ON-FIRE Melton skipper Mick Allen smashed another century on Saturday against Ormond to help book his Lions a semi-final date with Caulfield in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association this weekend.
The very best of the Lions was on display over the weekend as Allen’s fellow top order batsmen Michael Alexander and Pat McKenna provided cameos of 71 and 57 respectively, ultimately leading Melton to a massive 6/291 in the full 80 overs.
On Sunday it was the bowlers’ turn to shine, and they didn’t disappoint.
With star quick Shane Harwood missing from the attack, Brad Jones, Paul Halfhide, Duncan Harrison and Nathan Allen each claimed two wickets as Ormond capitulated on the MacPherson Park wicket.
The doomed run chase was over within 51 overs, and could only yield 103, just two runs more than Allen made alone the day before.
Coach Harrison stayed true to his modest character after the win.
“It was a really good win,” he said.
“We obviously batted really well yesterday and then executed pretty well with the ball again today so it was a good, solid win.”
Allen’s 170-run opening stand with Alexander proved to be the key factor in Melton’s mammoth victory.
Harrison hopes Allen has a couple more good knocks left in him for the summer.
“Hopefully he can keep it up for two more weeks, but look he was fantastic again and he’s in a real purple patch,” Harrison said of his skipper.
“He’s been absolutely amazing.”
Throughout the summer Harrison has raised concerns over the inconsistency of his side on both sides of the bat.
With no such problem stifling his side’s progress when it matters most at the pointy end of the season, he says he’s pleased with the continued improvement the Lions have shown in the second half of the season.
“We started the season pretty slowly and we probably knew we were going to,” Harrison said.
“We had a few unavailable and we had an injury run at the start of the year and it took us a while to get going.
“But probably in the last four or five games the confidence has been pretty good and probably from the Brighton game (last month) onwards we started to get it right.
“At times we’d be getting by with one or the other going quite well, but in the last three games we’ve been quite good with bat and ball so it’s a good feeling around the group.”
The Lions now face Caulfield for a spot in the grand final.
“They’re a fantastic team and it’s going to be a huge game so we need to make sure we play really well,” Harrison said.
“We’re looking forward to it but we know that if we don’t produce anything at 100 per cent on both days, they’ll get us.”
