Panthers come back from loss to maul Tigers

By Steve Brown
THE first day of round five in the Ferntree Gully and District Cricket Association saw the Eildon Park Panthers bounce back after last week’s defeat by Monbulk in their Knox Tavern Cup clash against Upwey.
Batting first, Eildon Park amassed 292 with the Upwey attack struggling, taking only four wickets for the day.
Last season’s Feaver medallist Shane Cosstick was the star of the day with an unbeaten 113 and he was well supported by the Morris brothers and Aaron Powell. The Tigers are staring at three losses on the trot as they have failed to chase scores in excess of 260.
Johnson Park were sent in by Mountain Gate and batted until stumps to reach 8/235 on the back of Bryn Gaunt’s 67. This should be another win for the Sharks if they can snare Samarasekera early next week.
St John’s Tecoma hosted Monbulk who forgot to read last week’s article having been cruising at tea until they lost 5/7 to be bundled out for 157.
Marc Hardy bowled unchanged for 36 overs to claim 4/77 whilst Danny Pearce supported well with 3/30. The Saints are 0/22 in reply and have their tails up having defeated topside Upper Gully last match.
Adam Luckman is in fine form scoring 73 for The Basin against Belgrave who will chase 191 for victory. Medium pacer Simon Hill was back in the wickets with 5/75.
Ferntree Gully pair Matt Black (82) and keeper Mark Teofilo (39) scored the majority of the blues total of 149 against a confident Knoxfield team, who are looking for their first win of the season.
In the final game, Upper Gully registered a competitive 245 against Rowville who will be tested.
In other news Rowville has won the right to challenge Heatherhill Cricket Club from the Mornington Peninsula after easily defeating Woori Yallock in the state wide VB Twenty/20 series.
The game will be played at Heatherhill on a date to be fixed and will decide who will represent Region 8 (South East Country) against the Gippsland region champions, Moe.
The series is open to all Victorian clubs with the exception of Premier and Sub District teams with the final to be played at the MCG.