By Jonty Ralphsmith
Defending champions Kooweerup will be joined by Clyde, Tooradin and Merinda Park in the semi-final stages of the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) T20 Kookaburra Cup.
The eight CCCA Premier Division clubs were split into two groups of four, each playing one T20 game against each other, with the top two teams in each group progressing.
Tooradin was the only side across either group to go undefeated, beating Upper Beaconsfield by 30 runs, Tooradin by 47 runs and Clyde by 43 runs.
The Seagulls’ ability to set big scores in their three games set the match up, with Cal O’Hare and Mick Sweeney the standout bats.
Clyde started with a 14-run victory over Pakenham, with a series of batting cameos and eight bowlers used in the upset win.
A haul of 4/17 to Praveen Perera got them over the top of Upper Beaconsfield before being beaten by Tooradin.
Kooweerup topped an even Pool B, where the Demons, Merinda Park and Cardinia all finished with two wins from their three matches.
The Demons smashed Merinda Park and Devon Meadows before being edged by Cardinia in the third round.
Chris Bright played an important hand with the bat in both of their wins, while marquee player Sahan Perera, a Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association player has been hard to get away with the ball.
The Cobras rebounded from a round one loss to chase down Cardinia’s 2/164 and then Devon Meadows’ 9/99.
The in-form Daniel McCalman was the backbone of the big chase against Cardinia, with cameos from Ash Slater, Tobias Van Den Heever and Campbell Bryan.
McCalman then did it with the ball, alongside opening bowler Bevin Corneille to make the job reasonably straight forward for the batters.
The Bulls, meanwhile, would count themselves unlucky, having skittled the Panthers for just 57 and beaten powerhouse Kooweerup, but will rue the inability to defend a big score against Merinda Park.
The semi-finals will be played on Tuesday 21 January, with Kooweerup hosting Clyde and Tooradin hosting Merinda Park for a spot in the grand final.
Kooweerup won last season’s Kookaburra Cup, defeating Merinda Park in the grand final.
DISTRICT
Cranbourne Meadows has a squad custom-built for short-form cricket and the Rebels proved their strength in the format with a blistering group stage of the District T20 competition.
The Rebels overran Officer’s 8/148 and set Melbourne Sixers a mighty 165, before tearing through Carlisle Park, bowling them out for 97; which they easily chased down.
The Rebels have an embarrassment of riches with the stick which they relied heavily upon, with the group stage dominated by cameos rather than big scores.
But it was a trio of strike bowlers that put their names on the map, with Kanwaljit Handa, Pargat Singh and Rajeev Dhankar each claiming five wickets.
Singh took 3/16 against Melbourne Sixers, while Dhankar was also dominant in the second fixture with 3/20.
Handa’s best figures, meanwhile, came in the last game.
The Rebels finished first in Pool A, with Officer coming second defeating Carlisle Park and Melbourne Sixers, the latter by forfeit.
Although a different competition, reaching the semi-finals will provide the Bullants with valuable extra game time as they target the CCCA District premiership.
In Pool B, Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll was undefeated, while Pakenham Upper Toomuc has also progressed.
The Marygoons scored 5/209 in their first game, turbocharged by a 140-run opening partnership between Troy Ferguson (81 off 50) and Nick Fairbank (68 off 42) which lifted them to an 83-run win over Lang Lang.
They were able to carry that form into their bout with the Yabbies; middle-order batter Gayan De Silva helping them win by three wickets before chasing 6/168 against Emerald, led by an unbelievable 99 off 33 to Rishi Patel.
A 13-boundary 96 to Talwinder Prince lifted the Yabbies to 197 in round one of the T20 competition, enough to win by 86 runs against Emerald.
Captain Brian Kulasena led the way in the other win – over Lang Lang – with 70 off 41, his team’s batting form in the group stage arguably the best in the competition.
NNG/Maryknoll faces Officer and Cranbourne Meadows takes on Pakenham Upper Toomuc in the semi-finals on Tuesday 21 January.
