1ST GRADE
1st Grade maintained their perfect record to start the season, beating University by 5 wickets at James Oval.
The hosts won the toss and elected to bat, a decision they may have rued as Matt Hanna ripped through their top order, with the veteran claiming 4 wickets in his opening spell.
The Students made a good fist of a rebuild from 4 for 33 despite interruptions from Waheguru Dhillon and Luke Holt, before Hanna claimed his fifth to keep them in line at 7 for 114.
Some stodgy lower order resistance was then broken up by all-rounders Oliver Arkinstall and Kallen Bond, as the Dragons were left with a score of 160 to chase.
Hanna was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 5 for 33 from his 10 overs, with Holt (2/24 from 6.2 overs) also impressing, as Bond (1/12 from 3 overs), Arkinstall (1/16 from 6 overs), and Dhillon (1/31 from 10 overs) all chipped in.
In reply, an early wicket fell with Iszak Milentis bowled on the pull stroke for 6, but Bond rocketed out of the blocks to give the Dragons the momentum, with the skipper posting his fifty from just 37 deliveries.
A fine hundred looked to be on the cards before a skied sweep shot ended the Bond burst, but his innings of 70 from 50 deliveries had set up the game.
Blair Walsh and John Sanders came and went to cause some nerves, but Luke Holt just about saw the chase through with Wornes, making 22 from 44 deliveries before skying a sweep shot as the scores were level.
A Wornes cut shot to the fence sealed the win, with the left hander continuing his strong start to the season with 54 not out from 88 deliveries.
2ND GRADE
2nd grade followed 1st grade’s lead and kept their perfect record intact, beating University by 45 runs at Burrendah Park.
Nic Geisler won the toss and elected to bat, with the Dragons in early trouble at 2 for 6 with Stewart Hepburn and Amrit Singh back in the sheds.
Ethan Smith (22 from 68 deliveries) and Ellis Cassidy (35 from 44 deliveries) put in some had graft to stop the slide, but the game was evenly poised with both set batters out and 73 runs on the board.
An eventual score of 9 for 179 from 50 overs was built on an even spread of contributions, with Cameron Becker (31 from 41 deliveries), Declan Crowder (26 from 43 deliveries), David Cameron (19 from 38 deliveries), Harry Hopwood (17 from 40 deliveries), and Ikky Bhalla (15* from 7 deliveries) all helping out.
Consistent wickets hampered the Students chase, with Cassidy (3/21 from 7 overs) and Crowder (3/29 from 9.3 overs) the pick of the bowlers as the visitors were bowled out for 134, with singles for Geisler (1/13 from 4 overs), Becker (1/16 from 6 overs), and Hepburn (1/28 from 7 overs).
3RD GRADE
3rd grade comfortably accounted for University, winning by 85 runs.
Ben Witschge (35 from 47 balls) and the returning Harry Grigson (33 from 37 balls) made starts at the top of the order for the Dragons, but the innings’ ceiling looked to be capped by wickets falling in clumps.
A strong late order effort from James Scott (35* from 30 balls) with support from Chris Lagana (17 from 30 balls) lifted the final score to 187 from 45 overs.
Scott backed up his batting efforts with the ball, taking two early wickets, but the hosts settled to 2 for 85 in the 20th over.
A runout triggered a huge collapse, with the Students spun out by Brayden Lee (4/3 from 6.1 overs), Jordan Hodgetts (2/21 from 9 overs), and Grigson (1/2 from 3 overs), finishing all out for 102 after 35.1 overs.
4TH GRADE
4th grade took the game deep, but sealed a second consecutive four-from-four with a 3 wicket win over University.
Aaron McCall lost the toss but the Dragons still found themselves in the field first up, with the skipper leading the way with 3 for 16 from 7 overs as the Students put a score of 169 from 42.5 overs on the board, with support coming from Josh Kuser (2/18 from 6.5 overs), Jagan Singh (2/37 from 9 overs), and Brock Tiede (2/41 from 9 overs).
Greenhorn openers Blake Third and Rajat Deshmukh started the reply strongly, posting a 75 run opening partnership before Deshmukh fell for 11.
An inexperienced batting lineup had a wobble, but the Dragons knocked off their target with 13 balls to spare, with Third underpinning the effort with 82 from 86 deliveries.
UNDER 17’S
Under 17’s wrapped up a win against Gosnells, knocking off their target with 7 wickets in hand.
Resuming at 1 for 5 in pursuit of the Hawks score of 120, a partnership of 67 between Blake Stephen (55 from 100 balls) and Kyall Roach (27 from 60 balls) got the Dragons within sight, before Jagan Singh (36 from 43 balls) made some late runs to put the game beyond doubt.
UNDER 15’S
Under 15’s cruised past Gosnells, winning with 7 wickets to spare.
The innings was underpinned by an outstanding 94 run partnership between Josh Nathan (87 from 111 balls) and Isaac Wittkuhn (40 from 56 balls), before Mitch Hole (21* from 15 balls) provided some late fireworks with the win safely banked.
UNDER 14’S
Under 14’s couldn’t get their season away with a win, losing to Claremont-Nedlands by 69 runs at Cresswell Park.
The hosts batted first and posted 162 from 48.1 overs, with Puru Aren (3/24 from 6.1 overs), Josh Peachey (2/21 from 8 overs) and Luca Boden (2/32 from 10 overs) the pick of the bowlers.
The Dragons found themselves at all sorts in reply, slumping to 3 for 4, and couldn’t recover from there, being bowled out for 93, with Thewmin Kannangara (28 from 80 balls) and Boden (22 from 58 balls) making contributions of note.
UNDER 13’S
Under 13’s made a comprehensive start to their season, beating Claremont-Nedlands by 8 wickets at Burrendah Park.
The Dragons bowled first and made a phenomenal start, reducing the visitors to 8 for 29, but strong 9th and 10th wicket partnerships ensured there was a score of 111 to chase, with Dihain Abenyake (2/14 from 4 overs), Jy Jeffrey (2/21 from 7 overs), and Finley Rollin (2/24 from 7.2 overs) all bowling beautifully.
The Dragons lost just 2 wickets in the chase, with Michael White leading the way with 52 from 86 deliveries at the top of the order.
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