1ST GRADE
1st grade’s game against Bayswater-Morley at Hillcrest Park hangs in the balance, with the Dragons sitting at 2 for 9 in response to the Bears’ score of 232.
The hosts won the toss and chose to bat but the Dragons made a strong start with the ball, reducing them to 6 for 110 with Ben Gibbon, Matt Hanna, Zach Ferris, and D’Arcy Short all in on the action.
However, the Bears recovered strongly with some frustrating lower order partnerships, including 43 for the last wicket until Kallen Bond broke through in his first over, to post a competitive 232 from 78.5 overs.
Hanna was the best of the bowlers with 3 for 62 from his 15 overs as Gibbon (2/46 from 17 overs), Short (2/60 from 21 overs), Bond (1/0 from 0.5 overs), and Ferris (1/32 from 9 overs) all contributed.
The Dragons faced a tricky 9 over spell before stumps and couldn’t get through unscathed, losing openers Iszak Milentis and Bond before dual nightwatchmen Guru Dhillon and Gibbon seeing the day through.
2ND GRADE
2nd grade have a mountain to climb against Bayswater-Morely at Burrendah Park, with the Bears sitting at 1 for 99 needing another 59 runs to win.
The Dragons flew out of the blocks with opener Brock Larance racing to 41 from 29 balls, but his dismissal triggered a disappointing collapse of 9 for 61 to leave the score at 9 for 116.
A fighting 41 run last wicket stand between Nic Geisler (28 from 52 balls) and Declan Crowder (12* from 49 balls) ensured something of a score in 157 from 52.5 overs was put on the board, with two Geisler sixes a highlight.
A strong effort with the ball was needed, with Cameron Becker (1/22 from 6 overs) getting an early breakthrough, but the Bears eased through the rest of the day.
3RD GRADE
3rd grade have already secured first innings points against Bayswater-Morely, getting over their score of 94 with eight wickets in hand.
A strong bowling effort routed the Bears inside 39 overs, with James Andrews (3/10 from 5.1 overs), Zac Blazevich (3/36 from 7 overs), Ellis Cassidy (2/22 from 9 overs), Jordan Hodgetts (1/4 from 4 overs), and Chris Lagana (1/9 from 6 overs) all in on the act.
The Dragons lost Cassidy without scoring in the first over of the chase but that did not stall the momentum, with the returning Stewart Hepburn (56* from 71 balls) and Ben Witschge (41 from 53 balls) showing real intent.
Some wickets fell late in the day to reduce the score to 4 for 115 at stumps.
4TH GRADE
4th grade will have an exciting chase next week after bowling out Bayswater-Morely out for 193 in 67.2 overs.
Captain Dev Singh (4/44 from 15 overs) led from the front with good support from Arnav Pimple (3/31 from 14 overs).
Openers Zaid Buckland and Rajat Deshmukh negotiated 10 over before stumps without loss.
UNDER 17’S
Under 17’s posted a very strong score of 7 for 241 on the first day of their fixture against Bayswater-Morely at Hillcrest Park.
The innings was built on an even spread of contributors, with Zaid Buckland (59 from 105 balls) and Lagan Sandhu (55* from 44 balls) the stars.
UNDER 15’S
Under 15’s put a competitive score of 6 for 185 from 50 overs on the board against Bayswater-Morley at Burrendah Park.
Mitch Kukura top scored with 44 from 86 deliveries, with support from Lalkrishna Rajasekharan (38 from 76 balls) and Isaak Wittkuhn (30 from 53 balls).
UNDER 14’S
Under 14’s went down in a close finish against Fremantle at Burrendah Park, with the Port Boys getting over the line with 11 balls to spare.
The Dragons batted first and made 8 for 156 from their 50 overs, with Thewmin Kannangara (55 from 115 balls) and Joel Vlasic (38 from 43 balls) the key contributors.
A wide-ranging bowling effort saw nine bowlers used with five claiming a wicket each, but the visitors overcame the target with two wickets in hand.
UNDER 13’S
Under 13’s fell 27 runs short in their clash with Fremantle.
The Port Boys batted first and managed 8 for 144 from their 40 overs, with Jonathon Deteta (2/5 rom 2 overs) and Finley Rollin (2/32 from 8 overs) the multiple wicket-takers.
The Dragons made a decent start with the bat with Callum Dermody (25 from 35 balls) and Dihain Abeynayake (24 from 41 balls), but were bowled out 117 in 38.4 overs.