Buln defence starts in fine fashion
Division 1
Buln Buln 7/163 d Drouin 7/156 Buln Buln started their Warragul District Cricket Association premiership defence off in fine fashion, accounting for Drouin in a nervy chase at the weekend.
Bowling first at Buln, seamers Ryan Bishop (3-35) and Aaron Thomas (a typically economical 2-19) put Drouin in a spot of bother early, reducing the Hawks to 5-83 through the middle stages of the innings.
Two Drouin stalwarts stepped up and kept the contest alive after this point, however, as Jake Harper’s move to the middle order proved effective, playing some sublime strokes on his way to 44, while Paul Timewell’s quick time 35 propelled Drouin to a highly-defendable 7-156.
Jack Armour (37) and Wilson Pollock (35) look a fine opening partnership for the Lyrebirds this season- and their opening stand almost took the game away from the Hawks.
However timely wickets from the reliable Brad Glover and Joey Sweeney, who took two on the stroke of drinks, caused Buln to collapse to 7-138 with the overs remaining dwindling.
In keeping with their ice-cool demeanours, however, Max Kelly (38*) and Ryan Bishop took their opportunity in the ones and provided the goods, sneaking the Lyrebirds over the line in a clinical manner.
Best chase in recent times
Ellinbank 1/194 d Neerim District 9/191 Matt Farthing (89*) and Troy Ferguson (77) provided a 153-run opening stand in one of the best round one chases in recent memory at Ellinbank.
The first half of the day, however, didn’t quite go to plan for the Eagles- as Nathan Bayne showed his talent with an expansive 67 as Neerim’s depth shone through as numerous contributors propelled last year’s division two premiers to a commanding 9-191 off their overs.
Luke Rogers (3-29) and Sean Masterson (239) proved the only bowlers effective Ellinbank- and for the day as it proved, as the score of 191 was soon dwarfed by what was to come.
Ferguson and Farthing simply took to the slightly-depleted Stags attack in reply- Farthing proving a big pre-season is paying dividends, becoming more attacking and expansive by the over as he produced his highest division one score, while Ferguson returned to the form he had shown for so many years in his younger days.
When Ferguson fell, there was just 39 more runs to clean up, and they were dutifully polished off with the loss of no more wickets as Ellinbank produced their masterclass with the bat.
Different result for re-match
Hallora 141 lost to Western Park 7/181 The re-match of last year’s semi-finalists provided a much different result to what occurred in March- with Western Park claiming a relatively comfortable 40 run victory at Hallora.
The loss of four wickets by the drinks break put the Warriors in a nervy position as new recruit and coach Malinga Surappulige (4-33) weaved some magic with the ball, and in the field for the Kangaroos.
However a 31-ball 44 from recently unretired veteran Danny Sheehan changed the game- as he sent three over the fence in a blistering knock while being supported by Sam Batson (31) down the other end.
The score of 181 looked a little bit much on an outfield much slower than it was six months prior, however James Vela’s 47 proved to be a thorn in the Warriors side as he didn’t look like he was ever getting out.
In the end, a firm drive caught and bowled by Sam Batson caused a collapse of 5-14 through the middle, and ultimately spells by Danny Sheehan (3-35) new recruit Troy Lehman (2-19), Jason Croft (2-17) and Angus Emery (2-12) put an end to Hallora’s resistance as they tumbled to 141 all out.
Long wait ends
Yarragon 6/182 lost to Jindivick 5/185 It’s been five long years since Jindivick were in the premier division of the WDCA.
And they celebrated a special day for the club with a terrific, defiant victory over a rejuvenated Yarragon outfit.
Losing the toss and bowling first, Jindivick were left with an uphill task as Yarragon’s recruits shone, Gayan De Silva and Nuwan Perera showing incredibly ominous form on their way to 59 and 48 respectively. The pair were only restricted due to handy spells from Craig Boswell and Shannon Mitchell, who each took 2-35.
The game seemed to be in Yarragon’s hands at the tea-break, as their score of 6-182 on a relatively slow Yarragon outfield looked potentially insurmountable.
Despite two early wickets from Laytten Smith which rocked the top order, Jindivick prevailed with five wickets and seven balls to spare.
This came firstly through a 66-run stand from Greg Interlandi (32) and Dananja Madushanka (29), but after falling to 5-102, their efforts seemed in vain.
In step up captain Stevie Dillon (48*) and star recruit Hussain Ali (32*), the pair changed the game with an unbroken 83-run stand which completed a famous victory for the Jumping Jacks.