Western Park pull off great escape

Hallora Yarragon Longwarry/Warragul Neerim District Drouin 9 9 9 3 15 9 3 3 9 9 9 3 9 9 9 3 9 3 3 0 15 15 9 9 3 3 15 9 9 9 3

Division 1

Drouin 158 def by Western Park 9/167cc

Western Park has pulled off a great escape at Bellbird Park at the weekend, with a massive Drouin collapse handing Warriors victory in a fascinating encounter.

With 168 required for victory, the Hawks got off to a steady start with John Perry (24) and Nick Harper (11) taking the shine off the new ball with a steady 36 run opening stand.

However both were quickly removed by Sanjaya Gangodawila (2-17), while Jake Harper and Sam Wyatt also fell in quick succession, as Sam Van der Zalm and Paul Timewell gave chances, but fought hard to remain four wickets down at tea.

Van der Zalm quickly took the attack to the Western Park bowling attack after tea, and with the support of Timewell (18) who ultimately fell to Troy Lehman, pushed the score to 5-155 with plenty of overs remaining.

Van der Zalm simply dominated the attack during this period, lofting several boundaries as well as a towering six over mid-wicket as he seemingly assured a comprehensive victory for Drouin.

However Troy Lehman begun to make things happen for Western Park- removing a wounded Jamie Glen with a vicious bouncer before Van der Zalm fell soon after.

And after Dale Weller was removed the following delivery, Lehman had taken four in quick succession as Drouin were reeling on 8-157.

Jason Croft kept things tight at the other end as a rampant Lehman finished the innings with six as he removed Simon Gardiner and former teammate Joey Sweeney as Western Park won by nine runs,

Lehman finished with 6-41.

Buln survive scare

Hallora 168 def by Buln Buln 208 Buln Buln has survived a late Hallora onslaught to claim victory in the grand final rematch.

Defending 208, the Lyrebirds had the Kangaroos in all sorts of trouble early in the innings as Jackson Noonan (3-24) and Rick McKerrow (2-2) ran rampant to leave Hallora in tatters at 4-17.

Brett Williams (20) and Ash Causey (34) led the rescue effort, as Jeff Walsh and Corey Jagoe used their experience to bowl in tandem and slow the game to a snail’s pace.

Unfortunately for the Kangas, wickets continued to fall in regular intervals with Max Kelly (2-43) taking key scalps of Williams and Aidan Phillips (eight), and once Grant Duncan (26) was run out brilliantly by the wily Jeff Walsh, Hallora were in huge trouble at 8-126.

Malinga Surappulige (58 off 66) showed his batting prowess, hitting a boundary-laden half-century, and in turn created a mighty scare in the Buln team.

However he and James Williams fell in quick succession as Bryce Monahan (2-25) cleaned up the tail.

Buln moved to two wins and look in ominous form once again.

Ellinbank unbeaten

Jindivick 152 def by Ellinbank 273 Ellinbank has solidified their unbeaten run and place on top of the ladder with an emphatic victory over Jindivick away from home.

Defending a mammoth 273, Ellinbank would have been extremely confident entering their bowling innings and after Nathan Pulham (230) removed Sean Viotto early in the piece along with Greg Interlandi (0) and Dananja Madushanka (0), the Jumping Jacks were in almighty trouble at 3-45.

Morne O’Donoghue (62) belted his way to a half-century in a terrific counter-attacking innings, however Will Robertson (2-33) removed him at a key time with wickets seemingly coming easily for the rest of the day.

Nick Fairbank (4-33) was clinical for Ellinbank as the day wore on as Eddie McGillivray (24) and Hussain Ali (43) pleaded their case for movement up the order.

However once Ali was removed, Fairbank did the rest for his side, as 6145 quickly became 152 all out.

The day was finished soon after tea, with Ellinbank remaining undefeated and Jindivick having to go back to the drawing board.

Kumara does it again

Neerim District 91 def by Yarragon 141 and 2/72

Gamini Kumara has done it again for Yarragon, winning a game off his own back, as Yarragon pulled off an outstanding victory.

Defending an under-par 141 with Neerim resuming at 1-20, Nathan Bayne and night-watchmen Matthew Kelliher pushed the score up to 39 before Kumara struck for the first time for the day, running out Kelliher to cause a slight panic in the Stags dressing room.

This panic turned into mayhem on the pitch as Nathan Bayne watched helplessly from the other end as Kumara ran rampant.

Buoyed by support from Nuwan Perera (1-9) at the other end, Kumara destroyed the middle order, taking stumps for fun on his way to a matchwinning 7-38.

Only Bayne (50*) showed any fight as Neerim were decimated to 91 all out and a 50-run loss.

With plenty of time still left in the day, Neerim’s hopes for an unlikely reverse outright were hampered by Jake Borsato (25*), Brock Glover (22) and Gayan De Silva (22) who pushed the score to 2-72 before the match was ultimately ended.

Kumara undoubtedly picked up man-of-the-match honours.