MIRBOO North stormed to 2/291 against Thorpdale on the back of unbeaten centuries from Shane Peters and Brett Pedlow during the opening day of round 12 in Central Gippsland Cricket.
The Tigers lost Damien Turner after a 40 run opening stand, before Peters added 60 with Clinton Wise.
Thorpdale captain Boyd Bailey ended their partnership when he trapped Wise in front for 44, before Peters and Pedlow broke the Blues’ back with a 191 run stand. Captain Rob Phoenix allowed Pedlow to reach his century before declaring to give his bowlers a chance to dismiss the Blues twice and recover lost ground on ladder-leader Latrobe.
Joel Crosbie had Morgan Clark adjudged lbw for five before Harvey Poole and Kayne O’Connell guided the Blues safely to the close at 1/38 after 15 overs.
Moe v Morwell
MOE won the toss and batted against Morwell to reach a restrained 7/208 after 90 overs.
Seven of the top eight made starts but failed to carry on with the job, with Dale Walshe’s 33 the highest score.
Mark Cukier was difficult to get away, wheeling down 28 overs for a return of 2/38 including the big wicket of Andrew Philip.
Riyaz Pathan had his best day with the ball for several weeks with 2/24, Brendan Brincat picked up 2/33 and Tim Dowe claimed the other wicket to fall.
Trafalgar v Yallourn North
TRAFALGAR made a good start with the ball against Yallourn North and removed Josh Keyhoe early for five before Aidan Vesty reestablished control with a calm 45.
Patrick Spiteri then put the Bombers in a position of dominance with a brilliant 84.
Tyler Brown looked positive in a knock of 25, before some late hitting from Glenn Sheekey (41*) saw the Bombers reach 9/301.
David Bremner was the Ships’ best bowler with 2/39 while skipper Rhys Holdsworth claimed 2/63.
Second grade
JEERALANG Boolarra suffered its second loss for the season as Latrobe ran through its middle and lower order.
The Sharks inflicted a collapse of 8/32 after the Panthers had purred along to 2/102.
Matt Brewer was the best bowler with 3/32 while Jon Hayes, Trent Roberts and Michael Duncan each took two wickets.
The Sharks nearly made a hash of the chase.
Duncan’s 31 was the only composed dig in the top order before veteran Tim Cranwell scored 51 not out, marshalling the lower order to get the home side over the line in the final over.
Morwell dismissed Yallourn North for 101 thanks to 3/19 from Keith Soden before Brent Reside spun out the tail with 3/13.
Nathan Donnet’s 16 was the Bombers’ top score in a poor effort.
Things did not improve with the ball as Morwell reached 5/200 from their allotted overs.
Glen Bone’s 58 not out was a head and shoulders above the rest while Kris Fortuin chipped in with 39.
The Tigers gratefully accepted 31 runs in extras.
Graeme Rankin’s superb 79 not out was enough to turn a disappointing total in a competitive one as Trafalgar reached 9/160 against 10-man Newborough.
Daniel Farmer destroyed the Ships’ middle order with 5/26 and was assisted by Robert Blunt and Mark Whitney who each took two wickets.
Troy Oakley’s unbeaten 57 saw the Bulldogs finish at 5/189, as Farmer continued his day out with a striking 44.
Mirboo North defeated Saint Vincent’s 7/240 to 89 in the other fixture.
Third grade
MORWELL inflicted a shock defeat on the undefeated Moe in third grade.
Steve Bilic’s unbeaten 73, ably assisted by Andrew Kays with 44, powered the Tigers to 6/213 before the bowlers routed the shell-shocked Lions for 89.
Gary Thorburn’s 5/19 accounted for the entire Moe top order before Ryan Snell blew away the tail with 3/14.
Mirboo North recovered from 5/36 to post 149 against Latrobe on the back of Andy McCarthy’s 42 in sweltering conditions. Dean Burridge took 2/7 to be the Sharks’ best while each of their bowlers took at least one wicket.
Peter Mooney’s 34 guided the chase before some late clubbing from Jeremy Brewer (33) took the visitors close.
Daniel Martin (24*) and Luke Van Dyke (23*) then guided the Sharks across the line in the penultimate over.
Brad McBride’s 55 helped Hazelwood North post 179 against Saint Vincent’s White before he, Mohammad Shakeel and Brendan Ruddell took three wickets apiece to dismiss the Saints for 91.
Jarryd Cutler’s 105 helped Willow Grove blast their way to 8/283 against Saint Vincent’s Green.
Cutler’s dismissal brought little relief however as Nathan Perkins took up the challenge and hammered 84.
Troy Tobin was the Saints’ best with 2/45. Only two of the visiting batsmen made it to double figures as Mitchell Jennings took 5/16 to deepen the Saints humiliation before they were rolled for 53.
Newborough defeated Jeeralang-Boolarra by 73 runs in the other match.
