By ADEM SARICAOGLU
KEILOR finally scored its first win of the summer in Senior Division Turf Cricket with a 31-run one-day victory over Brighton District on Saturday.
The Blues were sent in to bat at Robert Bruce Reserve and managed to reach 9/182 after a shaky start to their 40-over dig.
In response, the visitors were bowled out for 151 with two overs to spare.
Keilor coach Mick Andreadis said his side was “long overdue” for a win on Saturday, admitting a slight weight had been lifted off his team’s shoulders after struggling through a winless stretch of six games to start the season.
“There probably was a little bit of a sense of relief but we knew (a win) was coming,” Andreadis said.
“We didn’t think it was that far away and most importantly, now we’ve got to make sure we back it up with a strong performance next week.”
The Blues were in early trouble at 2/2, but a solid knock from Warren Kelly (64) that was well supported by Lachlan Sneddon (54) helped save the innings.
The pair combined for 92 for the sixth wicket before Keilor’s tail tacked on another 19 runs.
Then with the ball, Matt Willmott was the pick of the bowlers on his way to claiming three Brighton District wickets, while skipper Jody Hutchinson and Mubasher Hassan each snared two of their own during the doomed run chase.
Andreadis, who believes Keilor’s one-day form has been OK, praised his batsmen for setting up the win during the first half the game.
“We’ve actually been playing the one-dayers pretty well, we just haven’t had the experience or the polish toward the end,” Andreadis said.
“It was a good display by the batsmen to give us a score we knew we could defend and the bowlers did their job.”
Keilor remains last on the table but will not have to face any of the current top four in its remaining fixtures for the summer.
While Andreadis has been pleased to see the continued development and improvement of future prospects Daniel Venables, Luke Delbridge, Jarryd Clements and Sneddon, he is also quite mindful avoiding relegation is going to be a main priority for the rest of the summer.
“We’re in a catch-22 where we want to win but we also want to develop,” he said.
“So ideally, to avoid relegation would be great in developing the young boys.”
