Dylan Kight on his way to another century for Footscray Edgewater. 74773
BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
FOOTSCRAY Edgewater and Fitzroy Doncaster had to be content with a draw after an absorbing contest in which the Lions needed just six runs for victory and the Bulldogs required two wickets.
In a rain-hampered round dominated by draws, this one was the most absorbing, and the end result a just one.
Footscray Edgewater declared on 8/323, with Dylan Kight’s magnificent 146 a highlight.
The 20-year-old wicketkeeper batsman from Melton is looking like a star of the future. His average is 73.33 after seven innings this season.
Ben Green’s outstanding knock of 75 was also instrumental.
The Bulldogs started strongly with the ball and had the Lions in a shaky position at 2/22, but a defiant 147-run partnership between Scott Huntley (87) and Dale Torney (84) had Fitzroy Doncaster on the front foot.
Brad Robertson broke the partnership by dismissing Huntley caught behind, while a run out put an end to Torney’s innings.
With the game in the balance at 6/237, Matthew Bright seemed the player who could take the Lions to victory. Looking to beat the clock, Bright amped up the run rate and raced to 41 at just under five an over, but his eagerness for runs came at a cost, and he was run out.
Play ended with Fitzroy Edgewater stuck on 8/213.
Andrew McCammond and Robertson both took two wickets each for Footscray Edgewater, with Green and Tallan Wright taking one apiece.
Robertson’s frugality was key in protecting the Bulldogs’ total – he conceded just 59 runs from 22 overs.
FOOTSCRAY Edgewater coach Barry Neivandt provided an interesting theory into why the two-dayer against Dandenong on 3-4 December was such a run feast.
Dandenong is sponsored by Platypus, and thus uses that brand’s ball instead of the more common Kookaburra.“There’s not as much lateral movement, basically it’s the ball’s just not as good,” Neivandt said.
While Footscray Edgewater made a more than competitive score of 301, Dandenong claimed victory after losing just three wickets, with openers Brett Forsyth (122 not out) and Tom Donnell (109) putting on a clinic.
Nevertheless, to see youngsters such as Dylan Kight, 20, and Travis Dean, 19, make 51 and 71 respectively, was further evidence of the ample young talent at the Bulldogs.
The talent surfaced again in the first XI Twenty20 match on Tuesday, when Footscray Edgewater defeated Geelong after chasing down 135 in the 19th over.
Kight was given the opportunity to captain the team, while five of the six bowlers were aged 21 and under.
Nic Oldridge top scored for the Bulldogs with 64 not out, backing up his 141 in the second XI game the weekend before.
“Nic was out of form before that and found himself back in the threes, so it’s tremendous to see him bounce back,” Neivandt said.
Oldridge is one of several batsmen in the second XI who is pushing for first XI selection in the longer form of the game, showing the impressive depth of the side.
Seventeen-year-old Jackson Knight scored his first District cricket century on 3 December in a potentially season-defining performance, and followed it up with a 65 on the weekend.
