By Joel Batson

Division 1:

Hallora v Neerim District

The top-flight of WDCA cricket returned on the weekend, and with it, two thrilling encounters- the first being a nail-biting run chase, as Hallora reigned in the Stags in the Grand Final rematch. Winning the toss and sending Neerim into bat, the home side found early success- as Tom Williams (1-28) and Liam Serong (1-21) removed the returning Jack Ward (12) and Heath Darcy (6) cheaply to take the ascendency. 

The reliable pair of Rhys George and Nathan Bayne picked up where they left off from last year, however, and smartly worked the ball around the expanses of Hallora to retake some momentum. George (37) fell to the bowling of danger-man Natsai M’Shangwe, as the Zimbabwean International claimed a second scalp in Dane Fawcett (8) soon after. Bayne continued to press on, before falling for 47- and with a flurry needed to make a defendable score, Neerim turned to Kody Wilson, who provided a quickfire 24 not out to push the total to 5-158 off the allotted overs.

In reply, Hallora started in the worst way possible- as Fraser Duncan was removed for a duck, with debutant Carter Davis (1-35) taking a scalp in his first over. Brett Williams (38) and Aidan Phillips (18) steered their side back onto the right path, however a flurry of wickets through the middle- including that of Sam Whibley (4), Brayden Notman (4) and Liam Serong (1) saw Hallora fall to 6-106. 
Brad Drews (4-34) was proving to be the unlikely hero for the away side- as he followed Davis in making a mark as a debutant- despite only experiencing Division 3 and 6 cricket last year. His contributions were significant, however M’Shangwe turned in the man-of-the-match performance- as a quick 46 from him put the chasing side within touching distance. 

Once again, a late fightback spurred by Matt Kelliher (3-21) kept Neerim in the game, as two wickets with Hallora one shot away pushed the game onto the brink. But, with one lusty blow required, stalwart Craig Byrnes was able to see off the danger, as Hallora recorded a heart-stopping one wicket victory as storm clouds rolled in. 

Buln Buln v Drouin

A fantastic tenth-wicket stand has seen Drouin narrowly avoid an upset loss in their clash with Buln Buln. Winning the toss and bowling, Drouin made early in-roads, as Troy Lehman and Simon Gardiner both looked incredibly threatening with the ball. However, it was two favourite sons- Wilson Pollock (47) and Brent Eastwell (40) who did the damage once again for the Lyrebirds, as they battered the ball to all parts, providing a crucial 89-run stand. 

What followed was a familiar story for the home side, however, as last year’s scars shone through again- Paul Timewell (3-17) and Ben Spicer (3-25) made a mockery of the lower middle-order, as the fragile batting gave way to a collapse of 5-8, swinging the match back into Drouin’s favour. 
It was once again left to two more premiership heroes- Corey Jagoe (39*) and Bryce Monahan (23) to rescue the side, as they took ascendency back with some ferocious hitting, pushing Buln to 9-169.

In reply, the Hawks lost Alex Gaudion (0) almost immediately, as Ricky Mckerrow (2-22) had the new ball talking- however, Matt Kouris (32) and Ben Spicer (25) were able to make a dent in the chase with some terrific stroke play. 

Their departures saw this topsy-turvy clash fall back into Buln’s favour however- as a steady stream of wickets, mostly brought about by the sustained brilliance of Brent Eastwell (4-31), meant Drouin slipped to 6-97, and requiring their strong tail to stand up- and once again, they did. Paul Timewell (32) got the scoreboard ticking, as did Troy Lehman (22)- with the pair putting their side on the cusp of victory. One last late push, and some shaky shot selection, nearly brought this undone- as Drouin fell to 9-151 and required a 19-run last wicket stand off just 16 balls.
Enter Brad Glover and Mitch Goodwin- the experienced Drouin men used every single stroke in their arsenal to see their side within touching distance, before a final lusty blow from Glover on the final delivery of the match sealed an epic season-opening victory for the maroon and gold. 

Ellinbank v Warragul

Whirlwind batting helped Ellinbank secure a thumping Round 1 victory. Sent in by last year’s wooden-spooners’ Warragul, Ellinbank were in trouble early, as Todd Mann (2-25) announced his return to the league with a fiery spell, blowing the Eagles’ top-order away to reduce them to 4-37.
Sean Masterson (20) attempted to rebuild the innings in his first game as coach, as he got the ball rolling for the later part of the innings. This set things up for the Fairbank brothers- skipper Nick, and club debutant Jimmy, and together they slaughtered the Gulls change-bowlers. Four sixes were hit between the pair, as they added 77 in quick-time- Jimmy’s 37 signaling his intentions for the remainder of the season. 

Things went from bad to worse for the young Gulls, as the tail wagged for Ellinbank- whilst Nick Fairbank (89*) went along his merry way, bludgeoning nine boundaries, as his strike-rate crossed north of 110. For the away side, this meant an unlikely chase of 220.

The chase did not begin well for Warragul from one end- as Matt Wakefield (9) and Eddie McGillivray (0) fell to the crafty Curtis Howell (2-16). From the other end, Todd Mann (52) was doing all of the heavy-lifting- as he went berserk against the new-ball, sparking hope from the Warragul camp. However, as was the case previously, the young side did not have enough cattle to keep the momentum rolling and were eventually strangled by their more experienced opponents. 

Jeremy Gray (4-36) provided a wicket-taking option with the ball, as only late runs from Daniel Whitten (21) saved from Warragul from an even worse defeat- as they fell to 154 all out and a 66-run loss.

Western Park v Yarragon

Western Park has started their season off with a bang, dismantling Yarragon at home. Winning the toss and bowling on a pitch that provided abnormal amounts of bounce, the Warriors found resistance from Kurt Borsato (24), however he was the only batsmen in the top 7 to make double figures, as their big guns failed to fire. 

Toby Bransgrove (3-28) took his maiden A Grade wicket in a ferocious display of fast bowling, whilst Jason Croft (3-11) wound back the clock with his crafty off-spin, as Yarragon fell to 7-55. Ishan Ratnayake (36) provided a fighting, rearguard knock, taking the long-handled approach at times, and gave the Panthers hope with several late-order partnerships to see them to 117 all out. 
Early wickets were the key for the visitors as they looked to end a 10-year winless drought against the Warriors- however, they were unable to make the breakthroughs needed to put pressure on their opponents. 

Sanjaya Gangodawila (25) got the innings off to a rapid start, before Jack Armour (50*) and Joel Batson (34*) found form to snuff out a chance of a thrilling finish- as Western Park roared home to win by nine wickets.