By Marcus Uhe
A hat-trick of final-over thrillers in the opening round of the CCCA District competition has set the tone for an exciting summer of cricket to come.
Upper Beaconsfield won by a single run and Cranbourne Meadows by a solitary wicket against Pakenham Upper Toomuc and Lang Lang respectively, while in the weekend’s third contest, Emerald fell three runs short of Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll’s 168.
Last season’s runner up Upper Beaconsfield would not have wanted to begin its new campaign with a loss, and decided to bat after the toss fell its way.
Things were looking reasonable for the Maroons at 3/112 with Imesh Jayasekara and William Haines at the crease before losing 4/14 in quick succession.
Captain, Haines was adjudged LBW to Danuka Prabath for 20 and Jayasekara was run out for 56, thanks to some slick work in the field from Sankara Manivannan and Ryan Mibus.
They set 7/159, with Jayasekara top-scoring, while Prabath’s 3/37 made him the pick of the Yabbies bowlers.
The Yabbies’ batting innings made a shaky start, losing both openers for a single combined run.
Taylor Joyce and Andrew McDonald combined on both occasions, with James Stevenage removed without scoring and Devin Wilke for one as the visitors slumped to 2/8 in the fourth over.
Prabath and Yabbies’ skipper Brian Kulasena combined for a third-wicket stand of 54 before Kyle Gibbs had Kulasena removed for 31, triggering a similar collapse to that of the Maroon’s in the middle order of 4/13.
Matthew Zisos and Tharindu Bandara were both dismissed with the score on 75 as Gibbs and Haines ripped through the visitors’ middle order.
The salvage mission fell to Sohail Sadiq, who formed partnerships with Adam Tucker (27) and Ryan Mibus (35) on his way to 48 but was dismissed 14 runs shy of the victory, leaving the last pair of Mibus and Manivannan to secure the points in the final two overs.
Nick Pastras kept the pair to just two runs in the penultimate over, leaving 12 required in the final six balls with just one wicket remaining.
With eight runs scored off the first four balls of the over, the pressure was on Aidan Whitfield, but he held his cool with a dot and just two off the last delivery as his side snuck home with the result.
McDonald (3/39) was the Maroons’ leading wicket taker while miserly spells from Haines (2/14 off eight overs) and Gibbs (2/13 off eight) were crucial in orchestrating the defence.
At Lang Lang, captain-coach Dale Cranston and a handful of starts lifted the Tigers to 7/185 after 40 overs.
Rajind Dassanayake top-scored with 45 as seven of Lang Lang’s nine batters made double-figure scores, but were unable to progress beyond a half-century.
Mandhiraj Singh (2/25) was the sole leading wicket-taker for Cranbourne Meadows as opening bowlers Pargat Singh (0/47 off seven) and Gurpreet Singh (1/29 off five) struggled to keep the runs down in the season’s opening contest.
Wickets fell regularly in the Rebels’ batting innings but a series of small contributions ensured they reached the total with just three balls to spare, nine wickets down.
Captain Jass Dhaliwal led the way with 28 at the top of the innings but numbers two-to-six added only 51 runs between them.
It was left to the lower order trio of Amreek Mann (24), Garry Malhi (25) and Sidhu (25) to rescue the effort, with Sidhu not out at the finish with Pargat Singh.
Oshadha Ariyadasa starred for Cranbourne Meadows with the ball, taking 4/43.
The Marygoons have their lower order and bowlers to thank for their victory over Emerald at Chandler Recreation Reserve after the top-order failed to fire.
Jess Grima’s wicket saw the visitors slump to 6/63 with the Bombers right on-top and sensing a round-one win.
But Brandon Interlandi and Carter Davis combined to add 57 for the seventh wicket, and Interlandi a further 37 with Jarrett Eastburn, to push the total to 9/168.
In reply, the Bombers were cruising at 3/137 before things fell apart.
Ethan Crosher’s 54 and Chathura Lakshan’s 39 powered the home side to an excellent start until Lakshan’s stumping triggered a collapse of 7/29.
Clinton Marsh was the final batter dismissed on the second-last delivery of the afternoon.
The bottom six could only add 15 between them as they frittered away a golden chance of beginning the season with a first-up win, after missing finals in bizarre circumstances last summer.
Aaren Corrin’s 4/15 led the way for the Marygoons with the ball as Grima and James Markland added two wickets apiece, Markland’s removals of key batters Crosher and Thorne vital.
Emerald will stew on the loss for another week with an early bye in its schedule as Officer takes to the field for the first time in the 2023/24 summer, tasked with facing the Maroons in its first contest.
Lang Lang will travel to Pakenham Upper Toomuc to face the Yabbies and Cranbourne Meadows host Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll at Lawson Poole Reserve.
