Warriors escape Swamp Tiger ambush in division three

by Samuel Laffy
The logjam in the middle of the division three table continued unabated on Saturday, with the mix of results seeing only Catani – who sit on top and still unbeaten – assured at this stage of making the top four as we head into the home stretch of the home-and-away season.
Western Park (8/152) def. Iona (8/151)
Western Park (currently in second) was able to snatch a two-wicket win over Iona to maintain their footing in the top four, but they were pushed to the brink by the bottom-placed Swamp Tigers, who put in one of their best displays of the summer.
In pursuit of 8/151, the Warriors endured a stop-start beginning to their run chase, with none of their top order able to capitalise on promising starts as the likes of Wade Haysom (3/20 from 8), Thomas Cottrell (1/20 off 8), and Josh Miller (2/14) consistently induced mistakes from batters.
Ed Dieu (30) was the stand-out, the youngster demonstrating impressive maturity as he rotated the strike and worked the ball through gaps in the field, but when he departed there was still 21 required for victory and just two wickets in hand.
It was at this time that Connor 'Big Red' Fleming waltzed to the middle to join Dave Burn, and the duo began their recovery in earnest.
Comprehensive results from other Western Park senior sides saw the crowd swell as the game neared its conclusion, a situation which might see lesser players crumble under pressure.
However, 'Clifford' woofed a six over square-leg, triggering raucous howling from onlookers, and the Warriors went on to clinch victory at 8/152 in the 39th over.
Earlier in the day, Luke Gilbert (a 24 replete with trademark powerful drives that was cut short in somewhat controversial circumstances) and Haysom (51*, including a last-over blitzkrieg against Kurtis Harper) were the standouts with the bat for Iona.

Catani (5/134) def. Jindivick (133)
In other matches, Catani continued their superb summer with a five-wicket win over Jindivick.
Although James Stevenage (a brilliant 60) was able to break the shackles of a stereotypically parsimonious display from the Cats attack, he lacked adequate support from his teammates, with only one other batter making it to double figures as the Jumping Jacks could only post 133 before being dismissed.
Tharindu Wathudura (3/17 off 7) and Stevenage (1/16 from 8) did their best to stymie Catani's scoring, but Jai Lewis (32*) and Jarrod Williams (35) were able to lift their side to victory in the 35th over as the Cats reached 5/134.

Garfield-Tynong (7/189) def. Warragul (8/147)
Garfield-Tynong, meanwhile, kept their slight glimmer of finals hopes alive with a 42-run victory over Warragul.
Lachlan O'Beirne (37* from 35) took a liking to the seam offerings from Kieran Morton early in the Titans' innings – striking a bevy of boundaries – and his aggressive intent was matched by Riley Worsteling.
Attacking the leg-side, he notched an excellent 63, and as the lower order chimed in with handy contributions Garfield-Tynong posted 7/189 from their 40 overs.
For the Gulls, Brian Christensen (40) and Nick Peake (55) looked set to inspire a rapid run chase, but once they were dismissed – induced into false strokes by Darren Van Den Berghe (3/18) – the rest of Warragul's line-up struggled to match their intensity.
Matt Trofa (3/29) applied the finishing touches as the Gulls were restricted to 8/147 in reply.

Ellinbank (9/159) def. Longwarry (156)
In the final encounter of the division three schedule, Ellinbank snatched a one-wicket win over Longwarry that maintained their position in the top four, with the Eagles enjoying success on the back of a sterling lower order fightback.
Ali Sarosh (2/25) and Rohail Rafat (2/26) decimated Ellinbank's top order as they began their pursuit, with Sarosh's ability to target the stumps courtesy of late swerve seeing him remove Adam Campbell and Brayden Rintoule, whilst Rafat's consistency saw him snare two wickets in an over to boost Longwarry's hopes.
However, Sam Pratt (43 from 64) and Sam Ferguson (a boundary-laden 35) were able to launch a recovery effort and despite some late wobbles courtesy of Isaac Carney's haul of 3/21, Jaxon Notman (17*) was able to clinch victory for Ellinbank in the 34th over.

Neerim District (3/92) def. Trafalgar (86)
No scores available at the time of writing.