scoreboard
MORNINGTON NEWS
Langwarrin and Balnarring to play in womens final, Baden Powell in a thriller, Tigers pull off run chase Richmond and number three Spencer Wilton both contributed by scoring half-centuries. Dromana’s run chase started well. At 1/99 they looked in a good position to get the win. A middle order collapse set Dromana back. They lost their next four wickets for just five runs, with momentum swinging Crib Point’s way. In the end it was time that cost Dromana the victory. Stumps was called with the ladder leaders at 9/165. Crib Point had held on for a brilliant win. Carrum Downs took advantage of Dromana’s slip up by defeating Delacombe Park. The victory puts them on top of the table, equal on points with Dromana. Frankston YCW’s total of 97 was easily chased down by Hastings on Saturday. Carrum also scored a good win, getting the better of Main Ridge.
By Brodie Cowburn
MPCA WOMENS
IT was semi-finals round in MPCA womens. Balnarring cruised to victory after Pines posted a lacklustre score in their innings. Pines never got into gear, with only two batters reaching double figures before being bowled out for 70. Balnarring reached the required runs with the loss of just one wicket and in under nine overs. Grace Barnes top scored for Balnarring with 20. In the other semi-final, Langwarrin managed 88 in their innings for the loss of just a single wicket. It was within reach of Tootgarook, but they fell just three runs short, running out of time at just 85 runs. Langwarrin will now face Balnarring in the final on 6 March.
PROVINCIAL
BADEN Powell have claimed top spot on the Provincial division ladder by defeating Sorrento in a thriller. The two sides faced off at Overport Park on Saturday. Baden Powell were sent in to bat first, and put together an impressive innings. Baden Powell ended up scoring 216 runs from their 40 overs. Travis Kellerman top scored with 50 from 50 deliveries. Sorrento’s run chase started well with openers Corey Harris and Jedd Falck posting good scores. First drop batter Robert Wilson also scored a half century. Although Sorrento were putting runs on the board, their run rate was lagging behind. Time ended up working against Sorrento. They finished their 40 overs at 8/206, seven runs short of victory. They lost 5/18 to close out their innings. Old Peninsula remained in the hunt for the top spot by defeating Langwarrin at Lloyd Park. Old Peninsula defeated Langy by 47 runs. A half century from Wade Pelzer
SUB DISTRICT
Cat nap: Hastings made short work of Frankston YCW's total of 97. Picture: Craig Barrett
proved the difference between the two sides. Mt Eliza scored a good win over Long Island on Saturday, and Baxter easily defeated Red Hill.
PENINSULA
TWO brilliant individual performances helped Seaford Tigers complete a difficult run chase last weekend. The Tigers tackled Moorooduc at Moorooduc Recreation Reserve. The home side were sent in to bat first, and put a good score on the board.
Moorooduc finished up their 40 overs at 7/204. The Tigers were able to wrap up the win with an over left to play. Brayden Roscoe and Mackenzie Gardner were awesome, with scores of 81 and 88 respectively. Pines just scraped over the line in an entertaining clash against Mornington at Alexandra Park on Saturday. Pines chased down 204 to win. They managed to hit the winning runs with just five balls left to spare before stumps.
Heatherhill and Rosebud both scored wins over Flinders and Somerville respectively to conclude the round.
DISTRICT
CRIB Point scored a big upset win on Saturday against Dromana. Crib Point, who currently sit last on the District division ladder, hosted the top of the ladder Dromana. The home side batted first and played well. Crib Point set Dromana a target of 171 to chase down. Opener Chris
ONE of the best individual innings of the MPCA season helped Ballam Park get a hard fought win on Saturday. Ballam Park took on Tyabb at Bunguyan Reserve. Pradeep De Silva stole the show, scoring a mammoth 136 runs. De Silva has had an excellent year. This century is his fourth of the season, and his second in a row. On Saturday he smashed 13 fours and 6 sixes. De Silva’s efforts helped Ballam Park set a final total of 205. Tyabb worked hard to chase down their target, but couldn’t quite get the job done. When stumps was called they were left stranded on 194 runs. Seaford claimed outright first spot on the ladder with a win over Balnarring. Seaford set a huge total of 233 for Balnarring to chase down. The task proved too much for Balnarring. They were bowled out for 176. Boneo defeated Tootgarook on the weekend after bowling them out for just 91 runs. Mt Martha also got a win, defeating Skye at Ferrero Reserve.
Pinecliff provides another Diamond winner HORSE RACING
By Ben Triandafillou THE Pinecliff training centre in Mount Eliza has provided yet another Blue Diamond winner with Daumier digging deep for the Anthony and Sam Freedman yard to win the feature juvenile race on Saturday 26 February. Hidden away just above the Sunnyside North Beach in Mt Eliza, the Freedman partnership have utilised Pinecliff and its private racetracks as well as their Flemington stables to dominate the two-year-old contest in recent years. The remarkable run has seen four of the last five Group 1 Blue Diamond winners come through the state-of-the-art set-up with the Freedman-trained Hanseatic also finishing a narrow second in 2020. Since Grahame Begg’s homebred colt Written By claimed the juvenile sprint in 2018 when stabled at the Pinecliff base, the Freedman partnership has won the race with Lyre (2019), Artorius (2021) and now Daumier (2022). The Godolphin-owned Daumier had to show plenty of fight to fend off Revolutionary Miss and race-favourite Jacquinot, but with the addi-
tion of the blinkers, managed to cling on to win narrowly by a nose. Co-trainer Sam Freedman said the success was a culmination of the hard work put in behind the scenes. “I’m just proud of the whole team,” Freedman said post-race. “It’s been a fair sort of build up to this but the staff at Pinecliff and Flemington, I stand up here and do the interviews after a win like this but they’re doing all the hard work.” “They work their arse off to get these sorts of results so it’s a big thrill.” Following a similar blueprint to Artorius’ win last year, Freedman said they needed to find something to be in the finish on Saturday, and the blinkers certainly did the trick. “We needed to find a couple of lengths today. It was the same story with probably Artorius last year, you need to find something, and he worked super in [blinkers] on Tuesday. You’ve got to be right at the top of your game and thankfully he was today,” he said. Daumier is spending a few days out in the paddock before potentially pushing on and heading towards the Golden Slipper in Sydney on March 19.
Driving finish: Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Daumier digs deep to win the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes by a nose. Picture: Supplied Mornington News
1 March 2022
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