By David Nagel
DEVON Meadows Mick Floyd (7/31) was an unstoppable force on the weekend, cutting a path of destruction through the Merinda Park (58) batting line-up in a performance that he will tell his grandchildren about.
If Sunday’s clash between the two Cranbourne-based teams was a District cricket grand final preview as many suggest, then we might as well dust off the premiership cup and hand it to Panthers’ skipper Shane Filius right now.
The home side were sent in by Cobras’ captain Jamie Smith and after 40 overs both teams would have been relatively pleased with the result. Filius (33 not out) top scored and received good support from Darren O’Brien (31), Daniel Street (26), Alex Travaglia (23) and Steve Robinson (22).
Dale Cunliffe (2/20) was the pick of the bowlers for the Cobra’s against a Panthers’ side who certainly weren’t looking dominant.
What happened next was frightening!
The Batman and Robin of District Division, Floyd and Peter Zauner (2/23) went CRASH, POW, BANG, SMACK, WALLOP and this one was over in the blink of an eye.
Zauner chimed in with two of the first three wickets before Floyd started his one-man rampage, filling his Christmas stocking full of startled Cobras in a career best performance.
He took six wickets in a row before a last wicket run-out stopped an inevitable eight wicket haul. Floyd has now taken an incredible 21 wickets in just under 44 overs for the season.
@BT Sub Sport News:PREMIER
Tooradin (8/187) travelled to Upper Beaconsfield (2/199cc) on Saturday and was single-handedly torn apart by Maroons’ gun batsman Shawn Flegler (132 not out).
Flegler’s century helped the home side to a sizeable but gettable total and it wasn’t all bad news for the visitors at that stage of the match.
Speed machine Lukas Hoogenboom (0/30) blew away the cobwebs in his first game for nearly two months after returning from a side strain, while captain Aaron Avery (2/34) took the only two wickets to fall. The usually reliable Callum O’Hare and Ben Mantel were two who suffered at the hands of Flegler.
In reply the Seagulls got off to a solid start, Tom Hussey (51) and Kane Latham (17) put on a 40-run opening stand but then wickets fell at regular intervals. Jay Wilson (53) tried to revive the innings but it was all in vain as the Seagulls fell 12 runs short of victory.
The Seagulls and Maroons are two teams in serious contention for a finals spot this year so Saturday’s loss was a crucial one for Avery and his team, which now sits one game outside the top four.
@BT Sub Sport News:DISTRICT
LYNDHURST Vikings (9/90cc) recovered from a jittery batting performance to beat the visiting Emerald (83) by seven runs.
Steven Henry (21) and David Greensmith (17) were the only top order bats to reach double figures for the Vikings before a valuable Martin Davies (14 not out) innings got the score to 90.
The Vikings knocked over Emerald in the 34th over with Trevor McGeachin (4/15) and Mark Henry (3/11) the chief destroyers. The win moves the Vikings to sixth position on the ladder but only half a game from a top four position.
@BT Sub Sport News:SUB-DISTRICT
TOP team Clyde (4/84) made light work of Cranbourne Meadows (78) at home on Saturday with its impressive bowling once again the key to victory.
Noel O’Brien (3/9), Adrian Buller (3/14) and Dean Williams (2/12) tore shreds of a disappointing Meadows line-up that was coming off a huge score the last time it batted. Andrew Clappers (23) and Lee Murdoch (20) were the only bats to reach double figures for the visitors.
Chasing a modest total, Clyde looked a bit shaky at 3/37 before Gavin Adams (29) and Shane Jack (12 not out) drove the final nail in Cranbourne Meadows’ hopes.
Tooradin (1/67) jumped above Upper Beaconsfield (65) into third place on the ladder after a clinical display against the travelling Maroons.
From 1/23 the visitors lost 9/42 in a non-competitive display with the bat. Sean Baker (2/9), Mathew Finch (2/10), Richard Holland and Craig Dicks (both 2/16) all contributed with the ball for the Seagulls.
In reply Justin Hinkley (50 not out) toyed with the Maroons’ attack completing the rout in the 21st over.
