By Ewen McRae
Seddon staged fightbacks with bat and ball to grab its first win of the Victorian Turf Cricket Association season on Saturday.
Taking on Keilor in the senior division, Seddon had Duleeka Thisakuttige and Liam Braithwaite to thank for giving it a competitive total to bowl at, before the bowlers came alive late in the day to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Keilor needed just seven runs from the final nine balls of the innings, and had two wickets in hand, but botched the closing stages.
Shafraz Mohamed, who had hit two beautiful boundaries to bring Keilor within sight of victory, was caught trying to find the fence in the penultimate over, before wicketkeeper Chetan Arjun was bowled by Damith Priyadarshana with three balls to spare and just five runs needed for the win.
Earlier, Keilor took control of the contest with three early wickets, as Arkii Van Wills (0), Priyadarshana (12) and Ben Speake (1) all fell cheaply to have the visitors in early trouble at 3-17.
From there, Thisakuttige and Braithwaite were able to stabilise the innings, their 129-run stand giving Seddon a defendable total.
Braithwaite looked right at home when he got to the crease, with his 70 coming off just 79 balls, while Thisakuttige anchored the remainder of the innings to be unbeaten on 85.
In reply, Keilor lost Luke Delbridge for a duck early when Chris Sole disturbed the timber, but it was able to settle the innings with a succession of handy partnerships.
Nathan Beever (41), Stavris (14) and Upal Bandara (22) all got good starts, but it was Kaushal Lokuarachchi who looked like giving the hosts the win, his whirlwind 59 coming off just 48 balls.
Photo Gallery: Keilor vs Seddon
Sole (2-33) got the vital wicket of Lokuarachchi, while Hayden Dryiski (3-40) was crucial through the middle and later part of the innings before the late drama.
Elsewhere, Spotswood proved far too strong with both bat and ball for reigning premier Yarraville Club, coming away with a 131-run win.
Batting first, Spotswood recovered from 2-23 to stage a middle-order fightback on the back of 52 from Mac Short. With four other batsmen scoring between 20 and 35, the home side hit 8-189 from its 40 overs.
That would prove to be more than enough, as the new ball pairing of Dan Schuppan (5-24) and captain Allan Wise (4-10) ripped the Yarraville Club batting order to shreds.
Just two of the premier’s batsmen made it to double figures as Spotswood wrapped up the innings for just 58 in 26 overs. The win sees Spotswood second on the table, while Yarraville Club is winless through the first two rounds and will look to get its season rolling against Keilor, which is also without a win.
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www.starweekly.com.au/sports/suvadas-devastating-spell-for-deer-park/
