Reigning premier Darley dodged a bullet to edge home by one wicket over Buninyong in Ballarat Cricket Associations firsts on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Lions passed Buninyong's 130 in a spine-tingling finish at Darley Park.
Buninyong looked like it had nowhere near enough runs when it was knocked over in 41.2 overs in the round four 50-over encounter.
The Bunnies fought all the way though.
Bowlers were on top from outset, with Buninyong on the ropes at 5-33.
Liam Rigby saved the innings with 56 (5 fours) with some important support from the lower order.
Mitch Ward did the bulk of the damage through the top and middle order with 4-23.
Overs were never an issue for Darley - it claimed victory in the 39th over - but wickets kept falling.
Darley was 2-2 and 4-44, but opener Anthony Taylor kept Darley on track.
That was until he was out for 62 (5 fours) see Darley 8-101 and once again the game was wide open.
It was left to Rahmatullah Khwaja, 10, Hasitha Wickramasinghe, 15no, and Dayle a Locke, 3no, to get Darley home, with the winning runs coming off the bat of Wickramasinghe.
Rigby and Geordie McLeod each finished with two wickets for Buninyong.
LACHIE Herring and Simon Ogilvie led Golden Point, 8-186, to an emphatic 74-run win over Brown Hill at the Eastern Oval.
Herring, in his first season with Point since crossing from reigning premier Darley, anchored the home side to 8-86 with an unbeaten 54 (3 fours, 2 sixes) in the top order.
Opener Manjula De Zoysa continued his consistent form with 34 (6 fours) and Ogilvie began what would be a big day for him with 25.
Brown Hill found itself in plenty of trouble early at 3-18, but from there the task was too difficult as it battled to 112
Ogilvie starred with the ball, taking 5-23 off 9.3 overs.
Jason Knowles, 40 (6 fours), was the only Bull to get going and even then he needed plenty of patience.
MT CLEAR, 2-69, made short work of North Ballarat, 68, at the Northern Oval - taking the points with a startling 35 overs in hand.
The previously unbeaten Roosters' only "win" for the day came at the toss, but they were quickly in trouble with the bat.
Wickets just kept falling. North had its back to the wall at 5-38.
Matt Zakynthinos and Hugh McGregor did manage to soak a lot of ball, but runs were too hard to come by and the loss of the three wickets at 48 ended any hope North Ballarat might have had of putting some pressure on Mounties.
Grant Trevenen led the wicket-takers with 3-23 - giving him nine already for the season.
Steve Nicholson, 29, and John Butler, 20, led the run chase for Mt Clear to ensure an easy victory..
COLE Roscholler laid the foundatiion for a Wendouree win over Napoleons-Sebastopol at Napoleons.
Roscholler was unlucky to miss out on a century, getting 97 (2 fours, 2 sixes) as the Red Caps reached 7-215.
His stay at the crease included a fourth wicket stand of 135 with Mat Begbie, 59 (2 fours, 2 sixes).
Wendouree lost four quick wickets at the end, but the damage was done.
It was always going to be a tough chase for Naps-Sebas. but it gave it a real shake to get 8-175 - the third highest total of the day.
Sajith Dissanayaka led the way with 77 (5 fours, 5 sixes). Another five batsman made starts with Nathan Doonan and Tarkyn Balzan each getting 21, but the task was just out of reach.
Ryan Simmonds helped steady the ship with the ball for Wendouree by taking 3-24.
EAST Ballarat, 6-160, had to dig deep to fend off Ballarat-Redan, 8-159, at Russell Square and remain undefeated.
Opener Zac Jenkins, 45 (4 fours), kept Ballarat-Redan in the game as wickets tumbled around him as things threatned to unravel at 7-106.
From there Lachlan Constable, 22, Billy Jones, 20, and Matthew Aikman, 14, ensured the Two Swords had a competitive score.
Lewis Hodgins took 4-28 off 10 overs.
The Hawks were kept on their toes and it took steady hands from Brad Whittaker, 43 (5 fours), and Tristan Dixon, 34, to ensure they remained unbeaten and on top of the ladder.