Round 13 Day 2 Review
A seven-wicket haul by Darwin medium-pacer Will Pilkington set the Eagles up for a 44-run win against Palmerston in the match played at Kahlin Oval.
Needing 133 runs to win and beginning the day at 2-68, the maroons began disastrously when Angus Sidey (2-49) had Joshua Baraba caught by the keeper without scoring from the third ball of his first over. Then it was Pilkington who stepped up by taking the next four wickets during his first spell and later the final three to finish with 7-26 from 9.5 overs of controlled medium pace against a batting side that only needed a win to slip into the top four with just one minor round remaining before finals.
Apart from Keegan Oates (52) batting at three, Palmy’s other batsmen didn’t seem to appreciate the necessity of a victory and while Pilkington and others bowled with discipline, the same degree of determination could not be aimed at the batters especially with the start they had and a modest score to chase.
Stumps were drawn early with the home side at 0-106 in its second innings. A half century (57 not out) to go with his first innings century (133) by Anthony Adlam was a match highlight as was the return to form of his partner Atharv Deshpande (46 not out).
In the other two matches, the weight of runs scored on day one proved too much for the chasers and both Southern Districts (7-391) and Waratah (8-316) consolidated top four positions.
At Gerry Wood Oval, a stubborn Max Hatzoglou (82 from 161 balls faced) batting at the top of the order denied the Districts bowlers for long periods and was mainly responsible for the stumps score of 7-265 from 81 overs. Dylan Mullen was the best with the ball (4-81, 28 overs) which perfectly complemented his 146 with the bat on day one.
At Gardens Oval, the home side was always pretty much in control and reduced a 10-man PINT to 9-241 from 68.3 overs. However, each of the green top seven got away although only Rohan Chandel (44) and Sanka Wijegunarathna (43) were able to fully test the red cap bowlers where Udara Weerasinghe, who is enjoying a playing resurgence with bat and ball, took 4-11.
Round 14 Day 1 Preview
With only one minor round remaining and unless Palmerston can force an outright win against Waratah, the top four is pretty much settled with only final placings to be determined. Although assured of a finals berth, Southern Districts has the last round bye.
So, Palmy is at home to Tahs and while the red cap batting and bowling is lacking in depth, it should have enough residual talent to deny the maroons an outright victory.
On its day, the home side has the bowling wherewithal to upset the Waratah batting without the likes of Param Uppal, Jason Sangha and Jack Wood, but Archie Redfern, Isaac Conway, Jagadeswara Koduru and Udara Weerasinghe are all capable of scoring match winning runs.
On the other hand, Palmerston has displayed an erratic approach to batting for most of the season and while it possesses undoubted capabilities, too often, they are let down by undisciplined approaches.
Maroon bowling relies heavily on Hamish Martin to roll down more than his fair share of overs but with Josh Baraba and medium pace duo Jack Freeman and Andrew Somerville in support, there is plenty of wicket taking potential but to knock over Tahs twice may just be a bridge too far.
With finals looming, Waratah bowling is thin, but a shining light may be the very recent emergence of young pacer Hugo Matthias who has finally displayed some wicket taking ability – maybe it is time to bowl him for more than the seemingly obligatory first five overs spell and then send him to fine leg for the rest of the day!
Darwin has pretty much stitched up a finals place and the perfect game to really test its credentials will be against Nightcliff who will be refreshed from the bye and keen to reestablish itself after a string of recent below average performances.
Darwin’s bowling lacks penetration and will again be without Tom Menzies who has been selected to tour England with the Australian U’19 team but perhaps his NT Youth and club teammate Will Pilkington can add to his growing reputation following his Premier Grade break out performance last round. Pacer Angus Sidey doesn’t appear to be fully match fit after a protracted break with back related injuries so Blake Coburn and under bowled skipper Matt Hammond will need to become wicket takers against the Tiger batting array that includes match winners in Douwtjie Hoogenboezem, Connor Carroll, James Doherty, Michael Kudra and Harrish Kannan.
Similarly, the Tigers will go into the game with tried-and-true bowlers like Caelan Maladay, Jai Allman, Hanno Jacobs, Charlie Smith and Kannan. However, they will be tested by the Eagle top order that includes the hot performer, Anthony Adlam.
In the other match, PINT plays host to Tracy Village at DXC Arena and while a victory for either will not make an impact on the finals, a win in the last match of the season may provide some fulfilment for future aspirations.
Rd 14 Fixture Saturday 19 and 26 August
Nightcliff v Darwin at Nightcliff Oval (12.30pm)
Palmerston v Waratah at Cazalys Oval (12.30pm)
PINT v Tracy Village at DXC Arena (12.30pm)
Bye: Southern Districts