The Willetton Dragons 1st grade men’s team fell 60 runs short in their round 2 clash against the Scarborough Gulls at Justin Langer Oval on Saturday.
The Gulls won the toss, elected to bat, and got off to a strong start, making their way to 47 before Kade Povey got the first breakthrough for the visiting Willetton side.
Another partnership was built by the home side before a wicket for each of the spinners in Jagan Singh and Luke Holt left the innings in the balance at 3-117.
Zach Ferris put on an excellent display of bowling, taking 3-42 from his ten overs through the middle and late to help the Dragons stem the flow of runs and keep Scarborough to 9-224
The Dragons got off to a flying start thanks to fireworks from Brock Larance, belting 43 from 17 runs, an innings which consisted of 6 fours and three sixes in his short stay at the crease.
The wicket of Larance saw the score at 2-63 from 5.3 overs; contributions from captain Iszak Milentis and Blair Walsh saw the score of 4-99.
Kade Povey looked to steady the ship, but the visiting side struggled to stay with him as spin proved difficult on a slow Scarborough wicket.
Willetton ended up being bowled out for 164, with Larance as the match’s top scorer.
2nd-grade batter Stewart Hepburn had a day out to help his side secure a dominant 143-run victory and back-to-back wins to start the season.
Hepburn finished with 104 runs and 1-9 from his six overs; leg-spinner Declan Crowder also bowled well, taking 3/34. Willetton’s 3rd Grade team downed the Gulls thanks to Keifer Lakes 4-19 from his nine overs and Liam Hindle backing up last week’s 45 with 63 not out, leading the Dragons to an 8-wicket victory.
4th Grade captain Dev Singh led by example, taking 4-18 and 15 not out to chase down Scarborough’s 143 with only the loss of 3 wickets.
The Dragons will be back in action at home this Saturday against the Gosnells Hawks at Hola Health Park (Burrendah Park) in Willetton.
