WGCA Agrade round six

By Ian Ferguson
A MATCHwinning innings of 191 from captaincoach Mark Cooper enabled Cardinia to maintain its topfour ladder position in the West Gippsland Cricket Association (WGCA) when it defeated Emerald.
Beaconsfield and Tooradin also strengthened their chances of finals action when they accounted for Officer and Pakenham respectively, while Kooweerup, Devon Meadows and Catani all stayed in touch with the top four teams after winning their round six encounters.
Cardinia found it difficult to combat the Emerald Bombers’ attack run magnet Cooper received needed tailend support from two seasoned players in Luke Turner and Dwayne Doig.
Early in the day, local speedster Clinton Marsh bombarded the visitors’ early batsmen, and an upset appeared likely when the besieged Cardinia slumped to 6/170.
At this stage Cardinia was still 79 runs in arrears, but handy contributions from Turner and Doig provided Cooper with the support he needed to ultimately guide the Bulls to an 88 run victory.
Cooper amassed his third century for the season, while scores of 50 from Doig and 36 from Turner also helped Cardinia’s cause.
Marsh captured the first three wickets before finishing with 3/93 from 20 overs, while his captain Quenten Lucas collected 1/92 from his 22 overs.
Officer’s challenge of scoring 388 runs to defeat Beaconsfield was always a nearimpossible task, but the Bullants nest will still be disappointed with the response to its arch rival’s formidable score.
Officer was bundled out for 181 due to a magnificent spell of bowling from Beaconsfield’s main strike force Jason Dodd, who captured 7/74 from 25.1 overs.
Two juniors also performed well for the Tigers with Gus Patti taking the scalps of both openers, and wicketkeeper Madison Andrews snapping up three catches.
Club coach Colin Tucker was the only host batsman to perform with credit, and his defiant score of 90 including fourteen fours and a six.
This was a wakeup call for the Bullants colony and it will be interesting to see if the ladder leader rebounds effectively after the Christmas break.
Tooradin disposed of Pakenham efficiently when it dismissed the host team for 164.
Lions captaincoach Rawan Weerawardna and his teammate Probata Fonseka, who scored 65 and 34 respectively, were the only members of the pride to show much fight as only three other players reached double figures.
Offspinner Brenton Adams bowled tidily to collect 3/36 from 12 overs, while Adam Baumgardner and Sam Clarke both collected two wickets for Tooradin.
The Seagulls were also alert in the field and no catches were dropped in the day’s play.
Pakenham UpperToomuc (PUT) faced the huge challenge of chasing down Kooweerup’s imposing total of 371 when play commenced on Saturday.
To their credit the tenacious Yabbie batsmen kept nipping away at this large target, and their final score of 267 was a commendable effort.
Determined Yabbies opener John Wallin top scored with 74, promising youngster Chris Smith added a wellcompiled 62, and number eight batsman Rob Biriase contributed 43.
Demon skipper Matt Davey again performed well capturing 4/57 from 15 overs, Carl McGregor collected 3/31 from his 12 overs, and Steve Johnson accepted three catches in a neat display behind the stumps.
Catani new ball bowler Lionel Sexton dominated the game against Clyde, capturing 6/86 from 26 probing overs.
Sexton’s excellent bowling performance caused the Cougars to fall short of the home team’s total by 92 runs after it was dismissed for 221.
Jared Leontini continued his consistent form for Clyde, scoring a stylish 82, while Mick McGuiness contributed a handy 39.
Catani wicketkeeper Danny Parsons also performed well, taking three catches for the day.
A close tussle was expected on the turf wicket at the Cranbourne Racecourse, but Devon Meadows easily achieved victory after a disappointing Merinda Park team was bowled out for 136.
Determined Cobras veteran Brett Armitage scored a defiant 37 not out, but few of the other visitors displayed sufficient venom.
Doug Louden continued his rich vein of form, collecting the fine figures of 5/33 from 18 overs, while Peter Zauner took 2/20 from 12 overs.
The Panthers had a shaky start to the season but still have chances to snatch a finals place if the team continues its winning momentum after the Christmas break.