CSB Championship: South Caulfield runs hot in statement win over Bonbeach
South Caulfield flexed its muscles, and then gave itself a critical self-assessment, while Mordialloc, Mentone and Bentleigh made big moves in Cricket Southern Bayside Championship division.
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It was the great chase as South Caulfield ran down Bonbeach’s 294 on Saturday, although South skipper Michael De Iacovo later revealed his side gave itself a harsh mark of “six or seven out of 10’’.
The critical self-assessment was all about striving to be better as the ladder leaders ramp up their premiership defence.
“It’s a quality side, there’s a lot of characters in the side,’’ De Iacovo, who returned to South Caulfield this season, said.
“There’s always room to improve for our side I think.’’
De Iacovo made 60 at the top of the innings, sharing a 79-run opening stand with Brad Erasmus (31), as South Caulfield set out after Bonbeach’s near-300 target on a batting-friendly Princes Park pitch.
Joshuah O’Donnell, at No. 3, continued his consistent season with 26 (he’s scored 348 runs, at 58).
Class act Lewis Mildenhall (61) then played a defiant hand, facing 134 balls, to guide South Caulfield towards victory.
Callum Nankervis came in at No. 6 and smacked 75 off 70 balls, with 9 fours and 3 sixes, as the chase gathered momentum.
South (7-295) achieved victory with five overs to spare.
“The wicket is flat as,’’ De Iacovo said.
“It was a bold call obviously to bowl first (last week) but with the weather getting pretty hot these days we knew it was going to bake out.
“We had a target and we chased it down with good intent and got our chest out to be honest.’’
De Iacovo said the performance was an important stepping stone towards finals.
“We know our ground which obviously helps…we know that 300 is near-on par,’’ he said.
“We were pretty confident going in this week that we’d chase it down.
“We tried to get someone to make a hundred, that was our big box to tick, but unfortunately we didn’t get to do that. It was disappointing. We said that at the end of the game, that’s what we need to improve on, one of the top six to make a hundred.
“Going into finals there’s always something you can improve on.’’
De Iacovo added: “We gave ourselves about a six or seven out of 10 yesterday, being that we lost wickets in clumps and no one made a hundred. That was something that we need to improve on.’’
South Caulfield sits on top of the CSB Championship ladder, 11 points clear of its nearest rival Mordialloc.
Bentleigh celebrated its first win of the season, and boosted its hopes of avoiding relegation, with skipper Ben Seabrook making a determined, unbeaten 96 off 169 balls to steer the Demons past Murrumbeena’s 211, making 4-213 off 74.2 overs. Seabrook put away 13 fours and a six as he went to the top of the Championship division run chart with 453 runs at 56.6. Bentleigh’s run chase was also powered by Jacob Apted (37), Om Satija (31), Alan Abraham (21) and Chamindu Mathra (22no).
Charles Bourne captured his second successive four-wicket haul as Mentone rolled St Brigid’s St Louis for 133 to secure a 51-run victory. Bourne took 4-25 off 13.2 overs, including the key wicket of Matt Sonczak for 58. Michael Waller (3-50) and Ed McGarry (2-20) also struck as Mentone climbed back to fourth spot. St Brigid’s St Louis face Bentleigh next round in a crunch relegation battle.
Former England U19 and Essex player Jack Plom took a season-best 4-36 off 21.3 overs as Mordialloc climbed to second spot with a rousing 20-run win over Beaumaris. Plom dismissed Sharks opener Jonty Leadbeater (42) to trigger a collapse as Beaumaris went from 1-74 to 6-94...and were dismissed for 148 in the 68th over. Harry Birkman (2-27) and Jakob Woinarski (2-30) also bowled well.
Ladder: South Caulfield 49, Mordialloc 38, Bonbeach 37, Mentone 28, Beaumaris 24, Murrumbeena 23, St Brigid’s St Louis 14, Bentleigh 10.
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