Last Saturday, in Round 7 of the WA Premier Cricket season, the Willetton Dragons’ senior men’s teams faced off against Perth Cricket Club on the opening day of a two-day fixture.
At home at Hola Park (Burrendah Park), The first-grade Dragons had a tough day against top-of-the-ladder Perth, who won the toss and elected to bat.
Zach Ferris gave the Dragons a crucial early breakthrough by dismissing opening batsman Ben Geddes for just five runs, but fellow opening Perth batman Samuel Fanning then made a solid 106 runs off 184 balls.
Fanning’s solid innings came to a dramatic end when he was run out by a quick-thinking Iszak Milentis and Cameron Bancroft.
Joel Curtis added 55 runs, and fifth in the order, batter Connor Blaxall-Hill scored 63 runs, further boosting Perth’s total.
Luke Holt was the pick of the Dragons’ bowlers, taking four wickets for 68 runs off 20 overs, while D’Arcy Short claimed three wickets, though he was expensive, conceding 100 runs.
Zach Ferris and Matt Hanna took the early wickets of Ben Geddes and Joel Curtis.Perth finished the day with a massive total of 346 runs, all out after 89.4 overs. The Dragons will begin their first innings this Saturday with a challenging chase ahead.
Away at Fletcher Park in Carlisle, the second-grade Dragons had a strong performance in the field.
Perth won the toss and elected to bat, but the Dragons’ bowlers kept things tight, dismissing Perth for just 181 runs off 77.5 overs.
Perth’s Julian Di Renzo stood out with an unbeaten 81*, while the rest of the team fell cheaply. Jaganjot Singh took three wickets for 32 runs, but Alex Hepburn, Lukas Debnam, and Declan Crowder took the crucial early wickets.
In reply, Willetton finished the day at 0/45, trailing by 136 runs and in a strong position heading into the second half of the match.
In the third-grade, back at Hola Park, the Dragons won the toss and chose to bat, making steady progress and finishing the day at 6/135.
Opening batter Zaid Buckland made a solid 35 runs, while Josh Nathan, batting at number seven, was not out on 32. Perth’s Luke Munson claimed three wickets for 28 runs.
Over at Fletcher Park, the fourth-grade Dragons faced a tough challenge as Perth won the toss and elected to bat.
Perth ended the day in a commanding position at 9/252 off 80 overs.
Opening batsman Alfie Shepherd made 71 runs, and Gabriel Giltrow finished not out on 55.
Willetton captain Davinder Singh took four wickets for 64 runs, while Andrew Morisey dismissed the other opening batsman, Anil Kumar, for 24 runs.
The Round 7 clashes will resume this Saturday, with all four grades back in action against Perth.
The first and third-grades will be back at home at Hola Park, while the second and fourth-grades will once again be playing away in Carlisle at Fletcher Park.
