Masterclass of 185 by Phillip Island’s Daniel Mock

PHILLIP Island captain Daniel Mock put on a masterclass of batting on semi-final day at Leongatha’s Scorpion Park to almost certainly put his side into the LDCA Grand Final next week.

Starting out patiently and then quickening the pace as he passed three figures in the middle of the afternoon, he put his foot down as he reached 150 and looked to be on target for the rarest of feats in an LDCA semi-final, a double ton.

With four overs to go and Tom Niven providing plenty of stability at the other end, Mock hitout with fours to all parts of the ground and some towering sixes as he reached the 185 mark, still with plenty of deliveries to get the final 15.

But it wasn’t to be with OMK’s Jake Cochrane producing a slightly false shot and Koby Brann juggling the chance at long off, near the boundary, before grasping it down low for the dismissal.

There were no celebrations from the bowling side, and as a mark of respect for a super knock, several OMK players got across to congratulate the opposition captain on a superb display.

And walking towards the pavilion at Scorpion Park, he was greeted with a standing ovation by his team and the supporters and players of other sides who had come down to watch the last strokes of a hectic semi-final day across the district.

“I didn’t set myself any goals other than being there until we got a decent start. It was probably fairly slow going from me to start with, but I was feeling pretty good and striking it pretty well,” said Mock afterwards.

“They probably left their field up for longer than I thought they would, once I got going, and that probably helped me a bit and halfway through, I felt I was on for a good one.

“But you never know as a batsman. I had five ducks in-a-row last year and didn’t have much of a season.”

In fact, chastened by a shocker against Leongatha Imperials in the previous match, when Mock posted one of the team’s highest scores of 8 in an innings of just 37 off 25 overs, he faced 263 deliveries himself against OMK on Saturday, making 185 including 26 mercurial fours and three sixes.

OMK will be back on Sunday morning to face the massive challenge set them by Phillip Island of 6/365, not impossible at a tick over four runs-an-over, but highly unlikely with no fielding restrictions.

Elsewhere in A Grade Division 1, it’s a case of ‘runs on the board’ for Wonthaggi Club after they made a sometimes shaky 217 off 80.5 overs at Butch West Oval in Wonthaggi.

The match swung wildly through the day with Club’s Emmet Dempsey put down early before going on to make 75 at the top of the order, at much better than a run-a-ball, and setting his side up for what looked certain to be a good total.

But Leongatha Town’s bowlers started to fight back in the middle of the order, with the likes of Amila Ratnaike, Ron Abeysinghe and Geemal Rajapakshage getting key breakthroughs at crucial times to stop Club getting away.

The wicket of Stewart Beaumont, who appeared to be caught off his pads, was a particularly bitter pill to swallow as he was stoically holding up one end but it paved the way for some good rear-guard action by Lochie Mclean 20 off 39 in a partnership with James Sheerin 33 off 61.

And while Club ultimately didn’t bat out their 90 overs, they put Town under plenty of pressure, taking 2/21 off nine fiery overs at the end of the day on Saturday to balance the contest out ahead of play on Sunday.

Mayhem in A Grade Division 2

Elsewhere, on day one of the semi-finals, in B1, B2 and C Grade, the batting sides all put up worthy totals for their opponents to chase on Sunday.

But, not so in A Grade Division 2 where 24 wickets fell in one day on the Leongatha Turf, with Koonwarra/Leongatha RSL looking to be in serious trouble after they set Foster 93 off 45 overs only to bowl Foster out for just 57.

But wait, there’s more. Foster’s bowlers went to the well again and already have Koony/RSL struggling at 4/18 a lead of 54 in a match that looks set to go the distance.

The hero of the day for Foster has been Jack Gay, already with nine wickets for the match; 6/40 in Koony/RSL’s first dig and another 3/10 in their second.

In the other A2 match, a pair of 50s by Glen Alvie’s Scott Peatling (57) and Nathan Findlay (51 not out), anchored a worthy total of 237, which trailed off at the end of the day thanks to the effort’s of Nyora’s quick Aaron Kaddatz.

But, the scorecard told the story of the day for Nyora in the field, with only one dismissal via a catch, numerous chances being put down by them throughout the day.