By Julian Bayard
CARDINIA remains at the top of the B-grade ladder after it won a classic encounter at Pakenham Upper on Saturday.
Chasing the Yabbies’ total of 8/122, the Bulls looked in all sorts of trouble at 9/93 before a last-wicket stand between John Frenken (20 not-out) and Chris Remy (24 not-out) saw the Bulls to victory, eventually reaching 9/134 from 31 overs.
Ryan De Reus was the pick of the bowlers for the Bulls with 3/30 from his eight overs, while John Miller bowled well for the Yabbies, also taking three wickets.
Emerald easily won its encounter against Beaconsfield, with the Bombers’ total of 7/213 being too strong for the Tigers who could only manage 76 in reply.
Rod Smith continued his superb form this season by scoring 76 runs to take his tally to 337 for the season, while both Robert Wynne and Danny Giles each took three wickets for the victorious Bombers.
Kooweerup produced a strong performance to gain victory against Clyde, with the Demons dismissing the Cougars for just 79 before reaching 6/111 from 30.1 overs in reply.
John Bright was the best of the Demons’ bowlers, taking 3/17 from eight overs, while Richard Light batted well to score 37 runs.
No scores were available from Clyde at the time of writing this report.
The match between Merinda Park and Upper Beaconsfield ended in a draw after rain caused play to stop with Upper Beaconsfield perilously placed at 5/48, chasing the Cobras’ total of 8/133.
Peter Jessop was the pick of the Cobras’ batsmen reaching 43 not-out, while Upper Beaconsfield captain Glenn Kilburn bowled well to take 3/11 from his seven overs.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:C GRADE
Half centuries from both captain Ben Jarred and Andrew Wall saw Pakenham Upper-Toomuc (PUT) to victory against Emerald, with the Yabbies scoring 3/161 after the Bombers had earlier reached 9/121 from their 40 overs.
Derek Scott was the only Bombers’ player to reach double figures, scoring an excellent 57 to take his season runs tally to 210.
Officer scored a comfortable victory in its match against Beaconsfield, restricting the Tigers to just 6/93 from their 40 overs after earlier reaching 8/175.
Tony Smith was the best of the Bullants’ batsmen, scoring a fine 42 runs, while Paul Simon bowled economically to take 2/6 from his eight overs to see his side to a strong win.
Tooradin successfully chased down Devon Meadows’ total of 8/124, reaching 7/129 from 35 overs when the match was called off.
Darren Mantel was the best of the Seagulls’ bowlers taking 3/30 from eight overs, while David Simpson batted well to score 51 not-out in his first match of the season for the Panthers.
A brilliant innings of 81 not-out from Damien Bounden helped Catani seal victory in its match against Pakenham, with the Blues scoring 4/176 before restricting the Lions to just 5/112 in reply.
Damien Nieuwesteeg was the pick of the Catani bowlers, taking 3/22 from eight overs.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:D GRADE
Justin Smith produced a memorable performance in his first match of the season for Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll, scoring 31 runs and taking 2/14 from eight overs as the Marygoons accounted for Kooweerup.
The Demons were dismissed for just 109 batting first, with Jeff Stephanitsch taking 3/17 from his eight overs, before Geoff Ball hit 39 runs as the Marygoons reached 7/134 in reply.
Merinda Park scored a comprehensive victory in its match against Pakenham, scoring 6/230 before dismissing the Lions for just 43 in reply.
Several excellent performances were seen by Cobras’ players, with Shaun Hughes scoring 63 runs, Heath Gibson making 58, while Grant Pearson claimed 6/11 from his eight overs. Cardinia proved to be too strong in its clash with Lyndhurst, restricting the Vikings to 7/126 before scoring 8/134 in reply.
Gary Quinlan was the standout performer in the match, scoring 42 runs at the top of the order for the Bulls.
Four wickets from Andrew Blackney helped Kilcunda-Bass to victory over Nyora, with the Maroons being dismissed for just 98 before the Sharks scored 6/109 from 38 overs in reply.
Craig Hart was the best of the Kilcunda-Bass batsmen, scoring 35 not-out at number-six.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:E GRADE
Darren Temby (55 runs) and James Perkins (50 not-out) combined for an 87-run partnership to help PUT to victory over Emerald, with the Bombers being restricted to 9/121 from their 40 overs before the Yabbies scored 5/143 form 35 overs in reply.
Nicholas Kyval was the best of the Yabbies’ bowlers taking 3/33 from his eight overs.
Pakenham’s total of 9/101 wasn’t enough to defeat Merinda Park, with the Cobras scoring 2/114 in reply from just 20 overs.
David Field bowled superbly for the Cobras to take 4/16 from eight overs, while Mark Dipilla produced a strong performance with the bat to score 45 runs.
The match between Clyde and Officer was washed out with Officer being 5/84 chasing Clyde’s total of 8/169.
Tooradin v Cranbourne Meadows was also washed out with the Rebels sitting at 2/57 from 20 overs in reply to Tooradin’s 6/174, with Grant Attewell scoring 75 not-out for the Seagulls.
F GRADE
Beaconsfield remains at the top of the ladder after defeating Gembrook by seven wickets, with the Tigers scoring 4/134 in reply to Gembrook’s 9/105.
Under-13 Thomas Glen was the best of the Tigers’ bowlers taking four wickets.
Upper Beaconsfield won its match against Devon Meadows on the back of a terrific individual performance from Richard Edwards.
Edwards scored 42 runs in the Maroons’ innings of 7/184, before taking three wickets as the Panthers were restricted to 8/144.
Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll’s total of 9/111 was too strong for PUT, with the Yabbies only managing 8/43 in reply.
Paul Manning was the pick of the Marygoons’ bowlers in his first match of the season taking 3/20 from eight overs.
Lang Lang’s total of 117 wasn’t enough to overcome Lyndhurst, with the Vikings reaching 6/138 in reply, with wicketkeeper Jason George top scoring with 31 runs.
Earlier, Michael Insall bowled well for the Vikings to take the excellent figures of 5/35 from eight overs.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:G GRADE
Kooweerup proved too strong for PUT, with the Demons scoring 2/85 in reply to the Yabbies’ total of 6/74, while four wickets from both Brenton Tibballs and Alan Tibballs couldn’t score Devon Meadows victory over Kilcunda/Bass, losing by 21 runs.
Cardinia was too strong for Upper Beaconsfield, winning by eight wickets, while at Merinda Park, three wickets from Lyndhurst’s Peter Lambert ensured the Vikings scored maximum points over the Cobras.
Emerald captain Gary Santini smashed six boundaries and four sixes in his innings of 52 retired not-out, as Emerald easily defeated Beaconsfield, while Kieren Harrison, Dylan Cameron and Thomas Medwin all scored half centuries in Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll’s win over Officer.
Unfortunately no scores are available from Clyde’s innings of 6/193 from just 20 overs against Nyora, with the Cougars gaining victory after dismissing the Maroons for 182, while SFX captain Kerry Ashford scored 49 runs in the Saints’ win over Cranbourne Meadows.
