Joseph Blake sends down a bowl for Sunshine 71609 Pictures: DAMIAN VISENTINI
BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
SUNSHINE is in a winnable position against Plenty Valley after the first day of the first match of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket season on Saturday.
It all depends on whether Sunshine can finish off the job. It’s something the side struggled to do last season, and consequently finished in last place.
“Last year, I know everyone was in the same boat with the weather, but we weren’t prepared for round one. We lost a few close games at the start of the season, and if you get off on the wrong foot it’s always too hard to catch up, and people get in to the mindset that we can’t close out matches,” head coach Andrew Webb said.
“Most games we got off to a good start whether it was with the bat or the ball, but I think we probably lost our way with the bat. We probably got greedy, looking for too many runs and not playing sensible cricket. We didn’t have our best year with the ball either but our bowling was definitely stronger than the batting. “
Webb had a lot to like about his side’s bowling performance on Saturday, particularly his own. He took 3/34, but the real star was new recruit and former North Melbourne Premier league cricketer Romain Grenville, an all-rounder who has come on as an assistant coach. Grenville took 4/38 in 24 overs in a blistering display of pace bowling.
Kapelan Kulendranathan, who has returned to the club after two years off, took the important wicket of Plenty Valley opener Ben Dennett (18).
Plenty Valley was dismissed for 128, and Sunshine will resume batting on Saturday at 2/19.
New recruit Andrew Powell, who comes to the club from Sunbury United, was bowled LBW for 11, while Jonathon Blake was bowled for a duck.
Webb has high hopes for Blake, who played the last four games in the first XI last year and made a 40 in his final game of the season. Blake’s brother Joseph is just 15-years-old and produced a disciplined bowling spell, conceding just 11 runs from 6.5 overs.
Despite losing opening bowler D.K. Tharindu, who has moved to Perth, and leg-spinner David Bonavia (Taylors Lakes), Webb believes his side is strongest this year, especially with the inclusion of Grenville.
“He’s added that extra buzz, coming from Premier cricket, I suppose people see a district player and think that we’re heading in the right direction. The buzz that he gives around training really gets people up and about,” Webb said.
“I would say that everybody would be expecting to play finals. We’ve got inclusions through all four grades, and we’ve got a lot of young kids who have started to come across and play juniors.”
Sunshine will resume play this Saturday with captain Troy Stone on six runs and Kane Twentyman on one.
Webb said Stone had recently got contacts and was seeing the ball better than he has been in years.
“Troy has been our key batter in last five years. Romain coming in puts a lot of competitive spirit between those two, so I’m looking for those two to really step up and lead from the front and spend a lot of time in the middle.”
