Cricket Southern Bayside: Drew sparkles with ton before rain has final say

Former Tassie star Brendan Drew hit some big bombs on his way to 106 for Bentleigh, but the Demons were disappointed.

Chelsea’s Tiron Fernando goes at Dingley on Saturday. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Former Tasmanian fast bowler and Victorian Premier Cricket Ryder Medal star Brendan Drew belted 106 off 94 balls for Bentleigh against South Caulfield on Saturday.

But the splendid innings couldn’t give the Demons victory, with South Caulfield taking the points under the Duckworth/Lewis method after rain interrupted play in the afternoon.

Drew’s ton and Greg Buckley’s 81 helped Bentleigh post 6-226 off 40 overs after the Demns were in early trouble at 2-4.

In reply, South Caulfield rushed to 1-139 off 26.4 overs, with Kevin Harris (68) and Josh O’Donnell (59no) in blazing form.

Dingley batsman Ryan McLean. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Bentleigh skipper Jarrad Dowling said the loss was “hard to swallow’’.

“We did everything right. We dominated with the bat after a shocking start,’’ he said.

“The rain came for about 45 minutes and once we got back on we had 11 balls to bowl and they had four runs to get to win under Duckworth/Lewis.

“A pretty hard one to swallow to be honest. We’ve got to do what the umpires have told us.’’

Dowling said Drew “hit some big bombs’’ during his sparkling century.

“Drewy hits the ball cleaner than anyone I’ve ever seen,’’ Dowling said.

“He hit some big bombs yesterday.’’

Action from the Chelsea-Dingley game on Saturday. Picture: Valeriu Campan

All games in Championships Division were decided by Duckworth/Lewis.

Parkdale, with Dale Elmi making 49, beat Beaumaris.

Jack Bailey (28no) and Sanju Jayasekara (28no) helped Bonbeach take the points against Hampton. Dan Forbes made 58 for the Seahorses.

Carnegie skipper Abhilash Sharma made 61 in his side’s win lover Murrumbeena.

In Division 1, Dingley opener Ryan McLean cracked 64 to help his side to victory over Chelsea. Ben Marsh snared 5-45 for Chelsea.

Mentone beat Aspendale, with Dane Heverin (63), Simon Cormie (41) and Matt Williams (4-25) starring.

McKinnon opener Reece Taylor struck form with 60 in his side’s win over St Brigid’s/St Louis.

A strong batting display, led by Finn Callaghan (34no) and Brendan Morris (32), helped Mordialloc to victory over Brighton District.