Altona bowler Lee Elmore took a wicket in Saturday’s loss to Balwyn. 76330 Picture: DAMIAN VISENTINI
By Adem Saricaoglu
ALTONA was crushed by Balwyn on Saturday, failing to defend their total of 125 in a two-day VSDCA clash at Frank Kirk Oval.
Balwyn began the second day’s play at 3/32 after dismissing Altona in just 56.1 overs seven days earlier, and dropped only three more wickets before reaching the target.
They batted on after claiming first innings points and lasted a full 84 overs to finish on 8/209.
Simon Steel and Trent Thomson were the standout batsmen for Balwyn, scoring 59 and 51 not out respectively late in the innings.
Gordon MacFarlane was Altona’s pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/17 off his 12 overs, while team-mate Brett Muirhead took 3/39 off 17.
Altona went into the second day with momentum, having taken two late wickets on day one, including MacFarlane’s dismissal of Michael Tuohey for a duck.
However Altona coach Mark McAllion said his side’s lack of runs put his bowlers under too much pressure from the beginning.
“There was a bit in the pitch on day one and we didn’t handle that very well but we hit back late in the game (last week),” he said.
“We actually bowled pretty well but we didn’t take our chances in the field.
“All the bowlers had a good game but we simply didn’t have enough runs on the board.”
Balwyn resumed its innings with composure and was able to establish momentum.
Ben Hanley and Stuart Baum provided a handy 24 to the total for the next wicket.
MacFarlane’s third wicket for the match saw Hanley out for 14, but that brought Steel to the crease.
Baum’s caught and bowled dismissal off MacFarlane left Balwyn on 5/66, however Travis Miles and Steel added another 41 before the next wicket, which was Miles for seven.
With Steel and Thomson in the middle Balwyn moved passed its 126 target, with both batsmen reaching half-centuries before Muirhead claimed Steel caught and bowled.
Despite the loss, Altona remains in the top four, one place above Balwyn.
Their next fixture sees them travelling to Ivanhoe for a two-day game.
“We’ve got a couple of big games coming up so we’re hoping to bounce back pretty quickly from yesterday,” McAllion said.
McAllion also admitted his side required improvement.
“The top order needs to make some runs and our fielding needs to improve a fair bit.
