Titan Tyrone impacts in upset win
Division one:
Garfield-Tynong has gone from an outright loss to three points from the top four within a week, causing an upset victory over last year's grand-finalist Buln Buln.
Batting first on a relatively lush Buln outfield, the Titans’ batting woes continued early as Brayden Ridler (1), AK Tyrone (6) and Steve Shields (0) all failed to correct last week’s form.
Luckily, Matthew Dodman (61) was in fine touch at the other end, the left-hander batting uber-aggressively, striking a handful of boundaries to single-handedly carry the score to 79.
From here, the away side needed partnerships and that’s exactly what they got. The experienced Tate Burgmann (23) and Grant Pearson (22) cruised the Titans out of trouble and onto a competitive total.
Paul Bridges-Black (3-20) proved to be a thorn in Garfield-Tynong’s side; his one-day dominant style of bowling proving difficult to handle. Unfortunately for him, few other Buln bowlers could penetrate, meaning Sayeed Shah (12), Dean Henwood (11*) and Sean Somers (11*) were able to push the score to 163 with valuable runs at the end.
In reply, it was a battle of each team’s strengths - Titan bowling versus Lyrebird batting - and there was a clear winner to be had.
Wilson Pollock (0) didn’t use his promotion to good effect as he fell to the spin of Rangajith, before Jack Armour (23) and Matt Mitchell (14) briefly put Buln on the right track before succumbing at inopportune times.
With Buln 3-52, the match was on a knife’s edge, which proved to be a perfect time for AK Tyrone to make his greatest impact of the year. The Sri Lankan is most known for his batting. However, he produced the bowling spell of the weekend to brutalise Buln.
The tweaker claimed 4-8 off nine overs, with the likes of youngsters Kam Collins (5) and Harry Wans (1) choosing questionable strokeplay at critical times. Tyrone then claimed Brent Eastwell (27) to all but end Buln’s slight resistance, with only late hitting from Sam Reid (18*) stopping a collapse of 7-29. He and Patty Ireland (11*) batted out the overs as Buln made 9-122 to fall well short of victory.
A searing, penetrating new-ball spell from Hallora was the catalyst for a comfortable victory over rivals Drouin.
Batting first, the 'Roos commenced their innings in the worst possible way when big-hitting left-hander Sam Whibley was out first ball. However, Hallora’s class shone through.
The top order delivered with Malinga Surappulige and Fraser Duncan putting the home side in front in the game. Duncan played patiently, a perfect number three innings, as he caressed the ball around, while Surappulige attacked the bowling in his usual fashion. The Sri Lankan out to Brad Glover for a boundary-laden 54 with the score at 86.
Duncan continued on his merry way, forming a similar partnership with young gun Jai Newcombe. The pair would add 50 and were constantly accelerating, before Duncan fell for a classy 56.
This sparked a minor collapse of 4-32, with Newcombe (26) run-out by Paul Timewell, while Natsai M'Shangwe (10) and Brett Williams (8) could only make small contributions.
With the overs dwindling down, Grant Duncan (18) continued his fine form, while James Williams (14) added quick runs to push the score above 200; Hallora finishing on 8203.
Damon Healy (3-46) showed his all-round ability with a handy spell of spin bowling, helping to reduce the target needed. However, his and his fellow top-order’s contributions with the bat were not so potent.
With a strong start required, Drouin felt the full front of a Hallora attack that has been simply dominant this year.
Josh Maric (0) fell first ball in his maiden innings, before Damon Healy (2) fell soon after; both succumbing to young star Lauchlan Gregson.
From the other end, it was Hallora favourite son Aidan Phillips' turn to shine as he got Malcom Dow (6), Trevor Gardiner (0) and Sam Wyatt (0) in quick succession to absolutely demoralise the Hawks. The away side fell to 519, and all seemed well and truly lost.
Sam Van Der Zalm then took an opportunity to lead from the front as he and Jake Harper battled hard to keep Drouin afloat. Harper (20) fell after a 60-run stand, as Grant Duncan (3-36) took his turn after the other spinners failed to breakthrough.
Paul Timewell (6) and Simon Gardiner (0) failed to make an impact, as Drouin slipped to 8-98.
If was not for an outstanding knock from Van Der Zalm (73) who seemingly was batting on a different pitch with his aggressive stroke play, Drouin would have been humiliated. However, they managed to save face, pushing the score to 152 before eventually becoming Hallora's fifth victory of the season.
Yarragon has cemented its spot in the top three, bullying Ellinbank to a fourth consecutive loss.
Batting first, Yarragon found themselves behind the eight ball early, as Nick Fairbank (131) and Jack Pandolfo (2-29) struck early to give Ellinbank the early ascendency.
Faced with a troubling task at 3-34, Gamini Kumara and Lahiru Jayakody continued their fine form with an astonishing partnership that wrenched the game into the Panthers’ favour. The Sri-Lankans are well known for their class, which rose to the fore as they dug their side out of a hole with a mix of boundaries and intelligent use of Yarragon’s wide expanses, adding 110 for the fourth wicket.
Jayakody (44) eventually fell to fellow countrymen Gihan De Zoysa. De Zoysa claimed Kurt Borsato soon after but was unusually expensive as Kumara continued on.
The league legend has been a thorn in Ellinbank's side on numerous occasions since the Eagles’ rise back to division one, this time being no exception. He managed to give Yarragon a very defendable score of 7-191, eventually dismissed for a critical 81 off the bowling of Sean Masterson (2-33) late in proceedings.
In reply, Ellinbank was desperate for some of the big names to fire. However, once again, the batting collapsed in a heap.
Ben Spicer (0) fell early again, as Nuwan Perera spun a web with the new ball. Troy Ferguson (25) found a little bit of form with Matt Farthing, however, he fell to Ishan Ratnayake, whose return to the WDCA hit its high point, the Sri Lankan quick annihilating Ellinbank's middle order to change the game.
Ratnayake claimed Nick Fairbank (6) and Farthing (23) soon after as well as De Zoysa (2) late in his spell, while Kurt Borsato (2-7) and Jesse Glover (2-22) proved too difficult to handle for the former premiership favourites.
Sean Masterson (13) attempted to resurrect the innings late, however, he couldn’t prevent the onslaught, as Ellinbank lost 9-49 to be all out for 90 in a crushing blow.
Western Park secured top spot on the ladder heading into Christmas, easily accounting for Neerim District at home.
Bowling first on a wicket with spice, the Warriors were made to pay early, as Rhys George and Nathan Bayne added 39 before the first dismissal. However, both fell in quick succession, as the shine off the ball slowed the pace of the game to a crawl.
Medium-pacer Tyler McDonald (3-21) continued his rich vein of form with a veteran-like display of bowling. The Warriors had all the ascendancy as the innings continued, with only the likes of Kody Wilson (23) and Jack Ward (19) able to put the pressure back on the Western Park bowlers.
Asa Singappuli (1-16) was particularly tight through the middle order, before Sam Batson (2-28) cleaned up the tail as Neerim crawled to an under-par 116 all out.
As the sun came out in the tea break, the wicket flattened to make Western Park’s simple chase even easier. Singappuli (30) attacked from ball one in a 64-run opening stand with Luke Gilbert, as Neerim struggled to keep morale high.
Gilbert (53*) looked in good touch, striking eight boundaries, while Leigh Diston (25*) continued his imperious batting form; ultimately resulting in a simple nine wicket victory for Western Park.