An important 62 from captain Fletcher Long and four-wicket hauls to Connor Weidemann and Campbell Snookes were the key reasons behind Ocean Grove’s second straight Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association A2 Grade win.
Grove made 7/222 batting first against Portarlington with Dan Roddis (39) continuing his good form at the top of the order while Weidemann made 26 from 31 in the middle order.
Long’s 62 came from 93 deliveries in what was a mature and steadying innings and Baljinder Singh Brar hit 28 not out from 25 and Corey Buxton smacked 13 not out from just eight balls to have Ocean Grove on top at the break.
Nathaniel Symes and Lawrence Wilson each took a wicket, but went for just 25 and 27 respectively from their eight overs.
Port’s top order started well with Joel De Bono (35), Cameron Gourley (28) and Brenton Toole (54 from 56 deliveries) laying the platform for a successful chase.
When Toole departed, the Demons still needed 95 from the final 10 overs, but with wickets in hand, the target was gettable.
Enter Snookes and Weidemann, who not only took wickets, but managed to stem the flow of runs.
With five overs to go, Port needed 58, but with just three wickets in hand.
It was a bridge too far with the final total 9/177 from 40 overs, lifting Ocean Grove to second on the ladder.
Surf Coast is on top of the table after Will Liddle backed up last week’s century with an important 62 against Wallington.
Liddle and Ben Tekin (56) put on 103 for the first wicket in reply to Wallington’s 7/172 with Sven Burluraux getting 52.
The Suns then lost 4/29, but managed to get home with four wickets and nine balls to spare.
Newcomb came within a whisker of a second straight win with Winchelsea taking out a thriller.
Shane Murdoch (58 not out) and Ricci Sauni (46 not out) shared an unbroken 103-run stand to get Winch to a total of 5/169. Jack Scanlon’s eight overs for the Bulls yielded 3/22 while Naichese Lovett also contributed with 1/22 from eight.
Newcomb’s run chase went from bad to worse and at 8/97, the game appeared gone, but Singhara Kumar had other ideas.
Kumara took 11 from the penultimate over and with 16 needed from the final over bowled by Sauni, he belted a six from the third ball. Sauni held his nerve and although Kumara ended unbeaten on 97, Winch won by five runs.
Collendina has recovered from a poor round 1 performance to string consecutive wins together.
The Cobras thrashed St Leonards by seven wickets with left-arm finger spinner Stan Grazotis taking 3/4 from 7.3 overs and fellow slow bowler Jacob Gasior 3/15 to have the Saints all out for 102.
The Cobras had few problems with the small run chase thanks to 35 from 25 deliveries by Gasior and then an unbroken 43-run partnership between Harrisyn Wingrave (29 not out) and Grazotis (20 not out).
A2 GRADE
Ocean Grove 7/222 (F. Long 62, D. Roddis 39, B. Singh Brar 28no, C. Weidemann 26) def Portarlington 9/177 (B. Toole 54, J. De Bono 35, N. Symes 29, C. Gourley 28, C. Weidemann 4/24, C. Snookes 4/44)
Collendina 3/103 (J. Gasior 35, H. Wingrave 29no, S. Harrison 2/31) def St Leonards 102 (D. Ganguly 35, S. Grazotis 3/4, J. Gasior 3/15, J. Every 2/9)
Winchelsea 5/169 (S. Murdoch 58no, R. Sauni 46no, J. Groves 27, J. Scanlon 3/22) def Newcomb 8/164 (S. Kumara 103no)
Surf Coast 6/173 (W. Liddle 62, B. Tekin 53, H. Farnsworth 2/21, D. Wise-Graham 2/26) def Wallington 7/172 (S. Burluraux 52, R. Faust 25, B. Gravett 25, A. Singh 2/46)
