THERE was very little luck for cricketers hoping to take the field on Saturday, with rain washing away a large portion of games in the Diamond Valley Cricket Association.
Laurimar’s Mash Shield clash against South Morang at Mill Park Lakes Reserve will be converted into a one-dayer, as will Mernda’s clash against Greensborough in Money Shield.
Indeed, all of Laurimar and Mernda’s two-day games have now been converted into one-dayers due to the rain.
Of South Morang’s two-day teams, just one game went ahead, with the second XI taking to the field against Eltham.
The Lions had a tricky day out in the field as the Panthers made 8/223, with Prageeth Hewa Pothuwilage taking 2/25, Jaskaran Singh 2/29 and Matthew Kiriakopoulos 2/44, meaning the Lions will have to put in a big shift next week to chase the target down.
Whittlesea’s first XI wound up taking to AF Walker Reserve against Greensborough, and it was a productive day for the Eagles as they held the Boro to 9/178.
Kevin Satharasinghege Don was the star of the show as he took 6/48, cutting through Greensborough’s batting lineup.
In the lower grades, all of Laurimar and Mernda’s games were abandoned, as was Whittlesea’s second XI.
South Morang’s fifth XI took to the park against Lower Plenty, and got the job done easily, winning by seven wickets.
Aamer Abbas tore through Lower’s lineup, taking 5/15, while Connor Jamieson was a handy sidekick, taking 3/27.
The sixth XI also had a run on the synthetic wicket at Mill Park Lakes Reserve against Panton Hill, taking a 33-run victory.
It was all Adi Sharma’s doing as he performed strongly with both bat and ball – firstly scoring 51 runs to anchor the Lions to 8/135, before taking 2/33 to help restrict the Redbacks to 3/12.
Nick Perry led the way for the Lions in taking 3/12.
The Lions was also the sole local representative in the North Metro Cricket Association women’s finals, with their division one team taking on Heidelberg.
However, the Lions were outpointed on the day, and bow out in the semi-final stage, losing by nine wickets.
Emma Leatham was the anchor for the Lions as she scored 33 runs, but Heidelberg proved too strong with both bat and ball as they chased down the Lions 85 with ease.
The DVCA continues on with two more rounds remaining until Christmas.