B GRADE
Nar Nar Goon (5/226d) continues to set a hot pace in CCCA B Grade after defending its day-one total with ease against a patient Officer (145) on Saturday.
The Goon had plenty of runs to play with, courtesy of a brilliant knock from Rajiv Kumar (107), and had the bowling attack to defend that healthy total.
Resuming at 1/13 the Bullants were never in the hunt after five of their top six made single-digit scores.
A steadying partnership from Gareth McKinnon (39) and Sam McDavitt (34) gave the scoreboard an air of respectability, but the winning target was always out of reach.
Steve Pursell (16 not out) made sure the Goon worked hard for its points; the Bullants dismissed after 78 overs at the crease.
Russell Perry (4/37) was the standout bowler for the Goon, taking his four wickets after 26.5 overs of toil, while Ryon Tocknell (1/8 off 13) set the win up beautifully with the new ball.
The top-of-the-table Goon now takes on second-placed Pakenham Upper/Toomuc this week after the Yabbies had an equally convincing victory over Lang Lang.
The Yabbies began day two on 1/26 and required just 62 more runs to take the points.
They did so convincingly with Addison Tucker (45) and Nick Kyval (34 not out) guiding their team to victory; despite three quick jabs to the ribs late in the innings.
These were delivered by Jet Boswel (3/1), who took his three wickets from just two overs at the crease.
And Liam Bertrand (88) was the star performer for Merinda Park (3/135) who made light work of a modest day-one effort from Devon Meadows (115).
Bertrand dominated proceedings, cracking nine fours and three maximums in his brilliant knock, which saw an overnight score of 0/50 quickly turn into 12 points.
David Fisher (3/54) worked hard for the Panthers to take the only three wickets for the innings.
And the game between Emerald and Tooradin (249) was abandoned after the surface at Chandler Reserve was deemed unfit for play.
Superstar Tom Hussey (110) was the hero for the Seagulls on day one.
Round seven should be a beauty in B Grade, with 1 v 2, 3 v 4, 5 v 6 and 7 v 8 providing a perfectly balanced round of matches.
Ladder: NNG 72, PUT 60, Merinda Park 48, Tooradin 30/ Emerald 30, Devon Meadows 24, Officer 24, Lang Lang 0.
Fixture: NNG v PUT, Tooradin v Merinda Park, Devon Meadows v Emerald, Lang Lang v Officer.
C GRADE
Pakenham (193) has banked a crucial 12 points and jumped to second place on the C Grade ladder after the Lions produced a rock-solid bowling display against Kooweerup (154) on Saturday.
The Lions looked vulnerable heading into day two, with the Demons possessing the batting talent to get this one done.
Jaxen Wood (30) showed promising signs for the home side at the Kooweerup High School, but his run out and the dismissal of Andrew McInnes (24) saw the two set batters on their way.
Ken McLeod (3/27) did the early dirty-work for the Lions before Zac Downes (3/39) ripped through the Demons middle order at near record pace.
A fine knock from Darcy Dore-Wilson (41 not out) ensured the Demons were always a winning chance; but the Lions proved ultimately too good.
Tristan Sharp (2/26) also took multiple wickets for the winners; who saluted by 39 runs.
Carlisle Park (3/187d) has provided Melbourne Sixers (113 and 6/114) with a healthy dose of reality after the Vikings dominated the one v two clash at Inez Hunter Reserve.
The Vikings had already secured the 12 points on day one; heading to the second day’s play at 3/148.
Christian Elliott (61 not out) and Nigel Preece (35 not out) built the margin to 74 runs before the Vikings declared their innings closed.
The Vikings pushed hard for outright points, but fighting counterpunches from Brendon Ashton (47) and Gayan Ekanayake (27) restored some pride for the defeated Sixers.
And Clyde (285) is knocking on the door of the top four after Ross Elston (5/52) and Dhruva Sairam (4/29) bowled the Cougars to a 163-run win over Kerala Strikers (122 and 3/103).
Several Strikers got starts, including Sujith Sugathan (24) and Jerin Joy (20), but the Cougars’ massive total was always out of reach.
The Cougars put the feelers out for an outright, but the blades of Akhil Thomas (53) and Jimmy Augustine (28 not out) denied the best that Elston (2/23) had to offer.
The second day of the game between Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (0/1) and Upper Beaconsfield (122) was abandoned due to the state of the pitch at Lakeside Oval.
The best match up of round seven sees Melbourne Strikers (third) host Pakenham (second).
Ladder: Carlisle Park 72, Pakenham 56, Melbourne Sixers 48, Kerala Strikers 36/Clyde 36, Kooweerup 36, Upper Beaconsfield 6, Pakenham Upper/Toomuc 6.
Fixture: Upper Beaconsfield v Carlisle Park, Melbourne Sixers v Pakenham, Kerala Strikers v Kooweerup, PUT v Clyde.
D GRADE
The top-two teams in D Grade have both made massive statements with Officer and Merinda Park both securing outright points on Saturday.
It sets up a massive round-seven clash between the teams at Merinda Park.
Officer (3/123d and 4/82) defeated bottom-placed Cardinia (80 and 121) at Rob Porter Reserve with Cardinia resuming its second innings at 2/43 on day two.
The Bulls certainly made a better fist of things in the second innings than the first, due mainly to the hitting of Brad Remy (39) and patient knocks from Jarryd Taylor (14) and Haiden Eades (14).
Brent Pullen (4/19) was the star of the show for the Bullants with the wicket of the dangerous Remy amongst his four poles for the day.
The Bullants were set a target of 79 for the outright points, with Michael McGuigan (43) and Aidan James (11 not out) handling that responsibility with ease.
The other big winner in round six was Merinda Park (5/140d) who only batted once for outright points against Pakenham (39 and 87).
The Cobras went from 2/132 to 5/140 at the beginning of the second day’s play before asking the Lions to bat again.
Pakenham had two mainstays in the second dig, with Michael Griffiths (40) and Cooper Newnham (22 not out) showing some much-needed spirit and heart, but the Cobras had all the answers.
Kirti Sharma (6/48) was magnificent for Merinda Park, bowling 22 overs with seven maidens to guide his team to maximum points.
Devon Meadows (194) has launched into the top four after a sturdy defence of its total against Nar Nar Goon (147).
The Goon was undermanned on day two, but Rod Downes (54) Abhi Sharma (23) and Gagandeep Singh (23) would ensure the Panthers worked hard for their spoils.
But Devon Meadows found a way through with Billy Loudon (3/16) and Scott Northey (3/20) completing a large portion of the damage.
The Panthers, fourth, head to Pakenham, fifth, this week for a very important contest.
And Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (9/257) has scored its second win of the season after a clinical run chase against Kerala Strikers (163).
The Yabbies were almost half-way home after day one, resuming at 0/74 with Nasib Sunny (54) and Ashikul Haque (41) continuing to build momentum at the beginning of day two.
The Strikers fought back hard through the middle overs, with Jismon Joseph (3/53) in fine form, but a late flurry from Issam Kamal (70 not out) saw the Yabbies home in a very impressive performance.
Ladder: Officer 80, Merinda Park 68, NNG 44, Devon Meadows 36/ Pakenham 36, Kerala Strikers 24, PUT 24, Cardinia 0.
Fixture: NNG v PUT, Pakenham v Devon Meadows, Merinda Park v Officer, Cardinia v Kerala Strikers.
E GRADE WEST
There were no great surprises in E Grade West on Saturday with Clyde and Tooradin batting their way to victories after a bowler-dominated day one.
Tooradin (180) made heavy weather of its run chase against Carlisle Park (159), passing the Vikings with just two wickets remaining in the sheds at Barton Reserve.
The Seagulls were perfectly poised overnight, sitting at 1/59, but were soon 2/59 after Shaun Tongue (4) went early.
Phil Skeats (53) then solidified things through the middle order, but when Nital Tawde (4/29) removed Skeats, Ryder Langley (0) and Ash Adams (7) in quick succession, the Gulls were still four runs adrift of their target with two wickets left in their innings.
Enter the experience of David Freeman (25 not out), who held his nerve to lock down third place on the ladder.
Tawde and Camden Nutting (3/51) were terrific for the Vikings; pushing the Seagulls all the way to the wire.
And Clyde (6/158) has secured the points with a four-wicket win over Merinda Park (156).
The Cougars had no one standout in their run chase, but solid contributions from Dapinder Singh (34), Wes Smith (25), Ash Embelton (24) and Justin Redinger (14 not out) ensured the 12 points would head home to Clyde.
Adrian Savage (4/47) was tremendous for Merinda Park (4/47), who still remains winless despite a competitive performance against the number-one ranked side.
Clyde host third-placed Tooradin this week in the key match-up of round seven.
Devon Meadows was forced to forfeit its game against Officer.
Ladder: Clyde 72, Devon Meadows 60, Tooradin 60, Carlisle Park 36/ Officer 36, Merinda Park 0.
Fixture: Carlisle Park v Devon Meadows, Clyde v Tooradin, Officer v Merinda Park.
E GRADE EAST
A magnificent century from number-three Danial Tahir (136) has propelled Kerala Strikers (9/260) to a memorable victory over Officer (160) at Ramlegh Reserve.
The Strikers clearly had the upper hand at stumps on day one, with Tahir 37 not out and his team sitting at 3/91 in search of the 161-run winning post.
Tahir dominated the second day’s play, crunching 12 boundaries during his 159-ball vigil.
He made 99 runs off his own blade on day two and received welcoming support from Aayush Parikh (33) and Arun Varkey (16).
Tahir’s sensational inning overshadowed the great work of Jeremy Finch, who took 5/44 off 9.4 overs for the Bullants.
Meanwhile, three wickets to Ranjith Vadakkumthanni (3/24) have led Avengers (9/237) to an easy victory over Pakenham (136).
The Lions were never in the hunt, but the effort of youngster Lachlan Elston (37) to dig deep despite chaos happening around him showed some promising signs for the future.
The game between Emerald (177) and Clyde (2/63) was declared a draw, with no play possible on day two.
There are some big games scheduled in round seven, with Emerald hosting Avengers in a top-of-the-table clash while Kerala Strikers host Pakenham; with the winner to be ensconced in the top four.
Ladder: Emerald 66, Avengers 60, Officer 24, Kerala Strikers 24/Pakenham 24, Clyde 6.
Fixture: Emerald v Avengers, Clyde v Officer, Kerala Strikers v Pakenham.
ONE-DAY
The highlight of the CCCA One-Day competition was delivered by Melbourne Sixers number-three Baheerathan Ganesharatnam, who snacked an even 100 off 101 balls against Carlisle Park.
Ganesharatnam hit 13 fours and three sixes in a masterful display for the Sixers.
Lang Lang’s Sameera Wickramarathna (73 not out), Upper Beaconsfield’s Michael Fisher (70 not out) and PUT’s Parth Ganatra (59 not out) scored half centuries on the weekend, William Johnson (Upper Beaconsfield 3/16), Hayden Scott (Kooweerup 3/16), Ryan Wilby (Kooweerup 3/17), Lakhvir Sekhon (Emerald 3/22), Kasun Shenol (Melbourne Sixers 3/23), Arunkumar Vijayakumar (Melbourne Sixers 3/26) and Kade Martin (Carlisle Park 3/41) all took three-wicket hauls.
One-Day Results R6: Carlisle Park 126 def by Melbourne Sixers 8/208, Avengers 144 def by Emerald 5/146, Merinda Park 7/76 def by Kooweerup 1/80, Upper Beaconsfield 3/139 def Lang Lang 5/138, PUT 1/110 def Clyde 97.
Ladder: Melbourne Sixers 66, Kooweerup 54, PUT 54, Avengers 42/ Emerald 42, Carlisle Park 30, Upper Beaconsfield 30, Lang Lang 18, Merinda Park 18, Clyde 6.
Fixture: Lang Lang v Emerald, Upper Beaconsfield v Carlisle Park, Melbourne Sixers v Clyde, PUT v Merinda Park, Kooweerup v Avengers.
