Lions on the run

By David Nagel
THE high-flying Pakenham Cricket Club faces a tough run chase against Tooradin (256) this Saturday in West Gippsland Premier cricket.
On the first hot day of the season, the Lions lost the all important toss and were asked to take to the field by Sea-gulls skipper Aaron Avery.
Opening bowlers Jason Fisher (1/31) and Dom Paynter (1/58) couldn’t find a way through the Tooradin top order and at 1/119 the Seagulls looked headed for a massive score. The Lions persisted however and mid-way through the afternoon the game began to change.
Sugeesha Dinushan (4/53) has been a revelation this season at Toomuc Reserve and his all-round abilities once again came to the fore. Dinushan took four wickets as the Lions fought back to have the Seagulls 8/198.
Some late-order hitting pushed the score out to 256 before the Lions dismissed Tooradin with three overs to go. Ben Miller (2/70) was the only other Lion to take multiple wickets.
The second-placed Lions will be without leading run scorer Ben Maroney when they try to hunt down the Seagulls’ competitive total this Saturday. However, they have been in terrific form with the bat, currently sitting second in terms of total runs scored in the league.
Russell Lehman, Jason Williams, Paynter, Dinushan and skipper Mick Torney have all made useful contributions in recent times so the target is attainable.
The Lions are currently one game clear of Tooradin and a win this week would be a huge step towards a finals appearance.
The Lions’ run chase starts at 1pm this Saturday at the Tooradin Recreational Reserve.