THERE was immense frustration across the Diamond Valley Cricket Association as rain halted what looked to be multiple exciting finishes to games.
Mernda’s Money Shield clash against Lower Plenty at Waterview Reserve was affected, which meant the Demons were stranded on 0/4 chasing 195.
Laurimar’s match against Hurstbridge at Ben Frilay Oval was listed as a draw, with the Power 3/159 chasing 266 after 72 overs.
Luke Richardson was impossible to get out, finishing on an unbeaten 56, while Rian Boddy was also unbeaten on 30.
South Morang was undone by a wild innings from Thomastown’s Shoaib Khan, who scored an unbeaten 107 at Main Street Reserve to help Thomastown chase down the Lions’ 9/190, winning by five wickets.
Theiveekan Theivanesan was a lone hand for the Lions with the ball, taking 4/46 off 27.5 overs.
Whittlesea’s first XI game was abandoned against Research Eltham Collegians, with both teams settling for a draw.
Elsewhere, Mernda’s B grade team was no match for Diamond Creek, losing by 178 runs after being bowled out for 80.
Arshdeep Singh’s 18 and Satinder Sekhon’s 16 were the best for the Demons on a difficult day.
There was no play for Laurimar’s second XI, meaning they lost on first innings to Hurstbridge, 125 to 6/153.
It was a similar story for the Power’s third XI, losing to Rivergum 98 to 4/113 after play was abandoned.
South Morang’s second XI just avoided an outright loss to Riverside.
Riverside passed the Lions’ 139 and declared with a 38-run lead.
The Lions batted again, with Paul Martin leading the way with 23 runs, and sportingly declared on 7/107 to try and take 10 wickets.
From six overs, Riverside made 1/34, falling short of an outright win by 35 runs.
The Lions’ third XI saw them fall short by 34 runs to Banyule.
Brodie Slater put in a fighting innings, scoring 49, but his departure spelt the end of the Lions’ chances as they were rolled for 126, chasing the Bears’ 9/160.
Mernda got the job done on the second day’s play in its third XI, winning outright against Dennis.
After bowling Dennis out for 45 on day one, the Demons did a number on their opponents once again, all out for 72 as they won outright by 43 runs.
David Taylor took 3/14 off 11.1 overs to lead the way, while Stephen Otter took 2/6.
There was no play for South Morang in F2 grade, meaning its 77-run margin over Research Eltham stood as a first innings’ victory.
The Lions also did not get on the park for their G2 grade game.
Mernda’s G1 West team won via forfeit against Heidelberg.
Laurimar, on the other hand, had a difficult day against Bundoora Park, all out for 84 chasing 9/154.
Jack Cordwell, Michael Peters and Chaminda Arachchige took two wickets apiece, while Peters played a lone hand in scoring 57 runs.
The Power’s G2 grade game was abandoned.
Mernda had a thrilling G3 grade win over Hurstbridge, winning by one wicket.
Chasing 7/166 courtesy of Gurbinder Pannu’s 4/19, the Demons were looking comfortable at 4/135, but a collapse saw the Demons lose 5/25.
However, Saurin Sandeep Sharma had ice in his veins, scoring an unbeaten 58 to take the Demons home on a thrilling afternoon’s play.
South Morang struggled greatly in G3, losing to Bundoora by 10 wickets, 115 to 0/118.
Adi Sharma’s 26 was the best score for the Lions, while Michael Flint provided some lower order hitting with his 22.
Another big innings from Jack Jerabek guided Whittlesea’s second XI to a 57-run win over Eltham.
Jerabek’s second consecutive 50 saw him score 52 off 61 deliveries, while Thomas Watt scored 41 as the Eagles made 7/195.
After Eltham made an encouraging start in response, the Eagles slowed down the run rate greatly, and Jerabek performed strongly with the ball, taking 3/11, while Gavin Butler took 2/32 as Eltham made 9/138, falling well short.
The home-and-away portion of the women’s competition in the North Metro Cricket Association ended on Sunday.
South Morang Blue’s match with North Balwyn ended as a draw, with the Lions making 5/132.
Emma Leatham led the way with 36, while Kristy Carbis added 22, before taking 2/33 as North Balwyn finished on 2/33 before rain intervened.
Laurimar Black avoided the division one wooden spoon with a terrific win over Epping.
Phoebe McKenna, Tara Chetcuti and Abbey Buckley took two wickets apiece as the Power restricted Epping to 83 runs, before Chetcuti’s 28 and Kyra Rule’s unbeaten 35 helped Laurimar get the job done easily, scoring 2/86 off just 12 overs.
In division three, Laurimar Teal was no match for Preston Baseballers.
The Power was restricted to 78 runs, and Preston only needed 13 overs to chase it down with eight wickets left in the shed.
South Morang Maroon ran out of time to chase down Macleod/Heidelberg’s total, losing by 24 runs.
Kylie Krezuer-Pierce was terrific for the Lions with the ball, taking 2/6 off six overs as Macleod/Heidelberg scored 6/128.
Liba Ahmad did her best to try chase down the total, scoring an unbeaten 27, but the Lions could only make 4/104.
