1st Grade
1st Grade have suffered their first loss of the season, going down to Melville by 13 runs.
In pursuit of the Storm’s total of 268, the Dragons were rocked early by the dismissal of Blair Walsh for 5.
Iszak Milentis and Shayne Wornes then steadied the ship with a 75 run partnership for the second wicket, which ended Wornes bowled soon after lunch.
Milentis was then joined by Kallen Bond, and the two continued the momentum, putting on 103 runs for the third wicket.
Bond played aggressor and Milentis played anchor, with the two dealing with one of the more hostile spells at Burrendah in recent memory from Melville’s state contracted quick Bryce Jackson.
The Dragons were in control at tea, with the two batters set and requiring a further 73 runs to win with eight wickets in hand.
Bond fell LBW for an excellent 74 from 82 deliveries soon after the break, with debutant Lincoln Joy and John Sanders soon following.
Amid the carnage, Milentis carried on to post a gutsy hundred from 231 deliveries in the 69th over.
Unfortunately, he was caught after skying an attempted pull shot the very next delivery, with the equation slipping to 44 runs required with four wickets in hand.
Oliver Arkinstall and Ellis Cassidy whittled the target 16 runs closer, before a risky quick single saw Arkinstall run out.
Waheguru Dhillon joined Cassidy, and the pair added nine more before Dhillon was out caught behind.
Vidit Vashisht joined Cassidy and the latter farmed the strike to add six more runs, but then fell LBW.
The burden fell to bowlers Vashisht and Zach Ferris to get 14 runs, but Ferris fell for a second ball duck to hand the visitors a famous win.
2nd Grade
2nd Grade have capitalised on their solid start from last week, bowling Melville out for 167 to win by 126 runs at Tompkins Park.
The Storm resumed at 3 for 14 in pursuit of the Dragon’s total of 293, with the Dragons forced to wait for the first breakthrough, with 60 added to the overnight total before Stuart Smith broke through.
From there, it was the Stewart Hepburn show as the Storm collapsed, with the allrounder taking 5 for 43 from 24.5 overs to continue his phenomenal form.
Luke Holt got plenty of overs under his belt and bowled with excellent control to claim 2 for 34 from 23 overs, while the promoted Lachie Searle showed his quality with 2 for 25 from 12 overs.
3rd Grade
3rd Grade’s inevitable result came to be, with Melville completing an elementary win by 6 wickets early in the day.
Resuming at 2 for 86 in pursuit of a target of 110, James Andrews claimed two quick wickets, but the visitors soon eased past their target.
The Storm batted on and were bowled out for 200, but Andrews had a day out, taking 7 for 49 from 14.5 overs.
Cameron Becker (2/31 from 7 overs) and Declan Crowder (1/14 from 4 overs) were also amongst the wickets.
The Dragons batted again before the teams shook hands at tea, finishing on 2 for 65 from 19 overs, with opener Zac Mowat the main contributor with 41.
4th Grade
4th Grade have wrapped up another win, beating Melville by 6 wickets.
In pursuit of the Storm’s total of 193, openers Raghav Raj and Rajat Deshmukh made a circumspect but solid start, putting on 60 runs.
Deshmukh departed for 24, but Harry Grigson arrived at the crease and played in his typical aggressive manner, contributing 61 runs in a second wicket partnership of 87.
Grigson, Michael Hardie, and Matt Maguire all came and went as a win drew closer, with Blake Stephen at the crease with Raj when a win was secured.
The Dragons batted on to give Raj a chance at three figures, and he duly converted, finishing 101 not out from 209 deliveries.
U17’s
Under 17’s have recorded a comprehensive win against Melville, winning by 80 runs at Burrendah.
The Dragons bowled brilliantly in defence of their total of 220, reducing the Storm to 8 for 52.
A ninth wicket partnership of 70 delayed the inevitable as the bowlers were rotated, but the Storm never seriously threatened their target, and were bowled out in the final over for 140.
Ajit Pal Singh (3/13 from 7 overs), Kai D’Souza (2/11 from 10 overs), Lawson Baker (2/23 from 9.1 overs), and Brayden Lee (1/37 from 10 overs) all claimed wickets.
U15’s
Under 15’s came from nowhere to knock off Melville, winning in a thriller at Tompkins Park by 4 runs.
Melville looked set at 2 for 161 chasing a target of 190, but the Dragons applied the pressure to trigger a spectacular collapse of 8 wickets for 24 runs.
Pavasan Govender bowled the final over with the Storm needing 5 runs to win, but he conceded just one run, as well as taking two wickets, with two batters also ran out.
Govender (3 for 22 from 7 overs) and captain Blake Stephen (3 for 36 from 9 overs) were the destroyers with the ball, with able support from Rajat Deshmukh (1 for 37 from 10 overs) and Veedi Pelpola (1 for 41 from 10 overs).
U14’s
Under 14’s have recorded a solid victory over South Perth, winning by 19 runs.
Batting first, the Dragons posted 7 for 176 from their 49 overs, underpinned by contributions from Shreyas Gupta (56), Isaak Wittkuhn (43), and Josh Nathan (39).
South Perth could only manage 5 for 157 in reply, with wickets for Ayush Sarin (2/31 from 10 overs), Wittkuhn (1/11 from 6 overs), and Tom Dobson (1/17 from 7 overs).
U13’s
Under 13’s ensured a clean sweep of wins in the juniors, beating South Perth by 35 runs.
South Perth batted first and made 3 for 120 from their 40 overs, with wickets for Thewmin Kannangara (1/10 from 4 overs), Deven Arya (1/12 from 8 overs), and Josh Peachey (1/24 from 8 overs).
The Dragons eased past their total and batted on, finishing their 40 overs at 7 for 155, with runs for Michael White (45), Archie Lynch (38), and captain Caleb Florisson (34).