By ADEM SARICAOGLU
LEG spinner Nathan Allen helped put his Melton Lions in the box seat to get their first win since October with a stunning seven-wicket haul in Sub-District Cricket on Saturday.
In a two-dayer restricted to 65-overs-a-side, the Lions were able to dismiss fellow VSDCA battler Sunshine for just 137 runs in 62.3 overs on the road at Dempster Park.
Allen simply tore the game apart in the hot conditions after Paul Halfhide (2/29) and Jake Charge (1/4) were able to claim three wickets for Melton early in the day.
The leggie, who before Saturday had only claimed 18 wickets for the entire summer, took all of the remaining Sunshine wickets to end the day’s play with figures of 7/42 and three maidens from 18.3 overs in the middle.
Melton vice-president and batsman Anthony Gale told Star the conditions and wicket suited Allen on Saturday.
“The ball didn’t quite come on, which means you had to be able to get down to him and he was a bit too quick in the air for them to do that,” Gale explained.
“He just bowled tight from up one end for the last 17 overs and just landed the ball well.
“They (Sunshine) got a bit flustered and played some loose shots but it was well-deserved after a hard day.”
While Allen’s seven wickets was the clear highlight, Gale was keen to praise Melton’s efforts in the scorching conditions throughout the entire day.
“It wasn’t an easy deck to score on but we bowled and fielded really well,” he said.
“It was obviously tough going – but the boys bowled really well and it was probably the best we’ve bowled all year.”
Needing only 138 runs in 65 overs to claim victory this weekend, Gale said there is a lot of confidence in the Melton dressing room ahead of the upcoming run chase.
“We’ve just got to bat out 65 overs,” Gale said.
“So we’ll go in confident this week and aim to just bat sensibly and if you bat for 65 overs, you’ll win the game.”
