Match Reports
9th December 2023

A Grade

Dianella CC (7/186) def Helena Valley CC (92)
T Dearle                  50 (95)

P Ridley                   44 (40)

K Dilshan Silva        4/31 (8)

P Ridley                   3/17 (8)

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A Gentlemen’s agreement saw Dianella bat first in what they hoped to be a win to add to the column against a young Helena Valley side. But no chances were being taken as Helena Valley got the chocolates in the first encounter between us chasing 217 to win. After his heroics last game Ayesh Wijesiri was sent in to open with fellow opener Dilshan Silva. We looked in trouble as Ayesh fell on the third ball of the match after two early LBW shouts before. Bringing Tim Dearle to the crease. As Tim and Dilshan looked set to steady the ship and set a nice base to launch from Dilshan was out caught after a mistimed pull shot landed in mid wickets hands. Shane Beros looked in very good touch, with some beautiful boundaries before a short ball that cut off the seam jammed him up and was caught at gully for 16 off 29. Bailey O’Keefe stepped to the crease and fell 2 balls before drinks for a quick fire 15 off 14. Paul Ridley and Tim Dearle steadied the ship after drinks taking full advantage of the bad ball. Tim Dearle the star of the day finishing with 50 off 95 when wickets fell around him. Paul Ridley eventually out for 44 off 40. Ryan McCormack and Brad Hutchinson came together for a good partnership at the end with 45 off the last 5 overs. Ryan and Brad finishing with 24* off 19 and 18* off 17 respectively. With 186 on the board A grade looked to try and strike early to limit the visitors. While no wickets could be taken for Tyler Hupping he finished his 8 over straight spell 0/13 off 8 while Zac Hupping got a reward for his efforts finishing his 8 over straight spell with 1/18 off 8 at just 33 after 16 overs the visitors never looked like chasing it down as tight bowling persisted Dilshan and Ridley teamed up to take 4/31 off 8 and 3/17 off 8 respectively. With one wicket left. The decision was made to give Tobey Robertson his Hattrick ball opportunity which he was able to produce one of, if not the best short and wide ball for his Hattrick ball which was inevitably called a wide. Shane Beros picking up the last wicket of the game. Seeing Helena Valley fall 94 runs short and keeping Dianella at striking distance of top spot with 1 less win than the top 4 teams. A massive game coming up against Midland this weekend to round out the season before Christmas a win here would see us overtake midland in the 4 and set ourselves up for a very important second half of the season.

MOTM: Tim Dearle

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D Grade
Bullsbrook CC (142) def by Dianella CC (6/144)
S Reddy                     39 (88)

J Hupping                   30 (43)
L O'Reilly                   2/21 (8)
J Comande                2/5 (3.5)

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In a gripping clash against Bullsbrook at their home ground, our opening bowlers, Tom and Luke O'Reilly, the sibling duo, initiated the attack. Luke showcased his prowess, securing 2 vital wickets for 21 runs, overshadowing Tom, who managed only 1 wicket for 26 runs. When asked after the match, Luke declined to comment on whether he'd be putting his name forward for the 2024 Club Presidential Race. Nonetheless, with a performance like that, the rumour mill is buzzing! The highlight was Casey's spectacular catch, an acrobatic dive to his right, setting the bar high as the best catch of the season so far. The collective effort of our bowling unit restricted Bullsbrook to 142 runs, ultimately bowling them out on the penultimate ball. Facing their bowling attack, we stumbled early, losing four wickets quickly. However, Jessie and Srujan orchestrated a match-saving partnership, stabilizing the innings. Andy also made a significant contribution with his 31 off 44 balls. As the game intensified towards its climax, tension soared. In a nail-biting finish that stretched to the last over, we emerged victorious. Tom, fuelled by the competitive spirit spurred on by his brother's performance, hammered a boundary straight past the bowler for 4, sealing our win and possibly even the 2024 Presidency. The team exhibited remarkable determination, securing a crucial victory that places us ahead of Bullsbrook on the table.

MOTM: Srujan Reddy

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E Grade
Dianella CC (151) def Southern Central Districts CC (217)
S Azeez                       20 (28)

M Shiraff                      16 (21)

M Ikram                       3/16 (8)
S Maheshwaran          2/3 (3.2)

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Dianela skipper won the toss and elected to bat , both openers got out cheaply frustrated by the slow out field and accurate bowling by the Southern central District bowlers .Another 3 quick wickets and Demons were in tatters at drinks with the 6 for 60 . Demons skipper had to sacrifice his batting to give way to Navindu who was pushed up from G grade . With the team looking down the barrel, wicket keeper Fawzan played some lovely shots and was unbeaten on 20 well supported by Nuski and Navindu. Shiraf was the second highest scorer with 16 . Demons all out for 115 managed to face only 33 overs . Chasing a Poultry total , an over confident Southern Central District players started scoring freely from the beginning. Few dropped catches and SCD CC were cruising before Ikram got the breakthrough with Nushkan taking a smart catch . Hard hitting kamal joined the opener hitting couple of sixes and fours . Siraj bought him self bowling wide of off stump enticing a faults shot and Fahim taking a fantastic well judged catch in the deep . At drinks southern central were cruising at 80/4 . With 35 runs to defend in 20 overs Dianella boys were pumped up with the skipper claiming another wicket followed by lion hearted spells by Ikram claiming 3 wickets for 16 and Soba claiming 2 wickets for just 3 Runs . The highlight of the match was an amazing catch taken by Fahim at Mid off throwing himself like a goal keeper . Also great fielding by Shiraf, Shameel and Fawzan . A great moral boosting win by 13 Runs . Southern Central District bowled out for 102 in 31 overs . Big thanks to big hearted strike bowler Saed Ahmed who opted out to give way to last minute inclusion of a player from G grade . Well played lads .

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G Grade
Brabham CC (6/215) def Dianella CC (9/179)

S Rutland                  57 (95)

C Burress                  22 (37)
P Ediriwera               3/18 (7)
C Tomlinson              2/55 (8)

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G grade played Brabham away and with all the team back went in with in the words of S.Burress “one of the most athletic(young) teams we have played with”. We won the toss a decided to bowl first and proceeded to have a really good first 20 overs with all the bowlers bowling tight and fielding was great. Unfortunately the ground was lightning so even with all our good work they were still 75 at drinks. After drinks they put their foot down and with our bowling not quite as good as it was early they punished us and put a huge score of 215 on the board for us to chase. Our chase started horribly losing our best batsman for very little and leaving it up to some of our youngsters to face a very good Brabham bowling attack. And they did amazingly with all of them batting really well and keeping the score moving. Unfortunately because the score we were chasing was very large we definitely felt the pressure to score which led to some bing shots in hope of getting the target. Unfortunately we fell 36 runs short of the target. It was a great performance from our young team with lots of positives and it shows that if we keep improving we can compete against some of the best teams in our grade. Our best performances were: S.Rutland (57) C.Burress (22) A.Kay (19) P.Ediriweera (3/18)(Pops) C.Tomlinson (2/55)

 

I Grade
Dianella CC (9/179) def by Western Wolves CC (190)

S Watson                  44

C Patterson              24
J McGuire                4/33 (6.2)
D Bonini                   2/38 (7)

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I Grade played Western Wolves at Robertsbridge. We lost the toss and were asked to bowl first. A great run out by David Bonini got us off to a perfect start, but a few dropped catches allowed Western Wolves to recover. Their opener with 80 runs was the mainstay, allowing them to score 190 off 40 overs. We bowled mostly in good areas, but any loose bowling was dealt with. Jeremy, with 4 for 33, was the chief wicket taker. In reply, our top order batted well with Watto (44), Jonno (23), and Jezza (17) getting us to 117.  A mini collapse followed, and we struggled to recover. Some late hitting from Patto (24) and David (15) got us close, but we ultimately fell 10 runs short. A great overall effort against the top team.

MOTM: Shane Watson