Premier Cricket Round 8: lots of highlights with bat and ball around the grounds

Round 8 Day 1

Bayswater-Morley v Rockingham-Mandurah

Rockingham-Mandurah has dominated day 1 against Bayswater-Morley, needing a further three wickets to seal a first-innings victory at Hillcrest Park.

After winning the toss and electing to bat on Saturday, Mariners openers Tyler Robertson and Vincent Poller immediately got to work, smashing out a 62-run partnership to open the innings.

However, Bears bowler Jonty Wilde managed to get the breakthrough, knocking over Robertson and Poller in the space of one run.

At 2-63, the Mariners found themselves struggling to break the shackles of the Bears’ bowling attack, stumbling their way to 4-101 as both Dane Ugle and Brandon Jacobs fell cheaply.

With the Bears seemingly on top, James Bracey and Aaron Burrage made a stand for the Mariners, breaking through the Bears’ bowling attack with a hard-fought 69-run partnership.

However, the loss of Bracey for 45 at 5-170 sparked a huge batting collapse, with the Mariners losing their final five wickets for 18 runs as they were bowled out for an uncharacteristically low score of 188.

James Wainman and Ross Loiacono ripped through the tail end, taking two and three wickets respectively, with Loiacono finishing the day with 4-27.

With plenty of time left in the day, Bayswater-Morley responded with their own batting collapse, faltering to 7-53 at the end of the day’s play, as Leon Coombs tore apart the Bears’ top order, taking 5-15 from his 15 overs and leaving the Mariners in a perfect position to snag a first-innings win.

Day 2 of the action continues on Saturday at 11.40am at Hillcrest Park.

Joondalup v Subiaco-Floreat

Subiaco-Floreat has put itself in a commanding position after posting 257 runs, with batsman Andrew Holder scoring a brilliant unbeaten century on Saturday at Iluka Sports Complex.

The Lions did not have it all their way early though, with the Centurions coming out breathing fire, knocking over Tim Monteleone with the first ball of the match, before Harry Larmett took out Calum How and Geremy Fatouros in quick succession.

However, a 59-run partnership to Cameron Green and Andrew Holder came just at the right time for the Lions, helping to swing the momentum back in their favour, as Holder played an anchoring role for the rest of the innings.

The loss of Green at 4-101, closely followed by Aaron Lilly and Joshua Parker did nothing to slow Holder down, as he and captain Chris Hansberry executed a tremendous seventh-wicket partnership worth 116 runs.

The dynamic duo boosted the score well past the 200 mark before Hansberry was removed for 45.

At 7-233, the loss of Hansberry saw the last of the recognised batsmen come to crease, with Holder running out of partners as the Lions were bowled out for 257.

Holder was simply magnificent for the Lions, scoring an unbeaten 114 runs from 200 balls, which included 13 fours and one six.

Harry Larmett tried his hardest for Joondalup, taking 4-60 from his 18 overs. Joondalup managed 17 runs without loss from six overs to finish the day.

Day 2 of the action continues on Saturday at 11.40am at Iluka Sports Complex.

Melville v Midland-Guildford

Melville and Midland-Guildford are locked in a tight battle heading into day 2, following an even day’s play on Saturday at Tompkins Park.

After being sent in to bat, the Black Swans found the going tough early, losing opener Mark Rice cheaply at 1-9.

Hayden Cobley and Andrew McBrine cobbled together a second-wicket partnership worth 35 runs, before Cobley became Drew Porter’s first victim of the day.

McBrine and Keaton Critchell managed to push the score to 64 before Melville’s bowlers stamped their authority on the game, taking out McBrine and James Kirwan in the blink of an eye, to have Midland-Guildford stranded on 4-64.

With the situation looking grim once again for the Black Swans, Critchell and new batsman at the crease Tom Alderson resurrected Midland-Guildford’s innings with a wonderful 111-run partnership.

The pair pushed the total to 175 before the loss of Critchell for 67 sparked an almighty collapse.

The Black Swans lost their final five wickets for a miserly 14 runs, as Drew Porter dominated the back end of the innings.

Porter took four of the final five wickets of the innings, ending the day with 5-36, as he helped bowl the Black Swans out for 189. With a small amount of time left in the day, Melville headed to the crease to knock off as many runs as possible before the end of play.

It turned out to be a tumultuous 14 overs for the Storm as they lost their opening three wickets for 11 runs, before a 49-run partnership from Sean Terry and Drew Porter added some respectability to the scoreboard.

Day 2 of the action continues on Saturday at 11.40am at Tompkins Park.

Mount Lawley v Gosnells

Mount Lawley has made the most of its innings at Breckler Park, scoring a whopping 290 runs off the back of a century to opener James Newnham on Saturday at Breckler Park.

After being sent in to bat, the Hawks found themselves in immediate trouble, losing Gurkeerat Pabla and Ethan Petta cheaply to be 2-17 as Chris Prescott took the opening two wickets.

However, as he often does, James Newnham found himself anchoring the innings for the Hawks, as he and Callum Taylor put the innings back on track with a 44-run partnership.

The loss of Taylor at 3-61 did not slow Newnham down at all, as he found a new partner in Andrew Bottega.

The prolific pair boosted the total to 112 following a handy 51-run fourth-wicket partnership, before Bottega became Prescott’s third victim of the day.

With the match sitting on a knife’s edge following the loss of Jack Kavanagh at 5-121, Newnham kicked the innings into overdrive with new batsman at the crease and first-gamer Nicholas Marciano.

Marciano’s introduction to first-grade cricket looked to be going along smoothly, as he and Newnham belted 96 runs during their sixth-wicket stand.

Newnham was eventually dismissed at 6-217 after producing a masterful 105 from 191 deliveries, with Prescott getting the breakthrough once again, claiming his fourth wicket of the day.

Prescott struck again moments later, removing Berendsen for a duck as he had Mount Lawley’s lower- order batsmen in all sorts.

Debutant Marciano remained unfazed by the wickets falling around him, pushing the total along to 269 with Phillip Walshaw.

However, Prescott still had one more wicket up his sleeve, knocking over the youngster after a brilliant 76-run knock.

The Hawks’ tail-enders managed to add a further 21 runs to the total before being bowled out for a lofty 290.

Prescott ended the day with a remarkable 6-48 from his 18 overs. Gosnells mustered seven runs without loss from its six overs at the end of the day.

Day 2 of the action continues on Saturday at 11.40am at Breckler Park.

Perth v University

Perth are well placed to take down University’s total of 212 on day 2, after a solid all-round performance on Saturday at Fletcher Park.

The decision by the Demons to send University in to bat looked as though it could come back to haunt them early, after a super second-wicket partnership from Will Bosisto and Christopher Sabburg worth 78 runs saw the score soar to 111, before Sabburg was removed by Josh Nicholas for 40.

However, that is where the Blues’ batting dominance ended, as University suffered a shocking batting collapse. University lost six wickets in the space of 25 runs to be on its knees at 8-149.

Liam Guthrie, Jack Baker and Kyle Gardiner bullied the batsmen with disciplined bowling, keeping the dangerous Sean Stuart off strike for as long as possible.

Stuart was finally able to get on strike late in the innings, partnering up with Cory Rocchiccioli to produce a 44-run partnership.

After losing Rocchiccioli at 9-193, Stuart did his best to keep the runs coming, but eventually ran out of partners, as the Blues were bowled out for 212.

Stuart ended the day unbeaten on 52, while Guthrie was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4-49.

With a small amount of time left in the day, Perth hit the crease in an attempt to knock off as many runs before heading in to day 2.

The Demons managed 1-32 from 11 overs of play.

Day 2 of the action continues on Saturday at 11.40am at Fletcher Park.

Scarborough v Claremont-Nedlands

Scarborough and Claremont-Nedlands are locked in a fierce battle heading into day 2, following an even day’s play on Saturday at Abbett Park.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Gulls shot out of the blocks with a 73-run partnership to openers Lochie Hardy and Josh Philippe.

However, the Tigers hit back strongly through Christopher Simpson and Daniel Turkich, who took five of the first six wickets as the Gulls crumbled to 6-91.

However, an unlikely hero came to the crease for the Gulls in Andrew Tye.

Not normally known for his power hitting, Tye wreaked havoc on the Tigers’ bowling attack, as he and Edward Barnard produced a potentially match-saving 119-run seventh-wicket partnership.

Tim David finally got the breakthrough for the Tigers, taking out Tye after a superb knock of 76 runs from 77 balls, with 10 fours and one six coming from his blade.

At 7-210, the Gulls’ tail enders added a further 44 runs to the total before being bowled out for 255.

David and Simpson did the damage with the ball for the Tigers, combining for six wickets. In response, the Tigers managed 24 runs without loss from their nine overs.

Day 2 of the action continues on Saturday at 11.40am at Abbett Park.

South Perth v Fremantle

South Perth appear to have the upper hand against Fremantle, needing just 88 more runs to secure a first-innings victory after a superb performance on Saturday at Richardson Park.

The decision to send Fremantle in to bat first may have raised a few eyebrows, but it immediately paid dividends, with Chris Chellew and Alex Bevilaqua taking out Matthew Micale and Thomas Abell early in the innings.

At 2-25, Fremantle managed to string some runs together through Anthony Collova and Ashton Turner.

The pair added 36 runs to the total before Collova was removed for 23, leaving the visitors reeling at 3-61.

Fremantle then struggled its way to 5-96, unable to find an answer for the relentless pressure being applied by the South Perth bowlers and Bevilaqua in particular, who had already taken three wickets.

Following the loss of Turner for 35, Fremantle pair Brayden Sutton and Chris Davenport dug their heels in to produce a handy 34-run sixth-wicket partnership to give their side a total to defend.

However, the loss of Sutton at 6-120 sparked a late-order collapse, as Bevilaqua and Brandon Guest ripped through the tail end, bowling the visitors out for 160.

Bevilaqua absolutely dominated the innings with the ball, taking 6-51 in his 24 overs. With a mountain of time left in the day, South Perth hit the crease in an attempt to knock off as many runs as possible.

However, the home side could not have had a worse start, losing 3-17 before Braydon Meuleman and Darius D’Silva stepped in.

The pair settled the nerves and dug in at the crease, pushing the total to 3-73 at the end of the day’s play.

Day 2 of the action continues on Saturday at 11.40am at Richardson Park.

Willetton v Wanneroo

Wanneroo has impressed with the ball on day 1, bowling Willetton out for 158 on Saturday and putting itself in prime position to snatch a first-innings victory at Burrendah Park.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Willetton struggled its way to 4-63, as the Roos’ bowlers came out breathing fire.

Cameron Bancroft managed to keep a cool head under the Roos’ pressure, navigating through the carnage to produce a 67-run partnership with Brennan Wilson.

Unfortunately for the Dragons, the loss of Bancroft for 63 at 5-130 was the end of their defence, as the Roos blasted through the final five wickets in the space of 22 runs.

Jack Cattrall and Caiden Eaton worked superbly in tandem, snagging three wickets each as Willetton was bowled out for a measly 158.

The Dragons could not find a decent partnership to stem the flow of wickets, with eight batsmen scoring nine runs or less highlighting the issue.

The Roos responded well when playing out the day, finishing on 1-46 after 17 overs, setting up an intriguing second day of action.

Day 2 of the action continues on Saturday at 11.40am at Burrendah Park.