Young gun tops former side
Western Park 10/122 def by Drouin 10/183
Former Warriors young gun Jacob Konstanty has led Drouin to just their second win of the season with a best on ground performance that saw him top score with the bat before turning in tidy figures to be the pick of the bowlers.
Choosing to bat first after a delayed start, Drouin were on the back foot early as Josh Baker (2/29) snared the first wicket. This brought Konstanty to the crease and together with Bailey Osseweyer the pair added an important 42 for the second wicket.
With confidence building, Konstanty brought up the half-century before eventually falling for 67. Handy cameos from Adin Short (30) and Seb Amoroso (22) helped the Hawks towards a defendable total despite a withering second spell from Dave Nobels who returned figures of 3/17 from his eight overs. Sam Laffy claimed key scalps to finish with 2/42.
In reply, the home side struggled to get going as Harrison Radcliffe (2/26) removed both openers. Toby Murfet (57) anchored the chase, batting with maturity to reach his maiden senior halfcentury as his teammates struggled to get going.
With Western Park in trouble at 4/72, Short and Konstanty came into the attack and immediately tightened the screws.
Konstanty’s first wicket triggered a collapse that saw the hosts lose 6/23 as they were bundled out well short of the target. He finished with 3/15 off seven overs while Short chimed in with 3/14 off seven overs.
Garfield-Tynong 8/121 def Longwarry 10/119
Garfield-Tynong have moved into top spot after defeating Longwarry in a see-sawing battle. Opting to bat first, the Crows top-order struggled as Paresh Naik had the Kookaburra talking, snaring 3/15 off eight overs.
Middle order resistance from Jesse La Frantz (29) saw the scoreboard finally start ticking over with Finton Fox (22) making an important contribution late in the innings.
Sudeep Nair finished strongly with the ball, claiming 4/49. Early wickets saw the Titans run chase falter before a game changing partnership from Andrew Myers (27) and Rahil Gandhi (39) brought the visitors back into the contest.
CJ King (24) helped his side to reach triple figures before late wickets to La Frantz (4/16 off eight overs) almost got the visitors across the line. Eventually the combine limped home, taking the points with two wickets in hand.
Warragul 10/97 def by Jindivick 8/98
Warragul and Jindivick battled the elements and each other in a dour struggle at Eastern Park on the weekend.
A late start on Saturday saw the Gulls sent in by the visitors, a move that paid off as Matt Ward and Andrew Pyle claimed early wickets. Nathan Macfarlane (32) settled in for a lengthy stay at the crease, developing small partnerships and frustrating the bowlers.
Starts from Austin Williamson (16) and Matt Runnalls (18) plus a late flurry of boundaries from Anthony Wilkes (17) saw the home side finish day one on 8/93 with seventeen overs remaining.
Jindivick quickly gained control on day two with some sharp fielding as the Warragul innings ended after just six overs.
Pyle was the pick of the bowlers, toiling away for seventeen overs to finish with 3/28. In reply, the going was just as tough for the Jumping Jacks as Runnalls and Jackson Clerks gave little away.
Both finished with two wickets, Runnalls sending down 21 overs to claim 2/33 and Clerks snaring 2/23 off eleven overs. Wilkes (3/22) chimed in late with a tidy spell, but the visitors managed to just sneak home with the win.