarke-Bruce (4/65) and Shane D’Rozario (3/50), only Simpson could keep the Narre Warren ship afloat, with Buckley Ridges claiming the last wicket with the score on 246.
The result places both teams in a six-way deadlock in the middle of the Turf One ladder.
@BT Sub Sport News:Berwick d Doveton
Alex Roberts completed his first match as captain-coach with a virtuoso batting performance to lead Berwick to a five-wicket triumph over Doveton at Arch Brown Reserve on the weekend.
The Englishman smashed a brilliant, unbeaten 158 to go with his 6/24 on day one, while the ever-reliable Gavan Wills contributed 40.
The pair scored the bulk of the Bears’ 6/281, easily surpassing the Doves’ 209, which was paced by Sean Paynter (65 not-out) and Nathan Wilson (40).
Wilson did his best with the ball, too, pocketing 4/50, but captain-coach Glen Lothian (1/63) was the only other wicket-taker despite eight bowlers being used in total.
The victory moved Berwick into fourth place and consigned the Doves to bottom spot.
@BT Sub Sport News:
TURF TWO
Fountain Gate d Maranatha Methodist
A dazzling hitting onslaught by Fountain Gate left Maranatha Methodist devastated in a drama-packed fixture at Max Pawsey Reserve on Saturday.
No play was possible on day one, leaving the teams 40 overs each to impress.
Maranatha Methodist did not make the start it was after and fell to 4/42 before some rearguard action from captain Nathan Monk (70 not-out) and Jeff Thom (65).
Gary Plunkett (21) also provided support as Maranatha Methodist reached 7/186.
Fountain Gate was also slow out of the blocks and found itself needing seven runs an over from the last 15, with eight wickets in hand.
Steve White (80) took charge of the situation, but was dismissed with work still to be done.
Cory Wilson (32 not-out) belted several sixes to bring the equation down, but Fountain Gate still required seven runs from the final over.
The game was then tied up on the penultimate ball before a Wilson top edge broke the stalemate and Maranatha Methodist hearts.
@BT Sub Sport News:Hallam-Kalora Park d Southern Pirates
Hallam-Kalora Park was given a fright by Turf One demotees the Southern Pirates before registering a 22-run win at Hallam Recreation Reserve on the weekend.
Weather reduced the contest to a one-dayer and Saturday’s hot conditions were perfect for batting.
Steven Chapman was an early casualty for Hallam-Kalora Park, but captain-coach Cory Booth (115 not-out) and Nicholas Cox (81) took up the running.
Their 152-run partnership helped steer the home side to 2/249 from its 40 overs.
The Pirates made a blistering start to their innings, with Chamath Jayaweera (57), Martyn Cull (42) and Stuart Dalton (32) regularly reaching or clearing the boundary.
But a slump of 5/37 slowed the momentum before Matthew Perry (29) and David Dervan (21) had a late dip.
It proved too much for Southern, however, and it eventually finished on 9/227.
@BT Sub Sport News:HSD d St Brigid’s-St Louis
HSD snared outright honours in a lopsided clash with St Brigid’s-St Louis at Reedy Reserve on Saturday.
It was the club’s second straight outright result and has it well clear of its rivals in the standings.
Ben Doran (2/27 and 4/4) was the match winner as St Brigid’s-St Louis succumbed for meek totals of 103 and 104.
He was far from the only contributor, however, with Michael Davies (3/14 and 2/27) and Paul Stockdale (2/25 and 3/23) also prominent in both innings.
HSD’s initial 248 meant it only had to bat once.
Jeremy Heys’ modest 32 was St Brigids-St Louis’ highest individual effort with the bat in either dig.
@BT Sub Sport News:Springvale South d Hampton Park
A magnificent batting display by Springvale South earned it a commanding seven-wicket success over lowly Hampton Park at Alex Nelson Reserve on the weekend.
Resuming at 0/75 in response to the Redbacks’ measly 161, the Bloods had little trouble passing their target, with every batsman reaching double digits.
Graeme Rainer top-scored for Springvale South with 53 and youngster Cameron Forsyth was unbeaten on 50 when the game came to a close.
The Bloods managed 6/304 all up despite the good work of Tim Fathers (3/57) and Doug Mulholland (2/76), who was also Hampton Park’s best with the bat – scoring an unbeaten 76 the previous Saturday.
