1ST GRADE
1st grade survived a scare against South Perth at Burrendah Park, holding on for a draw with 3 wickets to spare.
After no play was possible last week due to a wet runup, Kallen Bond won the toss and made the aggressive call to send the visitors in, which looked clever as they slumped to 5 for 69.
Some dogged lower order resistance got them up to a score of 207 from 56.4 overs, but the Dragons were in the game with 39 overs to track down their target.
Ben Gibbon got through a mountain of work in his red ball debut for the club, bowling 19 overs and grabbing 4 for 84, with support from Luke Holt (2/30 from 11 overs), Brock Larance (1/11 from 5 overs), Guru Dhillon (1/26 from 9.4 overs), and Zach Ferris (1/38 from 10 overs).
Bond set the tone early in the chase, flatbatting the first ball he faced down the ground for six, and got away to a good start with 28 from 34 balls before flashing wide of off stump and edging into the keeper’s gloves
Larance was promoted to number 3 to play the aggressor, but his departure alongside Milentis and Shayne Wornes in quick succession left the score at 4 for 46, with the middle order tasked to shut up shop.
Consistent wickets throughout the evening session kept the visitors interested, but the Dragons held on to secure a draw, with Blair Walsh (38 from 78 balls) top scoring, John Sanders (23 from 37 balls) playing a role, and Holt (8* from 29 balls) seeing it through.
2ND GRADE
2nd grade fell agonisingly short of securing a famous win, ending up 4 runs short of chasing South Perth’s target at Richardson Park.
Nic Geisler won the toss and sent the hosts in, with consistent wickets throughout the innings limiting their score to 208 from 64 overs.
Stewart Hepburn was the best with the ball, grabbing 3 for 45 from his 17 overs as Ethan Smith (1/9 from 1 over), Vidit Vashisht (1/17 from 11 overs), Geisler (1/36 from 8 overs), and Cameron Becker (1/58 from 19 overs) helped out, with a good fielding effort resulting in runouts for Geisler and Vashisht.
A chase looked ambitious with 209 required from 32 overs, but the Dragons got away to a good start with a 97 run opening stand between Amrit Singh (57 from 64 balls) and Ethan Smith (31 from 58 balls).
The pair departed in quick succession alongside Ellis Cassidy to dampen hopes, but Lachie Lake (51* from 46 balls) and Sean Boers (49* from 30 balls) went from ball one to make the finish awfully close, with 17 runs from the last over just proving to too tall of a task.
3RD GRADE
3rd grade got a good result against South Perth, bowling them out for 224 to secure a 25 run win.
After making 249 with the bat last week, the visitors looked in good shape at 3 for 164, but the Dragons put the squeeze on to pick up the last 7 wickets for just 60 runs.
Declan Crowder (4/56 from 20 overs) and David Cameron (3/38 from 15 overs) showed their quality with the ball in their first 3rd grade games of the year to lead the effort, with Jordan Hodgetts (1/63 from 16 overs) also grabbing a wicket.
4TH GRADE
4th grade looked to be in deep trouble against South Perth, but held on for a draw with one wicket to spare.
Aaron McCall needed little encouragement to win the toss and bowl first, with his side bowling the hosts out for 167 after 44.5 overs to have hopes of a win alive.
The was skipper in the wickets with 2 for 38 from his 8 overs alongside good efforts from Josh Kuser (4/39 from 11.5 overs) and Arnav Pimple (3/46 from 16 overs).
Luke Gorman got the chase away to a good start with 49 from 57 balls at the top of the order, but an inexperienced batting lineup heaved under the pressure, with McCall and Arnav Pimple coming up clutch to survive the last 4 overs and ensure the points were shared.
PREMIER T20
The Premier T20 side set up a home final by ensuring they finished top of their group, beating Scarborough by 3 wickets at Abbett Park.
The hosts won the toss and chose to bat but could only manage 8 for 109 from their 20 overs, with Guru Dhillon (3/20 from 4 overs), D’Arcy Short (2/9 from 4 overs), Ben Gibbon (1/21 from 3 overs), and Matt Hanna (1/27 from 4 overs) all bowling well.
Cam Bancroft top scored with 34 from 33 balls in a laboured chase that eventually resulted in a win with 2 balls to spare, with Oliver Arkinstall and Hanna holding their nerve with late boundaries to seal the win.
COLTS LEAGUE
The Colts League side also ensured they would have hosting rights for the quarterfinal, beating Scarborough by 7 wickets at Abbett Park.
The hosts won the toss and chose to bat, making 118 from their 20 overs, with John Sanders (2/25 from 4 overs), Brock Larance (2/29 from 4 overs), Luke Holt (1/10 from 4 overs), and Zac Blazevich (1/20 from 2 overs) the wicket-takers.
After a slowish start, Sanders (35* from 33 balls) combined well with Holt (25 from 20 balls) to see the Dragons over the line with 3 overs to spare.
UNDER 17’S
Under 17’s didn’t have their best week with the bat, being bowled out for 94 by South Perth to lose by 29 runs at Burrendah Park.
Kyall Roach top scored with 34* from 94 balls but lacked support, with Jagan Singh (10 from 16 balls) the only other batter to reach double figures.
UNDER 15’S
Under 15’s struggled in a T20 fixture against South Perth at Richardson Park, losing by 8 wickets.
The Dragons batted first and had a rough go of it, managing 7 for 61 from their 20 overs, with Lachlan Famlonga (16 from 35 balls) top scoring.
Luca Boden gave his all with the ball, grabbing 2 for 7 from his 4 overs, but the hosts got up with 30 balls to spare.
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