Parkers make it two from two with victory over rivals

Western Park made it two wins from two games on the weekend, comfortably defeating rivals Ellinbank in division one of Warragul District Cricket Association.

Western Park v Ellinbank

Winning the toss and bowling on a wicket that provided a bit for the seamers, Sam Batson took full effect as he claimed the early scalp of Troy Ferguson (1), before Matt Farthing (20) and Daniel Pandolfo (18) steadied the ship.

Pandolfo’s wicket brought with it a middle-order collapse, however, as Leigh Diston continued his love-affair with playing the Eagles. The Yarragon native sweating his way to a game-changing 4-16. After 1-42 became 6-74 in the blink of an eye, Ellinbank needed the tail to wag - and they fought hard - as Sean Masterson (25) and Jeremy Gray (10) grinded out a partnership of 30.

Sam Batson (3-13) did his job at the end to reduce the scoring, whilst Matt Garner (2-12) celebrated his birthday with a pair of wickets, as Ellinbank were all out for 119.

In response, Jack Armour (0) fell in the first over to Chris Perry to put the game on the edge. Sanjaya Gangodawila (15) and Joel Batson (8) fell soon after, before Sam Batson’s (9) wicket gave four different Ellinbank bowlers’ scalps by the 13th over, as Western Park were teetering at 4-64.

Needing a partnership of substance, Diston continued his outrageous game, and was joined by division one debutant Harry Moore. The duo combining for quick runs to dominate proceedings. Diston (47*) showed unreal aggression, while Moore motored late, as the Parkers’ peeled off the runs with 12 overs to spare.

Drouin v Neerim District

Drouin made it two wins in a row off the final ball of the game, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against Neerim District.

Winning the toss and bowling, the Hawks found early success through Simon Gardiner (1-15) and Brad Glover (1-36) as they charged through the top-order to leave the Stags teetering at 2-19.

Nathan Bayne (18) joined Jack Ward to lead the recovery effort, with the score pushed to 85 before Bayne was dismissed. Ward played a tremendous hand, hitting a fluent 61 before he was the next to fall.

Dane Fawcett (13) followed suit soon after, as Trevor Gardiner (2-42) had an influence with the ball.  However, consistent efforts from Kody Wilson (29) and Carter Davis (10), as well as several scores from the tail, pushed the total to a competitive 9-158.

In reply, Drouin flew into action early. Ben Spicer and Alex Gaudion (27) took to the new ball, and had Neerim on the back foot. This was until Wilson (2-20) sprung into action, removing Gaudion and Matt Kouris in successive overs.

Jake Harper (13) attempted to continue the momentum, as Spicer was motoring down the other end. The stocky right-hander made a crisp 59, putting Drouin on the brink of ending Neerim’s chances. But in typical Stag fashion, they roared back late. Trevor Gardiner (21), Josh Maric (13) and Paul Timewell (13) all almost broke the shackles, but Matt Kelliher (2-37) kept them in check until the final over.

With 8 needed off the final 3 balls, Jarryd Leworthy was the man. His boundary on the final ball securing another thrilling victory, as Neerim were left to ponder “what-if”.

Catani v Yarragon

Catani enjoyed a WDCA division one debut to remember, trouncing the lowly Yarragon on the weekend.

Losing the toss and fielding, the Cats would’ve liked their early chances, given the Panthers early form - and they were correct, as they ran through their opposition like a hot knife to butter.

No Yarragon batsmen made a meaningful contribution, as it took the home side only 23.4 overs to see off their opponents. Josh Miller was clearly the star of the show. The change-bowler deadly accurate, whilst his teammates provided excellent support with lightning fielding - as he claimed six scalps in the rout.

In reply to the 81 set by Yarragon, Catani showed absolutely no mercy. Any chance of a shock win completely dissipated in the early overs for the Panthers, as their lack of intensity and the passion brimming from their opponents palpable.

The home side motored to within touching distance of a 10-wicket victory before the tea break before Josh Bethune (41) and new recruit Ned Harrison (30) fell with the score 8 runs short. This didn’t change the result, however, as Catani reached the target with 17 overs to spare and sent a warning through the league.

Hallora v Warragul

A mismatch in class and talent was apparent on the weekend, as last year’s premiers feasted on the wooden-spooners.

Winning the toss and bowling, Hallora had to endure some early fireworks from Todd Mann (20) before they began their stranglehold on proceedings. Once Mann’s wicket was taken, all hell broke loose as Liam Serong (3-22) ran through the fragile top-order with ease.

The rest of the Hallora bowlers backed him up with consistent wickets, as only Michael Modaffari (14) was able to reach double figures. The cream on the cake for Hallora being another devastating spell from Natsai M’Shangwe, with the Zimbabwean international having a rare chance to bowl at the tail, as he recorded figures of 4-8 to rout Warragul for 69.

In reply, Hallora had absolutely no issues with the chase. Damon Healy (16) looked to finish things off quickly but fell, leaving the remaining runs to be cleaned up by Brett Williams (27*) and Fraser Duncan (19*) as the Kangas’ got over the line in just the 15th over.