Batsman David Wolfe in action for Werribee. 72771 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
EXPRESS paceman Shane Harwood was the major stumbling block between Werribee and Twenty20 glory, according to Tigers coach Travis Bean.
Werribee needed 10 runs of the last over against Melton in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association Twenty20 quarter-final last week, but could only manage four, falling just short of Melton’s score of 123.
Harwood’s final over was simply too quick and accurate for the Werribee batsmen.
“At the end of the day you need to hit a couple of boundaries, and at that pace it’s difficult to get it away,” Bean said.
“Not facing anyone else at (Harwood’s) pace you don’t have that time to adjust. You take his four overs out, which didn’t go for very many, you’re chasing it off 16 overs. He was definitely the difference.”
“He didn’t really need to do much other than bowl a good line and length.”
Matthew Kinross was Werribee’s top scorer.
“Kinross kept us in the game, we were under pressure around the 15 over mark and he batted really well and got us back into the game,” Bean said.
Nathan Geisler was the pick of Melton’s batsmen with 50 not out, while Nathan Allen had impressive bowling figures of 4/32.
Despite the loss, Bean said he was proud of his team’s effort to top the west group and come so close to defeating the “star-studded” Melton.
“We played a lot of different combinations in the five games we played and managed to win three games.”
Bean was particularly pleased with his young brigade of teenagers, including off-spinners Ryan Alifraco and Codey Moran, and batsman Shane Johnston, who is averaging 20.38 for the seconds in the normal competition.
The two-dayer between Werribee and Preston, which began on Saturday and will conclude this weekend, is in the balance, with Werribee dismissing Preston for 112 and Werribee sitting at 5-45 in return.
Bean said the game was a must-win for the club.
“We need to play well against Preston. They haven’t won a game which is hard to believe because they made the quarter finals of the Twenty20, and they beat us in the Twenty20, so it’s hard to understand why they haven’t won a game really.
“There are no easy games. We need to play well in this game because we’ve got Melton the next game anyway, and then we’ve got Williamstown and Plenty Valley.”
