Neerim District move a game clear

On the back of an aggressive knock of 76 from Alex Gaudion, the Eagles found themselves in pole position in the first session of the day, making their way to 2-124 and seemingly on track for victory.

However, Gaudion holed out to Chris Diston off the bowling of Steven Fox, and from then on the middle and lower order found the going tough.

Grant Duncan (1-52 from 20) kept proceedings quite from one end, while Fox (who snared 6-34 from 16.4 overs in a sensational display of bowling) kept luring the Ellinbank batsmen into mistakes.

He ran through the Eagles tail, and capped off the win by dismissing Mathew Dare, Daryl Hardy and Jack Pandolfo in quick succession as Ellinbank were out in the 52nd over for 195.

Batson shows talent

Western Park (4-344) def. GarfieldTynong (45):

Having first burst onto the Warragul District Cricket Association scene with a double hat-trick as a 10-year old in in under 14s, Joel Batson has shown frequent glimpses of his allround potential over the years.

On Saturday however, the recently turned 18-year old highlighted exactly why those in the know at Western Park rate him highly, carrying his bat for a stunning knock of 138* against Garfield-Tynong.

Having claimed 3-2 from eight overs of nagging seam-bowling on day one of proceedings as the Warriors bundled the Titans out for just 45, Batson ensured that the Garfield-Tynong lineup would receive no mercy – grinding his opponents into the Western Park turf.

Having found a willing partner in Sam McMillan on day two, the pair mixed up the odd boundary with careful manipulation of the field through well-placed singles, twos, and the everpresent threes, and well and truly put their opponents on the backfoot.

McMillan departed for an impressive 86, and Kim Drew joined Batson at the crease – pushing his partner to the limits running between wickets.

Showing significant mental strength to bat out the entire day, Batson’s maiden century came as a result of a hard-run three – well and truly testing his stamina – and he continued on his merry way through to 138*.

Drew blasted a quickfire 86 to continue the punishment for GarfieldTynong, as Western Park finished at 4344, taking home a 299-run win.

Regulation win

Drouin (9-228) def. Warragul (132): Drouin completed a regulation victory over Warragul in their round 13 clash, taking out a 96-run win over the Gulls at Bellbird Park.

In pursuit of 132, Drouin’s only wobble for the day occurred in the early part of the afternoon – with Daniel Burke, Bailey Osseweyer and Chris Gardiner all departing cheaply.

It was Brian Christensen who did the damage – snaring all three wickets – but following that high point it was tough going for Warragul for the rest of the afternoon.

Wade Crawford made his second consecutive half-century and found able support from the likes of Korey Carrison (30), Jack McConville (30) and Charlie Wans (21), and together they helped Drouin to 9-228 before they declared late in the afternoon.

All 11 players had a turn at the bowling crease for the Gulls as the match meandered to its conclusion.