AN unbeaten century to South Gambier’s Dylan Clough put the Demons on the right track to claim their Barber Shield match against East Gambier at Blue Lake Sports Park on Saturday.
Chasing a 149-run total in the Round 3 clash, the Demons suffered early wickets, but when Clough headed into the middle that all changed.
He treated the East bowlers with contempt, finding 125 runs off just 90 deliveries.
Only three other South batsmen reached double figures, but it mattered little, as each partner to Clough rotated the strike and gave the in-form batsman the chance to find runs.
And he did so with style, finding the boundary on no less than 15 occasions, while clearing it six times.
At the end of the day Clough ran out of overs, with just seven wickets down, helping the Demons to a big 236-run total and a comfortable victory.
Looking back it was a smart move by South to send East in to bat after winning the toss, despite a rapid run rate from the Bulldogs.
The opening partnership between Kyal Chapman and Darren Whitehorn looked set as the pair headed towards a half-century partnership.
But that was cut short when the total was at 29, with Chapman bowled by Clough for nine.
The runs continued to flow at a high rate, with captain Dion Stratford joining Whitehorn in the middle.
The pair added a further 20 before Whitehead departed, but not before making his mark.
His 22 runs included four boundaries, but also allowed Stratford to begin to amass his half-century.
Alex Hentschke played a similar role, with 17 runs to his name, also including four boundaries.
He was clean bowled by David Vine, but by then Stratford was threatening to break the bowling attack open.
However, some inspired bowling from there saw South take control, with the wickets falling at a regular rate.
Stratford fell to Daniel Loupos for a well-constructed 69, with seven boundaries and four sixes in the total.
Unfortunately Nathan Gore was the only other Bulldog to reach double figures, with the innings over in the 28th over with 149 runs on the board.
Vine was the best of the bowlers with 3/46 off his eight overs, although a bit expensive compared to Robert Drenthen (2/18) and Loupos (2/17).
With the bat South had a shaky start, slumping to 3/27, but from there the runs began to flow.
Adam Kuhl and Clough shared a 76-run partnership that set the win up.
While there were few other contributors in the Demons lineup, Kuhl’s 30 runs and Vine’s 32 not out down the order added to Clough’s 125 not out to easily pass the East total.
The Demons batted out their full 40 overs to finish with 7/236.
Hentschke and Simon Golebiowski were best with the ball for East, with two wickets each.
