Western Park warming up for finals
Division 1
Western Park (9-231) v. Neerim District:
Western Park have warmed up for their finals campaign with a disciplined batting performance against Neerim District, with several key Warriors batsmen finding form in the middle.
The likes of Sanjaya Gangodawila, Joel Batson, and Dale Fawcett all enjoyed lengthy stays at the crease, with the trio contributing effectively towards the overall score of 9-231.
Gangodawila has been in a runscoring rut of late, but his knock of 45 showed that he surely isn’t far away from notching up an innings of significance, a fact that will have Western Park’s top-four rivals well and truly worried.
Batson’s patient 31 highlighted his ability to stave off disciplined bowling, whilst Fawcett’s 43 showed glimpses of his destructive best.
Capping off the day, Jason Croft made a second half-century in as many matches and his unbeaten 60 provided acceleration late in the day.
For the Stags, Dane Fawcett snared a five-wicket haul – his first such bag of wickets for the summer – while Aaron Fawcett toiled manfully through 23 overs in an excellent support role.
Neerim District have their work cut out to avoid defeat and a lastplace finish – with Western Park’s bowlers sure to take the opportunity to fine-tune their tactics heading into the finals.
Buln finish on high
Drouin (194) vs. Buln Buln (0-0): After a summer of misery, Buln Buln will be looking to finish season 2016/17 on a high against Drouin, with their bowlers producing an encouraging performance to keep the Hawks to a total under 200 in their round 14 clash.
Drouin were fielding a slightly undermanned line-up, with star all-rounder Luke Radford and Simon Gardiner missing from the encounter, but Gardiner’s absence was somewhat overcome by a series of handy contributions from the Hawks top order.
Jake Harper (who made 31) and Sam Wyatt (who contributed 37) added 68 runs for the second wicket following the early dismissal of David Sharpe – and they ensured there would be no repeat haul of wickets from Jackson Noonan with some disciplined batting.
Dale Weller chimed in with 40 and Damon Healy 29 to keep the runs ticking over, but Buln were able to force their way back into the contest with some effective bowling late in the day.
Rhys Holdsworth was again in excellent form with the ball, snaring 3-30 from his 15.2 overs, while Brent Eastwell enjoyed another successful day – claiming 3-60 from 22 overs.
Dismissed in the 76th over, Buln were left with one over to face out, and they safely made their way through to stumps without the loss of any wickets.
Panthers fight
Yarragon (171) vs. Hallora (0-39): A stirring lower order fightback from Yarragon saved them from being bundled out cheaply against Hallora, with Ishan Ratnayake and Brian Christensen the stars with the bat.
Some impressive line-and-length bowling from Ryan Williams and Aidan Phillips kept the run-rate low at the start of the day’s play, with Jake Borsato and Jack Cusden struggling to force the issue – and the build-up of pressure was rewarded with a burst of 4-20 that had the Panthers in trouble at 440.
With Gamini Kumara back in the sheds for just seven – with Toby Codd able to breach his defences – it wasn’t beyond possibility that the Yarragon innings could quickly be concluded, but Ratnayake had other ideas.
Blasting 68, with a host of boundaries in his knock, the allrounder combined with Christensen (who made a measured 30) to carry the total through to 171.
Codd was the stand-out with the ball, snaring 4-72, while Phillips claimed 3-42.
Left with 18 overs to face out, Hallora comfortably made their way through to 0-39 at stumps with James Vela unbeaten on 25 and Fraser Duncan nine.
They will be confident of chasing down the runs next weekend, although Yarragon would be keen to claim one more upset win before the end of their season.
Bankers in box-seat
Longwarry (142) vs. Ellinbank (129):
A disciplined bowling performance from Ellinbank has put them in the box-seat in their round 14 clash with Longwarry, requiring just 114 more runs to claim victory.
On an Ellinbank ground that has reaped large quantities of runs in recent weeks, the Crows were barely pushing two runs an over for much of the day, with the Bankers attack able to build up significant pressure with the ball.
Sean Masterson was again in fine touch, and his haul of 3-28 was crucial in ensuring that Longwarry’s batsmen were never able to feel comfortable at the crease.
Six other bowlers claimed a wicket each, with Nicholas Fairbank (1-15 off 11) and William Robertson (1-17 from 8.1) the pick of the change bowlers, and after 63.1 overs Longwarry found themselves dismissed for 142.
Troy Lehman was able to trap Daniel Pandolfo in front for a duck to hand the Crows some momentum with the new-ball, but Matthew Farthing (15 not out) and Michael Masterson (seven not out) were able to safely negotiate the remaining overs, and Ellinbank finished the day at 1-29 – well and truly in the box seat.