CSB: Luke Heath, Wade King, Matt Acocks, Ulricht van Duyker help McKinnon to 257 against Dingley

There was a whiff of finals as a McKinnon batter peeled off his third half-century of the summer against Dingley in the CSB Division 1 top-of-the-table clash.

Luke Heath has eyes on the ball for McKinnon while Dingley keeper Mason Goldin looks on. Picture: Valeriu Campan

McKinnon skipper Wade King said he was hoping for another 20 runs after his side posted 257 against Dingley in Cricket Southern Bayside Division 1 on Saturday.

“I was kind of hoping around the 280 mark,” he said.

“But it was a pretty good total. It was a quick outfield and they bowled well.”

In what is likely to be a preview of a finals showdown in March, McKinnon and Dingley — sitting one and two on the ladder respectively — had a seesawing tussle on Saturday.

Dingley new ball bowler Chris Pereira (3-39) and spinner Jay Jhamb (1-22) struck early to have McKinnon wobbling at 2-24.

Wade King on the drive for McKinnon. Picture: Valeriu Campan

But King (48) and Luke Heath (78) steadied the ship for McKinnon, taking the score to 2-90 when King fell to Cian Dickinson (2-34).

Heath continued on, sharing a 70-run partnership with Matt Acocks (22) before, at 3-160, Acocks was dismissed.

Dingley then put the clamps on McKinnon, the ladder leaders adding another 97 runs off 30 overs as Dickinson, Flynn McGaw, George Burrows (1-43) and Tristan Booth (2-30) kept the pressure on.

McKinnon No. 8 Ulricht van Duyker contributed a vital 34 to ensure a score of 250-plus.

Tristan Booth bowling for Dingley. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Heath batted beuatifully to finish with 78 off 107 balls (12 fours) — his third half-century of the summer.

“The last couple of years we’ve used him as an opening bat,’’ King said of Heath.

“But he’s played that number four and five role really well and yesterday he just showcased his skills, didn’t give any chances until his last ball. Heathy has been really good for us this season.’’

Luke Heath shows his class. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The match continues on Saturday and King said a win over Dingley would give his side added belief as finals approach.

“If we win this one it would be a bit of a confidence booster, and we’ll have a little over them because we will end up playing them at some time in the finals I reckon,’’ he said.

“It’s a big game for us. We know they’ve got a couple of good bats and they’ve got a bit of a long tail so they’re going to be relying on the top order. But they’ve been good all year and they chased down 290 last game so credit to them.’’

McKinnon is chasing an overdue premiership this season and King hopes it is their season.

“We owe it to a lot of the club people after last year and given the start we have had this season it’s probably ours to lose,’’ he said.

“We’ve got to keep winning games and keep beating who we play.’’

In other CSB Division 1 matches, Tegid Phillips and Michael FitzGerald scored half-centuries as Hampton put up 8-282 against Parkdale United. Phillips made 58 to go past 400 runs for the season while FitzGerald made 52. Dean Bott (3-56) and Daniel Lloyd (3-91) toiled hard for Parkdale United.

South Caulfield opener Ben Coddington (76) and skipper Luke Russell (67) helped their side to 209 against Aspendale. Dales bowlers Flynn Webster (4-43) and Alexander Cortese (3-30) impressed.

Carnegie opening bowler Tatsat Brahmbhatt captured 4-11 off 9.4 overs to help dismiss Parkdale for 119. Rahul Chauhan, with 2-12, also impressed. In reply, Carnegie reached 2-62 by stumps, with opener Suraj Rao on 19.