By ADEM SARICAOGLU
SPOTSWOOD kicked off the New Year in style in North Division Turf Cricket, smashing Westmeadows with an easy four-wicket win on Saturday.
The Woodsmen kept Westmeadows to 7/165 before responding with a very healthy 6/226 in the one-day clash at Donald McLean Reserve.
Spotswood captain-coach Andrew Dickinson was quite happy to resume the summer with a win against a fellow top-four hopeful.
“Sitting seventh before the game, we were desperate for a win, so it’s a big result for us,” Dickinson said.
“It was a good, positive result, so we’re very happy with it.”
Five of Spotswood’s eight bats fired on the day, with Ed Young’s 76 and Dickinson’s 50 leading the way.
Opener Abhijeet Sharma and middle-order hitter Matt Leddin also proved handy in the middle, scoring 33 and 30 respectively.
Dickinson said he and his team mates made the most of the favourable batting conditions on Saturday.
“We went out with a positive mindset,” he said.
“The wicket was very good and the outfield was lightning quick, so to get 220-odd, it’s obviously a good score.
“(It was) a very quick outfield and we were very pleased to get 200.
“We haven’t scored 200 in a one-dayer for a little while, so it was great to get that.”
The Woodsmen came into the summer as one of the North Division’s hot favourites after coming down from the VTCA’s top flight Senior Division.
However, Spotswood’s form has been patchy to date, only managing to collect two wins prior to Christmas.
Dickinson says his side’s start to the summer has been “a little bit disappointing”, but is expecting things to turn around in coming weeks.
“We’ve had a couple of losses we shouldn’t have had or where we’ve been beaten by better performances, but we certainly feel we’ve got a very good side,” Dickinson said.
“Hopefully, this is the start of us reaching our potential, so we’ll keep chipping away and see where we can land.”
This weekend, Spotswood will host Royal Park Brunswick in another one-dayer before returning to red ball cricket away to PEGS.
