By ADEM SARICAOGLU
MELTON was restricted to an even 200 runs by Altona in Sub-District Cricket on Saturday.
The Lions were sent in to bat by their western rival at MacPherson Park but were able to make the most of it, reaching three figures on the scoreboard for the loss of only two wickets.
An 87-run third wicket stand between opener John Varchione and Anthony Gale helped steady the ship after Michael Alexander and Stuart Wilson were both sent packing cheaply for three and four respectively.
However once Gale was dismissed for 51, Melton’s flow of runs was well-stemmed by the visitor.
Captain-coach Nathan Geisler could only contribute 14 before Altona star Aaron Maynard had him bowled, while soon after Jeremy Liddy became the second of Shane Jones’s three victims for the day.
Jones then went on to remove Varchione, leaving Nathan Allen (21 not out) and Chris Hope (nine not out) in the middle to scrounge for the remaining 19 runs of the day.
Liddy told Star his side was “reasonably happy” to end up with 200 runs for the day, before praising Varchione’s impressive 94-run dig.
“At the start of the day we would’ve taken it,” Liddy said.
“I suppose in the position we were in, it would’ve been nice to get 20 or 30 more runs off the last 12 to 15 overs.
“But John Varchione’s (innings) is exactly what we’ve been wanting from the top five, which is someone to bat through the innings.
“He did it really well and set us up for the total we got.”
Liddy is confident Melton’s attack will be able to get the job done this Saturday.
However the Lions will have to go into the second day without key opener James Wheelahan, who recently fractured his finger in a Twenty20 fixture.
“I reckon we’ll have all bases covered,” Liddy said of the Melton attack.
“I think the bowlers have been doing better than the batsmen this year, so hopefully that can continue next week.”
