Munro and Batson demolish Panthers in WDCA division one

by Joel Batson
Western Park v Yarragon
Western Park demolished Yarragon on Saturday to cement their spot in the top two.
Losing the toss and sent into bat, the Warriors quickly made their opposition pay for their decision at the toss, with Jack Armour (14) and Greg Munro starting strongly.
Armour's dismissal at the hands of youngster Addison Cumming (1-30) gave the Panthers a quick glimmer of hope in a match-up that never looked likely to be close. However, this was snuffed out as Munro and Joel Batson put the foot down.
Munro (55) looked in fine touch as he struck five boundaries, before being caught in the deep looking to up the ante as a score over 200 looked reachable.
Batson (80*) batted throughout the day and finished not out after hitting six boundaries. He started slowly before taking the attack to the weary visitors, as he combined with Sanjaya Gangodawila (43) and Sam Batson (15*) to push the score to 3-221.
In reply, an unlikely chance of victory was quickly snuffed out for Yarragon, as they wilted in the chase.
Daniel Haddad (17) and Madhawa Foneska (16) were the only two to put up a fight, as Yarragon were all out for 61 in the blink of an eye. This gives Western Park a mouth-watering percentage boost heading into Christmas.
For the likes of Ellis Whiteford (4-18), Lakshay Panwar (3-8) and Oscar Sheehan (2-8), they filled their boots in a day where opportunities were endless - and they were certainly taken - by the home side.
Longwarry v Hallora
Hallora cemented their spot in the top four heading into Christmas, easily accounting for a disappointing Longwarry on Saturday.
Losing the toss and bowling, Hallora were on the back foot early in the piece. Jonah Serong (32) and Vidusha Hettiarachchige (27) added 52 quickly, hoping to set the tone for the rest of the day.
Unfortunately for the home side, a triple blow landed by Tom Williams (3-15) completely turned the game on it's head. When the spin came on for the Kangas, the writing was on the wall.
Grant Duncan (2-8) was at his miserly best with four maidens in his seven over stint, whilst Harry McConnell (2-7) helped knock over the tail, as the likes of Yashan Samarasinghe (4) were unable to fire.
From 0-52, the Crows lost 10-46 to be all out for 98, setting up an easy chase.
In reply, Hallora were met with resistance from the likes of Cole Cook (2-18), but were ultimately never truly troubled in their chase.
Aidan Phillips (30) used his promotion up the order to good effect, as did James Williams (27), with the pair doing the bulk of the heavy lifting themselves. They reached the target in good order, four wickets down, with plenty of time to spare.
Catani v Ellinbank
Catani's struggling season continued on the weekend, falling to Ellinbank in a narrow clash at home.
Winning the toss and bowling on an incredibly slow outfield, the Cats were almost immediately in the game with Daniel Vela (1-25) removing danger man Matt Farthing (7) to get the ball rolling.
It was the other opener who proved to be a thorn in Catani's side this time, however. James Parnall (50) struck a terrific half-century to turn the match the Eagles' way. He was ably supported through the middle order by the likes of Nick Fairbank (24) who took the attack to the Cats. They were on the back foot before a late fightback.
Riley McDonald (4-16) was as consistent as ever, continuing his good form with another strong spell in the back end. James Vela (2-19) kept the run-rate dry as Ellinbank made 9-148, setting up an intriguing chase.
Catani's response started strongly. Against the new while ball, the Vela brothers found gaps with ease and seemed to have the home side on the path to a rare victory.
They added 55 before Daniel (19) fell. When James (30) went soon after, the match had completely flipped.
It was the man with the golden arm - Jeremy Gray (4-22) - who once again did the damage for the Eagles. The spinner continuing his illustrious form with the ball, claiming four big scalps through the middle to put the heat on Catani.
Ultimately, they would have no answer. Despite a fighting 30 from Liam Adams at the death, the home side couldn't keep up with the run-rate, and were eventually all out for 133 in the final over.
Warragul v Drouin
After a strange opening which saw the match moved from turf to synthetic, Drouin eventually overcame Warragul away from home.
Bowling first, the Hawks were once again electric with the Kookaburra in hand, with Troy Lehman (3-17) and Simon Gardiner (4-36) putting all their experience to good use at either end of the innings.
Despite some resistance at the top of the order from Patrick Mulqueen (14) and Matt Wakefield (10), the Hawks were able to make consistent breakthroughs throughout the innings.
The home side had only one partnership of any substance. This was from Eddie McGillivray (44) and Paul Wookey (21) who turned 3-35 into 4-91 in a hurry. But, like great teams do, Drouin were able to reign their opponents in.
At the death, James Wilcock (1-11) showed his pure class, whilst Ben Spicer (1-23) and Brad Glover (1-24) helped their side skittle Warragul for just 128 - a score that was unlikely to be defended against the might of Drouin.
In reply, Damon Healy (35) found form with a swashbuckling knock. He struck seven boundaries to take the air out of the chase.
Healy was aided by the promoted Jonathan Bell (30), as Drouin quickly reached 58 in the first partnership.
Eddie McGillivray (2-37) and Ali Hasan (2-26) fought hard to keep their side in it, but were never truly in the fight. Despite a collapse of 3-6 through the middle, the Hawks were able to fight through and retain top spot, with Trevor Gardiner (40) put the finishing touches on a five-wicket win.