1ST GRADE
1st grade made a winning start after the Christmas break, beating Rockingham-Mandurah by 68 runs at Retravision Stadium.
After the hosts won the toss and elected to field, openers Kallen Bond and Iszak Milentis dominated in a 177 run first wicket stand, with captain Bond posting a brilliant hundred before miscuing a pull shot to mid-on, departing for 105 from 101 balls.
Milentis carried on after the loss of his partner to make his first ton of the season with 108 from 137 balls before falling on the slog attempting to up the run rate.
Brock Larance, Shayne Wornes, Blair Walsh, and John Sanders came and went as the Dragons tried to press the accelerator, but Luke Holt (20* from 12 balls) and Matt Hanna (16* from 10 balls) ensured the innings finished with a flourish at 6 for 291 from 50 overs.
With the ball, Ben Gibbon grabbed an early breakthrough but the Mariners steadied to a strong position of 1 for 136 in the 28th over, before Guru Dhillion (4/50 from 10 overs) stalled the momentum through the middle overs with regular breakthroughs.
Holt (2/49 from 10 overs) ensured it was a good outing for the spinners with a few wickets of his own before Gibbon (3/24 from 10 overs) cleaned up the tail, with the Mariners ending well short at 9 for 223 from their 50 overs.
2ND GRADE
2nd grade picked up a comfortable win over Rockingham-Mandurah at Burrendah Park, winning by 82 runs.
After the Dragons lost the toss and were sent in, the top order of Ethan Smith, Jono Crowe, and Oliver Arkinstall all made starts but couldn’t kick on, with the dismissal of Lachie Lake leaving the score at 4 for 82.
Sean Boers (71 from 84 balls) showed his class in partnership with Liam Hindle (66 from 70 balls), with the pair putting on a stand of 89 for the 5th wicket.
After their departure, captain David Cameron (36* from 22 balls) added some late impetus to the innings, which ended at a very defendable 9 for 248 from 50 overs.
In the chase, early wickets for Cameron Becker and Arkinstall ensured that the Mariners didn’t get away to a good start, slipping to 3 for 29.
A 63 run for the fourth wicket evened up the game before Declan Crowder rolled through the middle order, grabbing 4 for 38 from his 10 overs.
Becker (3/24 from 10 overs) and Arkinstall (2/38 from 10 overs) franked their days with late wickets before Ethan Smith (⅙ from 2 overs) brought the game to a close, with the visitors bowled out for 166.
PREMIER T20
The Premier T20 side’s campaign ended at the quarter final stage in heartbreaking fashion, losing to Gosnells by five wickets off the last ball of the game.
The Dragons batted first and did well to post 8 for 135, with Kallen Bond (59 from 48 balls) the star and Matt Hanna (17* from 11 balls) giving the score a late lift.
The Hawks got away to a decent start before the Dragons looked to pull the game back through the middle, with 35 runs required off the last three overs and 12 needed off the last, but some clutch late hitting got the visitors over the line, with the last ball of the game going for six with five needed for a win.
Waheguru Dhillon (2/38 from 4 overs) was the only multiple wicket taker, with Luke Holt (1/10 from 3 overs), Bond (1/12 from 2 overs), and Hanna (1/27 from 4 overs) the others in the action.
UNDER 17’S
Under 17’s made a strong start after the Christmas break, crushing Rockingham-Mandurah by 193 runs at Retravision Stadium.
The Dragons batted first and posted a huge 3 for 281 from their 50 overs, with Blake Stephen (96* from 79 balls), Zaid Buckland (55 from 71 balls), Rajat Deshmukh (54 from 89 balls), and Kyall Roach (52 from 61 balls) all raising the bat.
The Mariners never seriously threatened the target as they folded for 88, with Kai D’Souza (3/10 from 8 overs), Ben Mitchell (2/15 from 7 overs), and Lagan Sandhu (2/13 from 7.3 overs) the multiple wicket takers.
UNDER 15’S
Under 15’s beat Rockingham-Mandurah by 8 wickets at Burrendah Park.
The hosts bowled first and knocked over the Mariners for 154, with Luca Boden (3/22 from 8 overs) and Jude Strachan (2/23 from 8 overs) the best of the bowlers.
In response, after Shreays Gupta (34 from 100 balls) and Lalkrishna Rajasekharan (20 from 61 balls) made starts, Josh Nathan (66* from 96 balls) and Mitch Kukura (35 from 55 balls) saw the chase home, with the Dragons ending at 2 for 183 from their 50 overs.