COMMUNITY SPORT RETURNS WITH FTGDCA OPENING ROUND ACTION
By Richard Millott
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After the efforts of many during the offseason to resume community sport, action in the Ferntree Gully District Cricket Association lived up to the hype with Round 1 action throwing up a mixed bag of One Day results.
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Lysterfield resumed where they left off in Season 2019/20, registering an 8-wicket win over Knoxfield at Carrington Park. After the Knights elected to take first use at the crease, Lachlan Dobson (3/18) and Tim Chivers (3/15) struck early for the Beavers to put the hosts on the back foot at 3/23 – a position the Knights worked hard to rectify however were unable to overcome. Cam Cosstick (3/18) and Nathan Hicks (4 catches, 1 stumping) also joined the party to dismiss the Knights for 95. In reply, Nathan Hicks showed early form with the bat to reach 41 with Jake Arundell (34*) holding his own against the Knights attack to reach 2/101 and claim an early 6 points. Knoxfield will be looking to regroup next week against Ferntree Gully Footballers at Carrington, whilst for Lysterfield they will look for a second win in as many weeks at Eildon Park.
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It was a run-fest at Batterham Reserve between The Basin and Knox Gardens, with batsmen cashing in towards the result. The Falcons elected to bat first and found the going tough early at 3/26 before Adam Wylde (58) and Mitch Gregory paired up. The duo put on 153 runs for the 4th wicket, with Gregory dismissed at 5/183 having scored a quick-fire 84 including 6 fours and 6 sixes. Marcus Baxter was the pick of the bowlers for the Bears with 3/35 from his allotted overs with the Falcons reaching the break at 7/216. The Bears lost an early wicket before Jake Sherriff marked his return with 64 with the Bears at 2/107. An arm wrestle ensued between the Falcon bowlers and the Bear batsmen, before Blake Walter (75*) and Jayden Turcinovic (33) were able to steer the hosts to victory with 2 overs to spare. The Bears travel to Belgrave next Saturday, whilst Knox Gardens will take on Upwey at Knox Gardens Reserve.
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There were plenty of contributions to the scoreboard from the Upwey lineup against Belgrave at Upwey Reserve. The Tigers elected to bat first and took advantage across the top order, with Andrew Evans (39) the first to go at 1/74. Julian Whetstone was adjudged LBW on 80 to bring the score to 2/167. Any hope of reprieve for the Magpies was dashed with Jackson Waters (37) and Cam Wheeler (42*) nudging the score to end at 3/243. Aaron Brunner (31) started well for the Magpies, however a flow of wicket stifled the run chase, with Johnathon Levell top scoring with an unbeaten 60 from 49 balls. For the Tigers, Jay Collee fitted in nicely at his new club, leading the way with 3/31 to keep the visitors to 8/165. Upwey travel to Knox Gardens for Round 2, whilst Belgrave host The Basin.
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Ferntree Gully Footballers are on the board in Round 1 after a 6-wicket win over Eildon Park at Pickett Reserve. The Panthers elected to bat first, with Jake Pollard (41) and Tyler Hoffman (33) highlights on the scorecard in a steady day at the crease to reach 7/176 from the overs, with wickets shared among the Griffin bowlers. The Panthers pounced to dismiss both openers to have the hosts 2/32, before Cohen McElroy (50*), Nick Bogar (38) and Liam Hunt (37) lead the way for the Griffins to chase the target in the 36th over, ending at 4/177. Ferntree Gully Footballers are away at Knoxfield next week, whilst Eildon Park host Lysterfield in the local derby.
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Speaking of a local derby, Ferntree Gully are on the board in Norm Reeves Shield after defeating Upper Ferntree Gully at Wally Tew Reserve. The Kings won the toss and elected to bat first, with Mike Rouskas (40) standing tall in the batting lineup against the Blues bowling attack, lead by Pat Mastertoun (3/11) to see the Kings reach 7/128. Ferntree Gully took chase to the target, however encountered early resistance to scoring against Jarryd Healey-Rotheram – conceding 2/10 from his 8 overs. Jayden Bradbury (34) was able to get a start which lead the Blues towards the 6 points, ending at 5/130 in the 31st over. Ferntree Gully travel away to Monbulk next week, whilst for Upper Ferntree Gully, they head to Dandenong Club Oval for their encounter with Johnson Park.
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Up the hill, Monbulk held their nerve to win in their return to Norm Reeves Shield, securing a Round 1 win by 11 runs against Johnson Park. The Hawks elected to bat first, with Jason Fraser (61) and Justin Creed (51) leading the way for the hosts, despite the best efforts of Liyan De Silva (3/11) to end at 9/166 after the 40 overs. In reply, the Sharks were on track at 3/93 before the Hawks claimed the next 3 wickets for just 1 run – including Udara Ranasingha (32). In the end, the task became too much for the Sharks in the final overs with an increasing run rate and the bowling attack of Craig Broekhof (4/42) and Duncan Maher (3/31), the last wicket falling in the final over of the day 11 runs shy of the required. Monbulk will play Ferntree Gully at home next week, whilst for the Sharks they are on the road again to Upper Ferntree Gully.
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In Decoite Shield, South Belgrave’s Daniel Cormack is the first centurion of the Season in South’s big win over Rowville. Cormack reached 100 forming the backbone of the hosts’ innings, whilst Ben Cramer (57*) provided contribution at the end to post 3/203. In reply, the Hawks were under placed under pressure, with Harley McDermott claiming 4/25. Monto Perera (38) and Chanaka Gunawardana (35) provided scoreboard contributions for the Hawks, however fell short of the requirement to be dismissed for 128. South travel to Olinda next week, whilst Rowville will host Knox Gardens at Seebeck Oval.
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A tight match played out in Knox Garden’s favour against Mountain Gate at Knox Gardens Reserve, with the Falcons prevailing on the second-last ball of the day. The Gators were in early trouble at 2/4 before Kallum Croxford (62) and Mitch Goddard (39) paired at the crease to take the visitors past 100. Luke Turner (39) provided another scoring option for the Gators to reach 8/191 at the close, whilst with the ball Drew Withers lead the way with 3/45. Falcon runs were hard to find early, however Jay Wagner (34) found the way to keep the scoreboard ticking. His dismissal at 5/119 provided an epic arm-wrestle between the two teams, with some late hitting from Spencer Stuckey (37) and Matthew Young (32) – added with wickets at intervals - turned the tide of the chase on a ball-by-ball basis. The Falcons required 6 runs from the final over, bringing up the victory on the penultimate ball to claim the 6 points. Knox Gardens travel to Rowville next week, whilst for Mountain Gate they host St Johns Tecoma at HV Jones.
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At Talaskia, St Johns Tecoma opened the account against Olinda posting a huge score at the Hospital Ground. Having being asked to bat first, the Saints batsmen took their opportunities with Jake Sali launching into an explosive innings of 69 from 54 balls, including 6 fours and 5 sixes. At 2/117, Sali’s innings provided the platform for the Saints to roll on, which Alex Fergusson (63) and Marc Hardy (38) accepted to propel to total to 8/254. For the visitors, Callum Raisbeck was the pick with the ball claiming 3/36. In reply, Olinda started well with Mikel Greenough reaching 37, however Andrew Wilson took control of the afternoon session, claiming 4/39 in an effort that restricted the visitors to 174 in the 29th over. St Johns Tecoma travel to Mountain Gate for Round 2 action, whilst Olinda play host to South Begrave at Fiorelli Packing Oval.
NORM REEVES SHIELD – PROVISIONAL LADDER (AFTER ROUND 1)
LYSTERFIELD – 6PTS (5.316%)
UPWEY – 6PTS (3.927%)
FTG FOOTBALLERS – 6pts (1.760%)
FERNTREE GULLY – 6PTS (1.422%)
Monbulk – 6pts (1.190%)
The Basin – 6pts (1.188%)
Knox Gardens – 0pts (0.842%)
Johnson Park – 0pts (0.840%)
Upper FTG – 0pts (0.703%)
Eildon Park – 0pts (0.568%)
Belgrave – 0pts (0.255%)
Knoxfield – 0pts (0.188%)
DECOITE SHIELD – PROVISIONAL LADDER (AFTER ROUND 1)
SOUTH BELGRAVE – 6PTS (5.286%)
ST JOHNS TECOMA – 6PTS (1.825%)
KNOX GARDENS – 6PTS (1.161%)
MOUNTAIN GATE – 0PTS (0.861%)
Olinda – 0pts (0.548%)
Rowville – 0pts (0.189%)
