Cardinia’s captain Mark Cooper was back to his imperious best on Saturday on his way to 86 against Kooweerup. Picture: Donna Oates
DAY one of round 12 in the West Gippsland Premier Division saw individual highlights from Pakenham Upper-Toomuc’s Chris Smith (135) and Upper Beaconsfield’s Chris Pentland (5/12), while on the team front the competition’s heavyweights collided in a match with many twists and turns.
The shoot-out at Denhams Road is evenly poised after big guns Kooweerup and Cardinia (251) both dodged bullets in a rapid-fire start to their top-of-table clash on Saturday.
Visiting skipper Mark Cooper (86) had no hesitation in batting first, but the opener sat in stunned silence as he watched his plans back-fire before his very eyes.
A slight re-shuffle at the top saw Dwayne Doig (0) open and gun Neil Barfuss (2) drop to three, but it was Demon’s opener Ron Bright (3/30 off 11) who fired the early shots. He had Doig caught in slips by Chris O’Hara (4/23 off 10) and then Barfuss caught behind to leave the misfiring Bulls at a precarious 2/3.
The frenetic opening started a see-sawing contest that for the next couple of hours anyway, belonged to the Bulls. Cooper has been finding form recently and along with the experienced Ben Darose (49) settled in for the fight. An early dropped chance off Darose proved costly for the Demons as the Bulls’ duo put on 101 for the third wicket.
Darose gave Chris Bright his second catch behind the stumps, but Cooper marched on, this time partnering Danny Diwell (59) in a 98-run stand that had the Bulls primed for a big total at 3/202. Trent Cochrane and Travis Canavan then combined to run-out Diwell and that sparked the Demons into a fight back all of its own.
O’Hara’s innocuous looking medium pacers have claimed 21 wickets for the season, and he triggered a mid-order collapse when he first removed Cooper and then backed that up with two more quick wickets. The Bulls position of power was squandered somewhat as it lost its last seven wickets for 49 runs, with Troy Darose (23) doing well to help the score past 250.
John Bright (1/27 off 7) and Shane Dole (1/57 off 18.5) both claimed a wicket apiece to cap off an intriguing days play. Dole, the Demons coach, was rapt with his teams start, but knew the Bulls would fight back hard.
“It was a good start, we put the ball in good areas and created opportunities and getting Barfuss early was critical for us,” Dole said.
“We haven’t got any big pace bowlers, so we need to exploit the new-ball and get early wickets and we did that well today.
“We knew there was plenty of work to do though, Coops (Cooper) always seems to get runs against us and they do bat very deep.”
The Demons will need to overcome an experienced Cardinia attack to hunt down the runs, in particular Doig who loves this scenario. Dole gave an interesting insight into what confronts his team this week.
“Yeah, Doigy will probably bowl 30 plus overs,” he said.
“He’s not a big turner of the ball but he uses his flight and overspin very well, he’s got a good change of pace and he’s very accurate so he gives you nothing loose.
“He tries to wear batsmen down and he does it very well.”
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:PUT V PAKENHAM
A brilliant century from Pakenham Upper-Toomuc’s (255) Chris Smith (135) has put the home side in the box seat to upset finals aspirant Pakenham this Saturday.
Smith was rebounding from a dreaded diamond duck in the Yabbies last gasp victory over Upper Beaconsfield in round 11 and bounced back in the best fashion possible.
After winning the toss and batting, the home side was in dire straits early when skipper Darren Warne (0), Daniel Fry (0) and Peter Richards (6) were all back in the sheds with only 22 runs on the board.
Smith batted at number three and was joined by Jamie Somers (29) for the first of two substantial partnerships, their’s a 75-run union that put the match back on a level footing. The Lions then went bang-bang and then bang again to have the home side struggling at 6/121.
Lions’ pair Dom Paynter (4/42 off 12) and Sugeesha Dinushan (2/54 off 20) had done most of the damage and had the visitors back on top once again. Luke Gunton (40) and Smith then combined for a 98-run stand before Paynter removed the Yabbies’ star for a magnificent century.
Smith is now number four in the competition for runs made with 470 at an average of 47 with Saturday’s ton his second of the season. He also sits third on the list for wickets taken with 21 at 17.52 so holds the key in the Yabbies’ defence when play resumes this week.
Ben Maroney (2/54 off 15.3) and Paynter shared the last four wickets to fall and one of the two Country Week representatives will need a big score if the Lions are to get home on Saturday.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:BEACONSFIELD V TOORADIN
Tooradin (7/151) has kept its momentum rolling along nicely by already claiming first innings points against a very disappointing Beaconsfield (111) at Perc Allison Oval.
A win by the Tigers would have seen it draw level with the third placed Seagulls on the ladder, but those thoughts disappeared quickly in the midst of a 5/12 top order batting collapse. The season’s highest scoring team were no match for a bowling blitzkrieg from Lukas Hoogenboom (4/46 off 13) and Callum O’Hare (3/28 off 12).
On a great day for batting, the home side won the toss and did just that, and at 1/35 with Madison Andrews (18) and Brad Miles (14) at the crease, there were no signs of the impending disaster. Miles departure triggered a staggering collapse that would have been even worse if not for skipper Justin Stanton’s (52) fighting half century.
The “Cal and Hoogy Show” looks like being a box-office hit in March and the two put in the perfect rehearsal by feeding keeper Tom Hussey with five catches as the Tigers succumbed in less than 40 overs.
In reply the Seagulls hovered at four runs an over with Hussey (41) doing his normal top-order bonding job before Brad Sauer (46 not out) and Jay Wilson (25 not out) capped off a winning day. Tigers’ all-rounder Jordy Andrews (5/45) held firm with a five-wicket haul but all interest now is in how aggressive Tooradin skipper Aaron Avery will be in chasing outright points.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:UPPER BEACONSFIELD V OFFICER
Upper Beaconsfield (4/156) buried a four game losing streak in emphatic style on Saturday when its Chris Pentland (5/12 off 11.2) inspired attack destroyed Officer (84) to keep its flickering finals hopes alive.
Pentland cut a swathe through the Bullants top order after skipper Scott Pitcher welcomed the visitors by sending them in to bat. The Maroons desperately need an outright victory over the Bullants and look well on track after the visitors made its second double-digit total on the trot.
Shawn Flegler (3/20 off 6) provided the back-up for Pentland against a Bullants’ line-up that had three players enter double figures. Peter Quinn (23) has saved his side from embarrassment several times this season and did so again while Sean Armstrong (17) and Garry Tivendale (11 not out) at least tried hard.
In reply the Maroons were in total control as solid contributions from openers Flegler (20) and Daniel Brennan (31) set up the home side’s cruise to victory. John Simpson (61 not out) and Tommy Tyrrell (22) were at the crease when the winning runs were scored before Julian Bayard (16 not out) put some icing on the cake.
Pitcher has decided to declare overnight and with a 72-run lead and 80 overs to play it would be a major surprise if the Maroons don’t forge towards maximum points. That scenario would set up a cracker of a match with fourth placed Pakenham in round 13.
