B GRADE
The great Tom Hussey has still got it!
One of the great players of the last 15 years in WGCA/CCCA cricket showcased his talents on Saturday with a brilliant 110 in Tooradin’s (249) rock-solid batting performance against Emerald.
Hussey crunched 12 boundaries and two towering maximums at Chandler Reserve, propelling the fourth-placed Seagulls into a powerful position against the fifth-placed Bombers.
Tim Huguenin (37) and Ashley Newman (26) gave Hussey a healthy chop-out; but it was the 37-year-old that dominated centre stage.
Ollie Jessop (3/22) continued his fine form with three wickets for the Bombers.
Also scoring a century in B Grade was Nar Nar Goon (5/226d) opener Rajiv Kumar (107), who batted superbly for his century against Officer (1/13).
Kumar was patient throughout and enjoyed solid support from Daniel Rodger (39), Russell Perry (30) and Maninder Singh (30 not out).
The Goon declared and had nine overs at the Bullants, with Perry (1/1) making the most of his one over at the crease; giving the Goon the upper hand heading towards day two.
Merinda Park (0/50) looks set for an easy day two at Lochaven Reserve after a dominant display against Devon Meadows (115).
Class act Nathan Kleinig (55) was the only Panther to show resistance as Cobras’ trio Scott Kunziak (3/17), Gurpreet Singh (3/31) and Scott Strang (2/25) put their collective best foot forward.
The Cobras belted 50 from five overs to finish the day off in style.
And three wickets to Ryan Mibus (3/14) have Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (1/26) in the driver’s seat against Lang Lang (87).
Liam Cumiskey (2/8), Sankara Manivannan (2/15) and Mark Sandfort (2/17) were also impressive for the Yabbies, who currently sit second on the table.
Addison Tucker (15 not out) and skipper Nick Kyval (4 not out) will look to guide the yabbies to victory when play reconvenes on Saturday.
C GRADE
Clyde (285) skipper Jayson Dryden (132) has bounced back to his brilliant best with a stunning century against Kerala Strikers (1/18) at Clyde.
Dryden started the season with a bang, with knocks of 81 and 94 not out, but recent innings of 4, 41 and 11 had him hungry for success on the weekend.
Dryden faced 134 balls; with 20 dispatched to the boundary, and shared a lethal partnership with Martin Gurry (59).
Arun Kumar (3/42) was best for the Strikers, who lost a late wicket in reply.
And guess who…it was Dryden who took the catch!
Carlisle Park (3/187) has already secured first-innings points in its top-of-the-table clash with Melbourne Sixers (113).
The Sixers were sliced apart by Michael Sinclair (4/7) while Rob Fuller (2/27) also claimed a piece of the action.
The Vikings cruised to victory in reply, with Christian Elliott (61 not out), Allash Hassan (49), Nigel Preece (35 not out) and Kye Prior (27) doing the damage with the willow.
A fantastic last-wicket partnership has kept Upper Beaconsfield (122) in the hunt in the battle of the winless teams against Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (0/1).
The Maroons looked gone at 9/44 before a 78-run partnership between Billy Williams (45) and Lucas Shipway (31 not out) lifted their spirits somewhat.
The pair batted for 30 overs together, facing 112 and 104 balls respectively.
Alfie Howat (4/21) and the in-form Bailey Smith (4/35) were terrific for the Yabbies, who will be a little nervous when they take guard at Lakeside Oval on Saturday.
And the battle between Kooweerup (0/0) and Pakenham (193) is well poised after day one at the High School.
Glenn Perera (58), Jack Lawlor (46), Josh Murray (26) and Jarrod Palin (23) dug deep for the Lions while Curtis Eddington (3/30) took bowling honours for the Demons.
D GRADE
Officer (3/123d) star James Quinn (5/23) is showing no signs of slowing down; taking five wickets against Cardinia (80 and 2/43) just a week after taking his 600th wicket for the club.
Quinn almost took a hat-trick on the weekend, removing Vihaan Mohite (3), Ryan Dennis (0) and Krishna Rajeshkumar (0) in the space of four balls.
Bailey Pullen (3/10) was also good for the Bullants; who then declared 43 runs ahead after Matt Lucas (35 not out) and Aidan James (34 not out) led the charge to first innings points.
Gary Plunkett (2/24) then snared two late ones for the Bullants, who have outright points as the only viable target heading into day two.
Merinda Park (2/132) bowlers Kirti Sharma (4/11) and Meaul Karunaratna (4/14) transformed the front ground at Toomuc Reserve into a duck pond in a one-sided clash against Pakenham (39).
Five Lions failed to trouble the scorers with Nicholas Bowe (12) and skipper David Searle (10) the only bats into double figures.
Sharma (37 not out), Chris Smith (35) and Nathan Francis (27) then made light work of the run chase.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (0/74) is well in control after day one against Kerala Strikers (163).
Jismon Joseph (46) remained steadfast for the Strikers but Issam Kamal (3/20), Tanbir Joarder (2/14) and Nasib Sunny (2/44) were consistently good for the Yabbies.
Sunny (50 not out) and fellow opener Ashikul Haque (19 not out) then ensured a perfect start to the Yabbies’ run chase.
And the game between Devon Meadows (194) and Nar Nar Goon (0/5) is delicately poised heading in to day two.
No batting scores are available for the Panthers, but the efforts of Goon bowlers Gagandeep Singh (4/39), Abhi Sharma (3/21) and Jason Hill (2/8) kept the Panthers to a par score.
E GRADE WEST
He is still months away from being a teenager but that didn’t stop Tooradin (1/59) youngster Blake Tongue (5/19) from playing the lead role against Carlisle Park (159) at Barton Reserve.
Tongue had a taste for wickets on the weekend, ripping through the Vikings mid-to-lower order with a fantastic 13-over spell.
Beau Skeats (2/31) was also terrific for the Seagulls, while Andrew Myers (45) and Mike Chapman (40) were the only Vikings to really showcase their talents.
The Seagulls are well placed in reply, with Adam Jacobs (31) making his mark and young Tongue (18 not out) still at the crease.
Sustained spells of quality bowling have Clyde (1/61) well on top in its clash against Merinda Park (156).
The Cougars sent the Cobras in and Yash Patel (3/16), Stuart Williams (3/26) and Dapinder Singh (2/10) ensured that was a very good choice.
Adrian Savage (33) and Dion Olszewski (27) batted patiently for the Cobras to post a competitive total; but the Cougars are on track for victory.
Wes Smith (23 not out) looms as the key, but the Cobras didn’t help themselves; conceding 29 extras in 10 overs!
In the remaining game, Officer gained the points after Devon Meadows was forced to forfeit.
E GRADE EAST
There were plenty of highlights in E Grade East this week with three five-wicket hauls and a very-near miss at a century.
The best of the bowling figures came from Jonathan Sunil (5/21) from Kerala Strikers (3/91) who bowled his team into a strong position against Officer (160).
Sunil and Aarav Bhatia (2/13) took multiple wickets for the Strikers; repelling the best that Oseem Dhawan (49), Jatinder Singh (24) and David Smethurst (24) had to offer for the Bullants.
Sunil (38) then led the way for the Strikers with the bat, with Danial Tahir (37 not out) holding the key to victory on day two.
The Strikers require a further 70 runs for victory; with seven wickets in hand.
Avengers (237) are on top of Pakenham after a good day of cricket at James Bathe Reserve.
The game became a battle between three players, with Harkanwaljit Singh (98) and Praveen Harapanahalli (50) making half centuries for Avengers and Brett Oldfield (5/39) bowling magnificently well for the Lions.
Avengers are certainly on top, but the Lions have the class and experience to give this one a shake.
And Clyde (2/63) slightly holds the upper hand against Emerald (177) at Worrell Reserve.
Opener Jack Ferrier (43) anchored the Bombers’ innings, with late hitting from John Dutton (35) and Dale Street (27) building a competitive score.
The Bombers were under pressure throughout, with Aaradhya Patel (5/57) and Locki Terry (3/16) hitting the spot for the Cougars.
Clyde will continue its chase this week with Savan Patel (43 not out) and Osama Ahmed (6 not out) at the crease.
ONE-DAY RESULTS
Avengers 103 def by Melbourne Sixers 6/246. Upper Beaconsfield 59 def by Emerald 8/153. Clyde 52 def by Kooweerup 1/55. Merinda Park 9/96 def by Carlisle Park 0/102. Pak. Upper/Toomuc 3/93 def Lang Lang 7/91.
50s: Thuwarageeth Sadurshan (Melbourne Sixers) 99, Baheerathan Ganesharatnam (Melbourne Sixers) 86, Shane Gittens (Carlisle Park) 61*, Lakhvir Sekhon (Emerald) 51.
3fas: Brett Maddock (Emerald) 4/24, Thiyagarajan Monie (Avengers) 4/37, Kunal Nanda (Emerald) 3/7, Scott Eastwood (Carlisle Park) 3/10, Tim Miller (Kooweerup) 3/14, Tharinduprasanna Rajendran (Melbourne Sixers) 3/22, Rob Naismith (Upper Beaconsfield) 3/23.
