A Kumara ton, but a Buln win
Buln Buln 8/296 def Yarragon 191
Buln Buln has climbed off the bottom of the ladder, escaping with victory despite another Gamini Kumara masterclass.
Defending a monster score of 296, the Lyrebirds completely dominated from the outset of their bowling innings, as the ageless Ricky McKerrow continued his outstanding form with a stunning spell of new ball bowling. The Panthers slipped to 4-36 early as all hope seemed lost, until a solid partnership from Kumara and Kurt Borsato (27) gave the innings a kickstart. Brent Eastwell (3-66) struck multiple times through this dangerous period to all but put the six points in Buln’s grasp, as Kumara looked to bat all day.
The classy right-hander played every shot in the book in a boundary-laden knock and despite wickets tumbling around him, he managed to clock up yet another century in a losing cause. Kumara accelerated at a rate of knots late in the day to make the scoreboard more respectable, as Yarragon flipped 6-94 to 191 all out, with Kumara finishing unbeaten on 121, whilst for Buln, McKerrow (4-31) was the star of the show for the plucky Buln outfit.
Hallora 8/398 def Warragul 157
Hallora has completed a dominant victory over Warragul on the weekend. Defending a seemingly insurmountable total of 398, Hallora would have been thankful to get the game played, however, a strong opening partnership from Tyler Constantine (26) and Matt Wakefield (21) gave the Gulls strong momentum.
Once Hallora turned to their class spin attack however, the game swung back into their favour as Natsai M’Shangwe quickly tore through the middle-order. The star Zimbabwean took several key scalps, such as Josh Wright (6) and Matt Bow (5), on his way to terrific figures of 4-29, as Warragul looked like being completely torn apart.
Several late partnerships avoided complete capitulation, as the likes of Justin McCleary (22), Paddy Mulqueen (19) and the Whitten brothers,Tim (15*) and Daniel (15), ensured a big loss was avoided. They were eventually dismissed for 157 late in the day, as Liam Serong (3-35) claimed outstanding figures in the victory.
Neerim District 145 def by Ellinbank 8/291
Ellinbank proved to be far too good for rivals Neerim District, despite a battling knock from Rhys George.
Defending 291, Chris Perry (2-14) used the conditions to his advantage, breaking through early to put Neerim on the back foot. This paved the way for a stunning spell of bowling from Curtis Howell, with the medium pacer proving to be too much to handle for the frail middle order of the Stags. He took 4-25 as Neerim completely crumbled to 4-33.
From here, seemingly all of the home side’s runs came from George’s end, as Neerim’s goal shifted to supporting him on his quest for a maiden century and it looked to be coming true, as Ellinbank threw the ball around to garner some experience for the fringe change bowlers. 4-33 became 6-135 as George entered the nervous 90’s and seemed to be on track for a ton in a losing cause, however, he was struck on the pad by Howell on 98 and given out, generating enormous heartbreak in the Stags change room.
Sean Masterson (2-19) cleaned up the remaining wickets as Neerim fell apart at the end, losing by 146 runs, all out for 145.
Drouin 226 def Western Park 177
Western Park has suffered their first loss in over a year, with a terrific bowling performance from Drouin securing them a crucial six points. Defending 226, Drouin were forced to wait a while for their first scalp of the day, as Sanjaya Gangodawila (44) and Jack Armour (26) added 76 runs for the first wicket to put the Warriors in a strong position. Paul Timewell (2-27) wound back the clock to take both key scalps, however Leigh Diston (43) and Sam Batson (16) continued the momentum as the game hung in the balance.
With the score 3-149, it seemed the game would be taken into the last couple of overs, but the dismissal of Batson turned the game 180 degrees in Drouin’s favour- Troy Lehman and Simon Gardiner had the ball talking, as Western Park’s frailties proved very real. The Warriors had no answers for the line and length of Gardiner (2-29) and the aggressiveness of Lehman (5-47) as they collapsed in epic fashion- the home side lost 7-28 on their way to being all out for 177, and in turn created a logjam at the top of the ladder with two rounds to be played.