Panthers pounce on collapse
Division 5
A high-scoring affair at Western Park highlighted division five this week as sides scramble for finals spots.
Yarragon (7/209) def. Western Park (9/195)
A lower order collapse curtailed Western Park's attempts to post a winning total against Yarragon on the weekend, while the Panthers' batting strength proved too much for the Warriors bowlers to overcome in a run-filled encounter at Logan Park.
The likes of Rich Kelly (20), Raman Gautam (30), Chris Wettenhall (28) and Russ Muir (41) looked set to propel Western Park to an intimidating target.
That was until a host of wickets to Daniel Haddad (2/37) and Joshua Smith- Butterworth (2/24) kept the Parkers to 9/195 from their allotment of overs - a fair few short of what they might've hoped early in the piece.
Muir (3/34) was able to make early breakthroughs to raise the hopes of the Western Park faithful, but Haddad (52*), David Izard (51), and Lachie McNamara (29) quickly raised the run-rate and carried Yarragon to first innings points.
Late wickets from Caleb Walsh and Jack Powell added respectability to the scoreboard, but they couldn't prevent the Panthers from finishing 7/209 and claiming a 14-run win.
Buln (6/204) vs. Jindivick-Garfield-Tynong
While the full results of this game were unavailable at the time of writing, Buln were odds-on favourites to inflict an upset win over Jindivick-Garfield-Tynong, having posted an imposing total of 6/204.
Led by an aggressive half-century from Jeremy Jagoe, the Lyrebirds utilised the hard-hitting of Rick McKerrow, Sean Symes, and Sam Reid to upset the rhythm of 'the Combine's' bowling.
Only Jason Ridler (3/20) was able to successfully stem the flow of runs but despite his best efforts the run-rate remained above fivean-over throughout.
Jake Lambourne (38*) and John Rasmussen (38) were leading the charge in reply, but whether or not Buln could run through the middle and lower order remains unknown. Warragul def. Longwarry via forfeit.