By Gavin Staindl
CHRISTMAS cannot come soon enough for Officer which suffered losses in all four of its grades, including outright defeats at both ends of the West Gippsland Cricket Association spectrum.
At Premier level and in F Grade, Officer was beaten outright in its two-dayers while its B Grade and E Grade sides were both done in on the final Saturday before the three-week break.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:B GRADE
It was a valiant effort by Officer’s 10-man B Grade side which fell 18 runs short of Kooweerup at Kooweerup Recreation Reserve.
The Bullants looked destined for a heavy loss when they lost their first three wickets for only a handful of runs, but a number of resurgent partnerships gnawed away at Koowee’s day-one total of 173.
The Longmuirs, Jesse (28) and Glenn (26), and Braydon Mchugh (27) nearly did enough to pull off a memorable comeback for the Bullants, but eventually the disadvantage of having only 10 men proved too great. It was also a thriller at Pakenham Upper/Toomuc Reserve where Beaconsfield shook off a dodgy start to win by two wickets over the Yabbies. It appeared as if Daniel Fry’s solo efforts to get PUT to 107 last week may have paid off as Beaconsfield struggled to 7/54. But a blistering 53 not out by Beaconsfield’s Rhys Miller – brought up with a six off Fry’s only ball for the game – secured the points for the Tigers.
At Toomuc Reserve, after making a 58 not out last week, Cam Williams (4/30) saw to it that Emerald beat Pakenham by 56 runs.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:C GRADE
Catani’s struggles continued against the in-form Cardinia as it was beaten outright for the second time this season. The Blues could only muster 102 runs from their two innings as the Bulls wrapped up proceedings in time for lunch. Only a month ago Cardinia suffered an outright loss of its own but has since recorded 38 points from its last three games to trail the top four by percentage.
Clyde’s Joel Avard could only add one run to his day-one total of 137 but it mattered little to the result as the Cougars declared at 7/250 before bowling out Cranbourne Meadows for 92 at Lineham Oval.
PUT’s Ian Mortimer has saved his side from the clutches of defeat after a game-winning stand with John Baker produced a stunning comeback against Lyndhurst Vikings at Pakenham Secondary College. At 6/31 and trailing by nearly 100 runs, the Yabbies were in dire straits before Mortimer (64 not out) and Baker (32) put on an 82-run seventh wicket stand to steal the win and retain third spot.
Beaconsfield has come up 12 runs short in its match against Tooradin at Akoonah Park. Chasing 145, the Tigers lost their opening five batters for under 50 runs but flashy lower order batting highlighted by Thomas Glen’s unbeaten 37 returned the sense of contest to the match. But after bowling little more than 10 overs for the season, Tooradin’s Adam Richmond took the final two wickets from his over-and-a-half to remove the Tigers for 135.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:D GRADE
Beaconsfield has kept its unbeaten streak alive after defending its vulnerable first innings total of 97 against Emerald at Worrell Reserve. Tight bowling by Beacy’s Brendan Ewert (4/20 off 17 overs) and Michael McMahon (3/10) removed the Bombers for 73, handing Beaconsfield a 19-run victory.
The Tigers remain one of only three WGCA teams to have not lost a match through the first half of the season.
The same could not be said for NNG/Maryknoll which lost its first match of the season to Merinda Park match by four wickets at Maryknoll Recreation Reserve.
In his first match for the year, the MaryGoon’s Michael Jennings took career best figures of 8/36 as Merinda Park batted out the day. Down the other end of the table, Upper Beaconsfield won its first match in D grade as it beat Lang Lang by 42 runs at Lakeside Oval.
St Francis Xavier Collegians have jumped to third place after defeating Nyora outright at Nyora Recreation Reserve. Led by a 45 from Josh Collins, SFX reached 8/159 before teammate Ross Baker took five wickets as Nyora was bowled out for 52 in its second innings – a lead of nine runs. Needless to say, SFX didn’t need to work too hard to claim the 20 points.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:E GRADE
Meanwhile, Emerald has jumped from last to fourth after trouncing Pakenham in its two-dayer against Clyde at Hillcrest Christian College.
After making 259, the Bombers removed the Clyde batting card twice on Saturday as they snuck home for an outright victory with two overs remaining in the day.
Tooradin defeated Officer by seven wickets at Rutter Park Reserve but stingy batting by the Bullants in the second dig saw to it that the Gulls would only leave with 12 points.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc has continued its unbeaten streak by defeating Kooweerup outright at Syme Road. After claiming a first innings win on day one, the Yabbies set up the outright win as Kieran Blake took a five-wicket haul to dismiss Kooweerup for 70 runs. PUT lost only one wicket as it comfortably snapped up the 19 runs required for full points.
Meanwhile, Beaconsfield was beaten by 173 runs as it was bowled out for 80 by a determined Pakenham bowling outfit.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:F GRADE
Gembrook has beaten Pakenham by two wickets in a classic run chase at NNG Recreation Reserve. Chasing a whopping 279, Gembrook openers Anthony Williams (64) and Dean Allcott (42) combined for a 105-run opening stand before Cris Deacon added 52 as the Brookers finished the day on 297.
In similar circumstances, Merinda Park chased down NNG/Maryknoll’s competitive first innings total of 151 to secure an eight-wicket win at Lyndhurst Secondary School.
Losing only six wickets over the two days, Devon Meadows has recorded a convincing outright victory over Officer at Officer Recreation Reserve. Due to a forfeit, Clyde won its match against Beaconsfield.
