Buln Buln barely bests Yarragon in division two

by Samuel Laffy
Buln Buln (239) def. Yarragon (237)
Buln Buln and Yarragon fought out a thrilling tie in their encounter earlier in the summer and their follow-up was just as fascinating, with the Lyrebirds snatching a two-run victory on the back of a nerveless death bowling display from Brad Monson.
In pursuit of a challenging target of 239, the Panthers innings was anchored by a superb 67 from Dale Hill, with the veteran showing tremendous poise at the crease.
Patiently waiting for loose deliveries that were in his wheelhouse, Hill's half-century helped the chase progress pleasingly.
Chamath Fernando (77 from 70) opted for a more aggressive approach, and his belligerent knock well and truly put the Buln Buln bowlers on the back foot.
However, the lack of depth in Yarragon's line-up has been a point of weakness and it once again reared its head as the chase came down to the wire.
Much of the congratulations must go to Monson (4/27 off 12.1) though, as he removed the dangerous Fernando – gleefully caught by Corey Jagoe – and the stubborn Daniel Haddad (29 from 53), and followed up with the scalp of Ben Asplin as the Panthers lost their final wicket just two runs short – out for 237 in the 65th over.

Warragul (215) def. Hallora (123 and 68)
Warragul went a long way towards securing first place on the division two table after they romped to an outright win over the Kangaroos.
Resuming at 1/52 in pursuit of Hallora's 123, Greg Interlandi (76 from 144) anchored the Gulls' innings, and his ability stymie the Kangaroos bowlers ensured that his teammates had a license to attack that they otherwise might not have had.
Matt Wakefield (25 from 17), David Wheeler (20 off 14), and Harrison Radcliffe (27 from 13 with two fours and two sixes) saw the run rate rise as the Warragul innings progressed.
They made their way to 215 before being dismissed in the 58th over – as Steven Fox (4/52) and Brayden Hunter (2/47) enjoyed success with the Kookaburra – and that left Hallora with a tricky period to see out to avoid maximum defeat.
However, after Jack Donohue (10) and Hunter (18 from 36) departed, the rest of the Kangaroos line-up were barely able to resist, the Gulls running riot against some insipid batting.
Paul Wookey (who snared an equally outrageous haul against Buln Buln earlier in the summer) feasted on the top and middle order, with his stump-to-stump approach seeing him claim 5/9 from just six overs.
With Lachlan Ramage (3/5 off 6) in equally fine form, Warragul soon bundled Hallora out for 68 – sealing their innings and 24-run win.
Garfield-Tynong (223) def. Drouin (185)
Although it appears that Garfield-Tynong have lost the services of one of their key weapons in recent weeks, the Titans nonetheless maintained their standing in the top four with a 38-run win over Drouin.
Having posted a competitive total of 223 on day one of proceedings, all eyes were on the Hawks to see if they could snatch an upset win and leapfrog Buln Buln in the division two standings, but despite some promising knocks they were undone by a quality bowling display.
Clint Gilpin (34 from 104) demonstrated immense patience at the crease and proved difficult to dislodge, whilst Jake Harper (57) enjoyed a more free-flowing stay, but outside of that duo Drouin lacked the depth to reach victory.
Grant Pearson (3/49), Ricky Mitchell (2/38), and Brayden Ridler (2/19) were all able to maintain discipline despite some counterattacking from the Hawks in the middling parts of the chase.
The build-up of pressure saw wickets tumble late as the run rate rose, Garfield-Tynong dismissing Drouin for 185 in the 66th over.
Bye: Western Park.