YARRAVILLE put a modest 130 on the board in its season-opening Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association clash with the Kingston Saints on Saturday but fought back to have the home side at 2/14 by the end of play.
Yarraville captain Tim McRae acknowledged his side’s poor total at Walter Galt Reserve, Mordialloc, but was confident heading into day two.
“We only made 130 and any other day you might think that is not enough … but we got two wickets and it is a really slow outfield out there,” he said.
After winning the toss and electing to bat the Yarraville side plodded through the innings with a few cameo performances down the card.
“Only a couple of us made 30s,” McRae said. “Warren Patterson made 36 and I made 31. We (the side) batted for about 66 overs; usually off 66 overs you want to make more than that.”
For McRae it was good to spend some time at the crease after his 2008-09 season was marred by a broken thumb. “I broke my thumb last year and I didn’t play the second half last year … It has come up as good as gold. You’re never happy with only 31. When you play you want to face as many balls as you can in your first game.”
Former Footscray-Edgewater captain Matthew Love made an inauspicious start to his VSDCA career in his first season out of the Premier Cricket returning to the sheds with a zero next to his name.
“He was stiff,” McRae said. “He got a second-ball duck. It was a really good ball and he was caught at gully. When a guy goes out second ball you never read too much into that.”
Love redeemed himself with one of the Werribee scalps late in the day. Fellow new recruit Paul Thomas chipped in for the other.
McRae indicated that both would be vital this Saturday when they look to roll the Werribee batsmen.
“We’ll use him (Love) intelligently. He is a fast bowler. We will back him in bursts. Hopefully we will be able to get 20 overs out of him and Paul Thomas is a bowling machine so he will just bowl all day. We just need to hold our catches and we’ll be right. We’re always confident.”
Willamstown made a similar start to Yarraville in its season opener against Caulfield, going all out for 156 and then snaring a wicket late in the day to have Caulfield at 1/6 heading into day two.
– Tim Doutré
