By Marcus Uhe
It took just 80 overs for Fountain Gate to secure its first outright win of the summer on Saturday, securing 10 points in remarkable circumstances against Doveton in the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf 3 competition.
Taking a six-run lead into the second innings, the Gators benefited from a bizarre decision by Doveton to declare at 8/24, setting the Gators just 18 runs to win in the final innings.
Despite losing four wickets, they reached the target in the fifth over, sealing a stunning result.
Surya Pratap spun the Doves into a web of wickets in the first innings, claiming 6/22 from 14.2 overs, and taking a catch to remain involved in the action as Fountain Gate rolled the home side for 87, already a fourth total below 100 for the season.
Separate collapses of 4/13 and 6/12 either side of a 40-run partnership between Hassan Ali and Obaid Syed for the fifth wicket ruined their prospects of a formidable score as their batting woes continue.
The Gators then raced to 5/93 in reply, powered by a quickfire 35 from 23 balls from Amardeep Hothi, declaring in the 20th over with a six-run lead to make inroads into Doveton’s second innings before stumps.
Only the most optimistic, however, could have foreseen what came next, as four Doveton batters were removing their pads and protective equipment before a run was scored.
Teenager Nadim Nazif struck with his first and third deliveries of the innings in the second over, and a further two wickets before the close of the fourth over reduced Doveton to 4/0.
Things hardly improved for Doveton, before curiously declaring at 8/24 after 14 overs, sporting just an 18-run lead.
Two eight-run partnerships were the longest of the innings as Tareq Rasauli top scored with seven, and Nazif grabbed 5/9 in a staggering five-over spell.
His opening bowling partner Jasdeep Singh was not far behind, taking 2/4 from seven.
With 74 overs already bowled, the Gators were in a race against time to complete the chase late in the day to avoid returning next week for a frustrating three hours of play, and despite losing four wickets – including three in one over from Affan Syed – Fountain Gate secured the 10 points inside 25 deliveries.
Fountain Gate has now joined the breakaway trio of pacesetters in Silverton and Keysborough as sides with an outright win this summer to separate themselves from the remainder of the field.
It enters the Christmas break with just one loss to its name, primed for a big second half of the summer as it prepares for a premiership tilt.
The charge to supremacy resumes with a pivotal contest against Silverton at home in round 10.
Doveton, meanwhile, enter the Christmas break anchored to the foot of the Turf 3 ladder, with a percentage of .338 and a net run rate of -2.561.
It has now been 12 months since the Doves last claimed a win, an 84-run defeat of Hampton Park on 16 December 2023.
Their season resumes on Saturday 11 January against Berwick Springs at home.
