1ST GRADE
1st grade secured first innings points over Wanneroo late on Saturday at Burrendah Park, but fell agonisingly short of an outright win.
Kallen Bond won the toss on Saturday morning and chose to field, with Zach Ferris and Matt Hanna taking full advantage of helpful conditions to reduce the visitors to 3 for 14.
Oliver Arkinstall then ripped the heart out of the middle order, grabbing five wickets to rock the Roos into deeper trouble to 8 for 48.
The visitors lower order worked hard to soak up some pressure and put something of a score on the board, battling hard to 91 from 45.3 overs, with Arkinstall (5/23 from 12 overs) the pick of the bowlers as Ferris (3/16 from 8.3 overs) and Hanna (2/29 from 14 overs) provided good support.
In reply, the Dragons also found the going tough with the bat, with openers Bond and Iszak Milentis both departing early to leave the score at 2 for 7.
Shayne Wornes (20 from 45 balls) and Blair Walsh (10 from 22 balls) steadied the ship before both Wornes was bowled and Walsh slashed into the keeper’s gloves, with John Sanders and Brock Larance quickly following, to cause a spot of bother at 6 for 50.
A mature 7th wicket partnership of 42 between Luke Holt and Waheguru Dhillon saw the Dragons over the line, with Dhillon departing for 11 soon after the total had been passed.
Holt (68 from 148 balls) and Arkinstall (51 from 117 balls) saw Saturday night through before setting up the game on Sunday morning, with a late highlight coming from Hanna (12 from 15 balls) playing the shot of the game with a lofted six over cover, as the Dragons posted a score of 194 from 70.2 overs.
With the ball back in hand, Ferris (3/13 from 15 overs) and Hanna (3/26 from 13 overs) continued the trick from the first innings, quickly reducing the score to 6 for 37 to have hopes of an outright win well and truly alive.
The next wicket didn’t come as easily as the first six, as a desperate Bond tried 9 bowlers, including the wicketkeeper Sanders as he took the gloves, to try and fashion a breakthrough.
While not for lack of effort, the attempts were unsuccessful, with the teams shaking hands at 6 for 75 after 52 second innings overs.
2ND GRADE
2nd grade were comprehensively outpointed by Wanneroo at Kingsway Sports Ground, losing by 150 runs.
The hosts won the toss and chose to bat, with a solid start followed by a rain delay of nearly two hours and a pair of run outs to leave the game in the balance at 3 for 108.
The Roos seized the initiative from there, batting into Sunday morning and using every ball of their 90 overs to post a huge score of 305.
Captain Nic Geisler, reluctant to use himself in the season to date, was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 45 from 14 overs, with Amrit Singh (1/31 from 8 overs), Vidit Vashisht (1/53 from 18 overs), and Cameron Becker (1/53 from 19 overs) all toiling hard.
In reply, the Dragons quickly found themselves in all sorts, slumping to 3 for 6 with Singh, Ethan Smith, and Declan Crowder back in the sheds.
Lachlan Lake was the pick of the batters on his return from international duties with Japan, making 66 from 93 deliveries, with Stewart Hepburn (35 from 42 balls) and Sean Boers (29 from 54 balls) making starts, but the Dragons were never in the game, finishing up all out for 155 after 51.3 overs.
3RD GRADE
3rd grade went down to Wanneroo by 4 wickets after an exciting finish.
The Dragons batted first and raced out of the blocks courtesy of Ellis Cassidy, with the opener smashing 63 from just 39 deliveries.
Liam Hindle took up the mantle after his departure, with his strong effort of 71* from 102 deliveries underpinning a score of 6 for 203 from 45 overs.
In reply, the Dragons lacked some early penetration with the ball, with wickets in hand allowing the Wanneroo batters to swing with abandon late and track down their target with 4 balls to spare.
James Andrews was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for 24 from his 7.5 overs, with Cassidy (1/32 from 5 overs), Jordan Hodgetts (1/39 from 8 overs), and Arnav Pimple (1/41 from 6.2 overs) also picking up wickets.
4TH GRADE
4th grade also had a disappointing day, losing to Wanneroo by 7 wickets.
Brad Kent won the toss and resisted his natural inclination in choosing to bat first, with a disappointing total of 104 from 27.1 overs having the potential to be much worse if not for Jagan Singh, who made 49 from 49 deliveries.
The hosts tracked down their target in a canter after 25.1 overs, with Singh (1/14 from 3 overs), Mujeeb Ahsan (1/17 from 6 overs), and Davinder Singh (1/26 from 5.1 overs) picking up consolation wickets.
UNDER 17’S
A strong bowling effort saw Under 17’s beat Scarborough by 21 runs at Abbett Park, with the Gulls managing 155 in response to a target of 176.
Lagan Sandhu was the pick of the bowlers with 4/23 from 10 overs, with good support coming from Dulina Gamage (2/33 from 8 overs), Daniel Hornby (1/13 from 4 overs), Blake Stephen (1/24 from 6 overs), and Jagan Singh (1/27 from 10 overs).
UNDER 15’S
Under 15’s couldn’t pull off a miracle and defend their score of 54, with Scarborough winning with 8 wickets in hand at Burrendah Park.
Mitch Hole (2/31 from 9 overs) and Tom Dobson (1/23 from 7 overs) started on fire to reduce the Gulls to 2 for 2, but the visitors cruised past their target without losing another wicket on their way to a score of 5 for 209 from their 50 overs.