Eagles soar over slow Titans
Ellinbank has resumed winning ways, resigning Garfield-Tynong to the bottom of the ladder in a monotonous day of cricket at Tynong.
Winning the toss and bowling, the Eagles’ decision paid dividends immediately, as Jack Pandolfo (3-15) went on an early tear through the Titans’ order. The young medium-pacer removed the key wickets of Dodman and Tyrone early as Garfield-Tynong went into shut down mode.
The game began to grind to a halt, as Gihan De Zoysa (1-7) went for under one run an over as no Titan batsman could get going. Tate Burgmann (32*) anchored the latter stages effectively after his side was reduced to 6-42, however, the rest of his teammates were unable to follow suit.
Nick Fairbank (2-26) bowled a solid spell late, and the home side only managed a meagre 8-89 off their allotted overs.
With a small target to chase, the Eagles went hard early through Troy Ferguson (39) who took all nerves out of the chase with a swashbuckling first portion of the innings.
AK Tyrone (3-18) continued his fine bowling form, removing Ferguson, Ben Spicer (13) and Daniel Pandolfo (4) in quick succession to leave the Eagles 4-72 as Nick Fairbank was removed.
Luckily for the away side, they had Matt Farthing (15*) and Sean Masterson (13*) to slowly see their side over the line with plenty of time to spare.
Drouin has solidified their position in the top four, thrashing ladder-leaders Western Park.
With the game moved to Drouin Rec Reserve, the Warriors won the toss and batted, however, the Hawks were on from the outset with Malcolm Dow running Luke Gilbert out for a duck to give the home side the upperhand.
Asa Singappuli and Leigh Diston continued their fine form with a solid partnership to build a foundation, the pair added 56 in slow time, before Singappuli (26) stumbled and Sam Van Der Zalm claimed his wicket. The Sri Lankan’s wicket proved to be the beginning of the end for Western Park as a collapse reminiscent of last year’s semi-final occurred, with spin again the catalyst.
Coach Sam Batson (1) fell to his opposing number soon after, before Jack Barnes (5) also departed in his division one return. Diston could only watch on from the non-striker’s end as Van Der Zalm utterly destroyed the rest of the Warrior’s notable batsmen.
Adam Feltham, Adrian Parker and Zane Harper all made ducks, with the former parttime off spinner having a day out, claiming 524 in an outstanding, match-winning performance.
Diston (60*) battled hard at the end, carrying Western Park from 7-78 to 9-118 at the end of the innings, well and truly short of par.
After the break, the Hawks’ innings started dismally as Damon Healy and Sam Wyatt fell in the first three balls of the innings, and a thriller seemed to be on the cards.
However, Drouin’s experience and superior batting shone through, as Dow and Trevor Gardiner picked off the Western Park bowling with ease. Dow (61) smashed boundaries for fun, while Gardiner (44*) paced his innings nicely; the pair adding 109 to seal a comfortable win for Drouin.
Hallora climbed to the top of the ladder with a terrific away victory over Neerim District.
Bowling first, Hallora found themselves on the back foot early, as the Stags came out aggressively with Rhys George (27) taking the attack to Hallora’s pacemen.
Lauchlan Gregson (2-32) retaliated in fine fashion, taking two early scalps to restrict Neerim’s pace. From here, the Stags’ innings stalled to a halt as the Kangas’ spin trio worked their magic to wrench back control of proceedings.
Grant Duncan (2-15), James Williams (2-18) and Natsai M'Shangwe (2-21) proved too much for Neerim to handle, as they were reduced to 6-76. Young Vinnie Caia then came out swinging, with three sixes in his innings of 20 to give Neerim a slice of momentum.
Toby Bayne (19) added crucial runs at the death, while Aidan Phillips (2-34) closed out the innings with a potent spell as Neerim were all out for 138.
In reply, Hallora lost Maling Surappulige (15) and Dave MacDermid (0) in consecutive balls, to leave the team nervous. It was Dane Fawcett (2-25) who looked especially dangerous, however, Jai Newcombe (40) and Fraser Duncan steadied the ship with a wonderful 69-run stand. Newcombe's attack, juxtaposed with Duncan's stout defence, helped see Hallora out of danger.
Despite losing two late wickets, Duncan (49*) saw Hallora home in the second last over with five wickets to spare, a scoreboard that probably flattered Neerim in the end.
Yarragon have all but cemented themselves as finals contenders, defeating Buln away from home to be in a position of power on the oneday ladder.
Bowling first, Yarragon was made the wait a little while for the first scalp, that of Wilson Pollock (15).
Jack Armour (22) and the newly promoted Harry Wans (8) attempted to rebuild the innings, but their high-quality form on the circuit didn’t translate to the pitch. They were removed after a short gain to leave Buln in a spot of bother.
Kam Collins (0) joined his good mates in the shed, his horror run continuing, as Buln found themselves 5-58 and struggling. It was left to the experienced pair of Ben O'Keefe and Corey Jagoe to rebuild the innings, which they did effectively. The former proving his worth with a fine 32, while Jagoe - while relatively subdued by his standards - made an invaluable 28, against quality bowling from Kurt Borsato (3-11) who proved nigh on impossible to get away.
Lusty blows from the in-form Sam Reid (21*) and Patty Ireland (10*) managed to give the Birds a defendable score of 160 and a fair bit of momentum heading into the break.
This momentum carried into the bowling innings briefly, as Lasi Amaroosyria didn’t trouble the scorers. However, Jake Borsato (26) and the impenetrable Gamini Kumara (62) snuffed out all Buln hopes.
Kumara was at his brilliant best and, after the removal of Borsato, combined with Jayakody (41*) to see the Panthers close to victory.
Corey Jagoe (3-26) struck thrice to wrench his side back into the contest, however, Yarragon's middle-order proved far too potent, reaching their target in the 43rd over to keep their imperious form rolling.