Mock finds form and leads Sharks over Town

• A Grade, Division 1

IN THE second instalment of the Grand Final rematch, Town won the toss and chose to bat first at Scorpion Park. 

Openers Darcy Hume (11 from 43) and his skipper Jesse Giardina (58 from 74) gave the Scorpions a decent start with a 49-run stand before the former fell. 
Giardina’s fellow top order batters pitched to have the hosts finish 8/172, the captain top scored with a half century. 
Shiran Rathnayake (3/19 from 8) did the damage with the ball for the Island. 

In reply, Thomas Keily (24 from 15) opened the innings with Jarrod Black (26 from 44) for the Sharks, getting starts before both falling to have their side 3/56. 
With the game up for grabs, Rathnayake (56 from 61) combined with his captain Daniel Mock (53* from 52) for a match-defining 94-run stand which saw both players reach half centuries. 
Rathnayake eventually lost his wicket but Mock continued on, finding some long sought after runs for himself after what has been an uncharacteristic season, clinching the win too.
Mudassar Riaz (1/28 from 6) tried hard once again for Town.

The 5-wicket win sees the reigning premiers stay in contention with the top four, after starting the week outside it, they host the Imperials this weekend. 
As for Leongatha, they’ll host the red-hot Nerrena. 

Club dominate in McMahon run fest
WONTHAGGI hosted Koonwarra L/RSL at McMahon Reserve and the hosts won the toss and chose to bat. 

Club put the Cougars to the sword, on the back of a superb innings from the in-from Mitchell Thomas (91 from 58) at the top, his half century included nine fours and six sixes!
Joel Brann (58 from 43) also pitched in, his half century included four fours and five sixes.
Wonthaggi’s innings had it all, from high scores - to two golden ducks in the middle order, they finished their 40 overs with a mammoth total of 8/317.
Callum Buckland (3/48 from 4) picked up three wickets. 

In reply, Koony’ couldn’t quite find the same aggressive flow despite strong showings from skipper Ben Walsh (49 from 81) and Sam Hughes (49 from 61). 
Matthew Waller (2/8 from 2) bowled well as the Cougars fell 121-runs short, giving Wonthaggi the win. 

Club will host OMK next round while Koonwarra will host Inverloch. 

Nerrena prevail in an instant classic
IN WHAT could very well prove to be the game of the year, ladder leaders Nerrena travelled down to Thompson Reserve to face bolters Inverloch, who won the toss and chose to bat first. 

After a convincing loss last time they faced Nerrena, the Stingrays welcomed back Andrew Donohue and Lewis Rankin and Donohue (100 from 92) sure made up for lost time.
The classy all-rounder came to the crease with his side 1/15 and put together an incredible 174-run partnership with young star Jack Butcher (81 from 114) putting the Stingrays into a demanding position. 
Tim Wightman (4/56 from 8) again starred with the ball as Donohue notched a marvellous century and the hosts finished up 5/233, a terrific score that would sure take some chasing. 

However, chase it Nerrena did.
The visitors came out strong with this season’s run-machine Mitchell Clark (60 from 50) again posting a half century as his side reached 3/105.
But a flurry of wickets, inspired by a brilliant spell from Jack Donohue (3/69 from 7) gave the Stingrays hope once again as it looked as though Nerrena’s unlikely chances of victory were fading. 

However, with their side facing a shock defeat Jarrod Hoy (32* from 24) and his skipper Caine Salmon (27* from 18) helped the visitors tail wag and wag hard, putting on a match-winning 59-run partnership in the dying overs to rip the hearts from the Stingrays. 

Nerrena escaped with a famous 2-wicket win in a match that saw 469 total runs scored, they hold top spot going into this weekend’s clash with Leongatha. 
Inverloch will face Koony. 

Imperials struggle against Diggers
THE Imperials hosted OMK at the Leongatha Recreation Reserve and the hosts won the toss and chose to bat first. 

The Imps innings never really got going, as Tim Sauvarin (29 from 33) top scored in a total score of 10/129. 
Thomas Wyatt (4/15 from 8) starred with the ball once again for OMK. 

In reply, the Diggers didn’t have as much trouble losing just the five wickets on their way to reaching the target with four overs to spare, Jacob Lamers (39 from 85) top scored.
Lucas Anderson (2/27 from 8) was the pick of the bowlers in the loss, his side will play Phillip Island this Saturday, while OMK head down to Wonthaggi.