By David Nagel
CARLISLE PARK (200) V TOORADIN (3/277)
Tooradin opener Josh Lownds is seeing the white-leather Kookaburra like an astronaut would see the moon.
Big!
The gifted lefty continued his brilliant run of form with a special century for Tooradin (3/277) in brutally tough conditions against Carlisle Park (200) on Saturday.
The artificial outfield at Carlisle Park really absorbs the heat and made a scorching-hot day even tougher.
Lownds overcame that hurdle to bat for more than two-and-a-half hours, grinding the Vikings into their home (artificial) turf with 104 runs made from just 116 deliveries.
A simple prod behind point gave Lownds his second century for the summer and took his run-tally to 329 for the season, third in the competition.
He has also taken 20 wickets – joint leader in that facet of the game as well!
Lownds is building one special season.
“He’s having a great season and it’s a great example of what happens when you put the work in,” said Tooradin skipper Cal O’Hare.
“He’s always had the potential to be one of the best players in the competition and we’re seeing that shine through this year.
“He’s made two hundreds in his last three hits and doing pretty much what he wants with the ball, it’s pretty impressive to watch.”
Lownds was at the top of his game on the weekend, sharing a 90-run opening stand with Tom Hussey (37), a 104-run partnership with O’Hare (53) before pushing his body to the limits in a pulsating 47-run union with Dylan Sutton (40 not out).
Sutton then fired some big shots of his own as he and Brad Butler (24) smashed five sixes between them as the Seagulls almost touched 300 for the third time this season.
The Gulls are flying at the moment, with Butler, Lownds and Sutton at the forefront.
“Those three in particular are having incredible seasons,” O’Hare said.
“Someone was looking at their stats the other day and the amount of improvement in those blokes has been impressive.
“Buts is averaging 70, and Dyl over 100, so they’re having as good a season as Josh really.”
The Gulls currently sit second, courtesy of a round-two loss to Pakenham, but there’s no doubt they are perfectly poised to defend their long-awaited premiership from last year.
They have the depth – an enormous wealth of the commodity – and appear to be playing as good a cricket as this talented group has over the last decade.
“I think you’re right with that…I don’t want to put the mozz on us but it’s one of the best teams I’ve played in for sure,” O’Hare said.
“Obviously you have to do it when it matters at the end of the year, which is the big thing in cricket, but the best thing about our side is that everyone has a role and we complement each other so well.
“We’ve got a mix of young blokes and experience, blokes who can go after it or bat time, and it’s just an enjoyable team to be a part of right now…I love it.””
The experience of Hussey, O’Hare, Russ Lehman and Aaron Avery is now taking a backseat as the new breed of stars filter through.
Lownds, Butler, Sutton, Ben Parrott…this Seagulls side has absolute talent to burn.
It’s going to take one hell of an effort to knock them from their perch this season.
Carlisle Park once again showed solid form with the bat, as they have done for most of the season, but the Gulls’ epic total was beyond their reach.
Class acts like Shalika Karunanayake (41 off 33), Dave Nutting (38 off 27) and Teddy Fonseka (33 off 39) all had their moments for the Vikings – Nutting particularly brutal on Lehman (0/40 off 5) – but the 12 premiership points were never in question.
Kallan Braid-Ball (3/33 off 7.3) claimed top honours for the Gulls, while Butler (2/16 off 6), Sutton (2/16 off 5) and Lownds (2/28 off 5) capped off fine all-round performances.
The Gulls will start a hot-favourite on their home deck against Merinda Park on Saturday, while the Vikings host Officer in the toss-of-the-coin job of round 11.
OFFICER (194) V PAKENHAM (1/195)
Pakenham (1/195) has turned the dodgiest of starts into the most impressive of wins after its top-order demolished neighbouring Officer (194) at Starling Road on Saturday.
The Lions looked anything but winners, dropping catches and making fundamental fielding errors, as the Bullants cruised to 4/148 when drinks were taken after 28 overs of play.
Nick McLennan (71) had just smashed his way to a half-century with a four, six and six off consecutive balls from James Close, and the Bullants looked capable of anything.
A score of 250 or more looked on the cards!
The transformation from that point forward was startling.
The Lions would claim 6/38 to kill off the Bullants innings, with two overs left to bat, and then cruise their way to victory with nine wickets and 75 balls to spare.
It would end with a devastating display of batting…but began with two youngsters leading the way with the ball.
Tommy Tyrrell (4/31) had done the early damage, claiming the first three wickets to fall, but the batting of Kane Hawkins (63 off 42) and McLennan – and sloppy fielding – had the Lions on the back foot.
Enter young leggie Jordan Seers (1/26 off 8) and medium pacer Marcus Martini (3/32 off 6.5).
Seers bowled beautifully, mixing his flight with guile, while Martini swapped his new-ball duties with an important stint at the death.
The pair played a crucial role in turning things around for the ladder leaders.
“The start we had wasn’t ideal, I think we ended up dropping seven or eight catches, but we knew if we stuck to our guns and got some breakthroughs we could restrict them to a reasonable total,” said Lions captain Dale Tormey.
“To be fair, they should have made 230 or 240 the way we bowled and fielded in the first half of their innings.
“Then two of our younger players, Jordan Seers and Marcus Martini did really well to slow things down in the backend.
“For a young leggie (Seers) to come on, when the opposition is going at six or seven an over, and to go at three an over, was a great effort and brought things back on our terms.”
Tormey did not gloss over the lack-lustre performance in the field.
“We definitely went over it, I gave the boys a bit of a spray at the drinks break and then after the game we discussed it,” he said.
“If we drop a Luke McMaster, a Wombat (Chris Bright), Cal (O’Hare) or Josh Lownds, the way he’s playing at the moment, it’s going to cost us 100 runs in a final and that’s difficult to make up.
”We understand that we have to lift in that area in the final four games of the year.”
One area the Lions have been more adept at this season is batting, and Jack Anning (57 not out off 86), Chris Smith (56 off 44) and Tormey (60 off 37) produced an absolute master-class of the craft.
Anning played the perfect sheet-anchor role, putting his refurbished to the test in trying conditions, while Smith and Tormey played some of the most glorious cricket strokes that one could wish to see.
Smith had the crowd and his teammates ‘Oohing and Aahing’ with some magnificent cover drives along the ground.
It was almost batting perfection.
“People always ask me how good is he, how good could he be, and I’ve always said he’s one of the best players to watch when he’s in full flight, and that was on show on Saturday, he makes it look so easy,” Tormey said
“And he’s added things to his game and brought a whole new dimension to his batting just when you think he couldn’t get any better.
“And Jack, he really wanted to knuckle down after last year and he’s getting the rewards.
“He’s been super for us this year and I’m confident he can carry it on.”
“He didn’t bat well all day on Saturday, but he’s working out how to work through those tough times and come out the other side.
“He’s maturing as a batter and was fantastic on the weekend.”
Tormey was simply superb, crunching 11 fours and two sixes – 56 in boundaries – in a bludgeoning performance.
He picks the ball up so quickly, with a back-foot cover drive for six the pick of his 17 scoring shots.
“I just tried to get back to the basics of batting, staying still and timing the ball, but none of that would have been possible without the base that Jack and Smithy put on to start with,” Tormey said.
“I wouldn’t have been able to bat the way I did if we were one or two down early chasing 200.
“They set the base for everyone else.”
The Lions now take on Kooweerup as they look to lock down a top-two position.
“We’re positive, we’re upbeat, and it’s the first time we’ve played them this season,” Tormey explained about their round four two-day washout.
“A couple of their players are unknown but we pretty much know what to expect.
“It’s a massive day for the club and it’s exciting to be a part of.”
The Bullants battered and bruised, head to Carlisle Park to take on the dangerous Vikings.
CLYDE (7/236) V KOOWEERUP (3/238)
Kooweerup (3/238) star Luke McMaster (98) has continued his emergence as one of the shining stars in Casey Cardinia cricket after a memorable knock against a luckless Clyde (7/236) at Ramlegh Reserve on Saturday.
Still in his early twenties, McMaster crunched 10 balls to the boundary in a 99-ball vigil that saw the Demons hunt down the Cougars impressive total with three overs to spare.
McMaster took a backseat early as he and Chris Bright (47) shared an 80-run opening stand to set the chase off on the right foot.
Bright once again got a start – his sixth for the season – but fell just short of banking his second half-century.
There were no such issuers for McMaster, with the damaging right-hand opener adding 98 to earlier knocks of 193 and 60.
McMaster leads all-comers in the CCCA this season with 446 runs at a tick over 55.
The Demons still had plenty of work to do after Bright’s dismissal, but Gamini Kumara (82 not out) joined McMaster and made light work of the difficult task at hand.
The pair shared a 145-run partnership that ended 12 runs short of the target.
Kumara came to the Demons this season with a huge reputation, but had an up-and-down start prior to Christmas.
His 63 not out in round two was his only score above 14 until he compiled 51 not out against Cardinia in his last knock before the break.
He has now made three half-centuries, all unbeaten…so either get him early or he is going to make you pay!
Clyde once again struggled to have an impact with the ball.
The Cougars have lost four of their last five games, conceding 321 against Kooweerup, 1/247 against Pakenham and 263 against Carlisle Park, before once again battling to maintain pressure on the weekend.
On the flipside, their batting has been effective.
Left-handed opener Trevor Bauer (77) once again led from the top, while Kane Avard (58), James North (32) and veteran performer John Simpson (30) had the Demons in some trouble before the tea-break.
Demons’ spinner Matt Bright (2/35) made early inroads for the Dees, claiming the big duo of Michael Vandort (10) and Brett Reid (8) in the initial stages of the match, while Kumara (3/57 off 8) was expensive before gaining some late reward.
Both teams face massive encounters in round 11, their final one-day games for the season.
Kooweerup heads to Pakenham for a blockbuster clash at Toomuc Reserve, with victory keeping their coveted top-two chances alive, while the Cougars face a season defining trip to Gunton Oval to take on Cardinia.
The Cougars sit last of the eight teams, but sit just two games below the Bulls in fourth spot.
The Cougars simply must win if they’re to have any chance of playing finals this season.
The Demons will welcome back Adam McMaster and Mitch Davey for the tussle against the Lions.
MERINDA PARK (106) V CARDINIA (5/107)
Playing finals this season is now wholly and solely in the hands of Cardinia (5/107) after the Bulls emerged victorious from a scrappy affair against Merinda Park (106) at Donnelly Reserve on Saturday.
The Bulls are now one game clear in fourth position, and face the encouraging prospect of playing the bottom three teams – Clyde, Officer and Carlisle Park – in three of their remaining four games for the season.
A home game against Tooradin in round 12 will be the only time the Bulls head into a contest not as the punters choice.
On a day when highlights were scarce – Nathan Volpe top-scoring with 27 not out and Jake Prosser (3/29 off 7.2) taking three wickets – the Bulls will be encouraged by a return to their smothering best with the ball.
It’s the style of play that won them the premiership in 2020/21…and one they will need to recapture to be a premiership threat this year.
A key member of that premiership team, leg-spinner Lachlan Volpe, returned for his first game for the season and – not surprisingly – had an instant impact with the ball.
Volpe (2/23 off 8) bowled beautifully in tandem with fellow ‘slowies’, Prosser and Travis Wheller (2/13 off 8), to send the Cobras into free-fall.
The home side – rudderless without their number-one gun Dan McCalman – stumbled and staggered their way to 6/45, before five double-figure scores – none above 20 – saw them edge their way to triple figures.
The Bulls then appeared set for an easy afternoon at the office when Alex Nooy (7) and Morteza Ali (21) put on 31 for the first wicket.
But, which has been the case for a large part of the season, they soon made batting look difficult.
Nooy fell, then Ali on the same score, before Bradey Welsh (4) played his part in a mini-collapse of 3/6.
Volpe, of the Nathan variety, then steadied the ship with Prosser (17) to steer the Bulls to comfortable ground at 3/61.
But again, bang, bang…Prosser and Leigh Paterson (1) departed and the Bulls were forced to do it the hard way.
Volpe and Wheller (21 not out), who showed his class in both facets of the game, then guided their team to victory.
Skipper Andy Martin (2/14 off 7) and Tyson Bertrand (2/27 off 6) claimed multiple scalps for the Cobras, while Sas Perera (0/17 off 7) made the Bulls work hard for their runs.
The Cobras begin a tough run home (Tooradin, Kooweerup, Clyde and Pakenham) with a trip to Westernport this week, while the Bulls will look to bank back-to-back victories for the first time since round two when they host cellar-dwellers Clyde at home.
