By Luke D’Anello
YARRAVILLE Club will have to hit a season-high score to claim its second victory in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association (VTCA) Senior Division competition this weekend.
It appears to be a challenging assignment, but Clubbers’ captain-coach Justin Baker is confident the two-time reigning premier can rediscover its form with the stick against Old Essendon Grammarians and take advantage of a fast outfield.
On Saturday, Yarraville, bowling first, reduced Old Essendon to 7/96 at tea and looked set to make significant progress towards its target by stumps.
But the home team recovered to post 194 from 73 overs, after some handy runs from the lower order.
At stumps, the Clubbers were 1/18, with dependable opener Anthony Cristofaro and wicketkeeper Kayne Meehan at the crease. Andrew Cullen was the batsman dismissed, caught at slip. “We probably didn’t do a lot wrong throughout the day. The bowlers bowled really well and were pretty consistent in what they did,” Baker said. “It was a bit disappointing for them to get away. We were hoping to have them all out for about 130, but at the start of the day I said to the boys that if we could have them out for under 200 I’d be reasonably happy.
“Sometimes those last three wickets are the hardest to get.”
Baker (two wickets) heaped praise on off-spinner Michael O’Keefe, who sent down 28 consecutive overs and snared four victims. Opening bowler Emmett Bronca claimed two top-order wickets and was on a hat-trick before he strained his quadricep, while Steven Oosterhof was also damaging early.
Baker said the lightening quick outfield meant his batsmen would have to be patient. The Clubbers need little more than two runs per over to pocket the points.
“They batted well, but it’s now just a matter of us out-batting them. I’ll be backing our batsmen to do better on their wicket than they did. You don’t really have to play outside your game-plan to get runs on that ground. “Once it gets through the infield, it’s usually a boundary.”
Meanwhile, in other Senior Division matches, fourth-placed Spotswood notched 184 against Airport West St Christopher’s (0/3) on the opening day, with opener Karl Turner hitting 80 in a classy display.
Spotswood bowled three overs before the close of play, but were unable to score a breakthrough.
Elsewhere, Williamstown CYMS won the toss and batted first against Royal Park/Brunswick. But the loss of early wickets saw the CYs succumb for just 151, with wicketkeeper Chris Wakefield (47) and Tarek Moughanie (34) the only players in the top six to reach double figures.
Williamstown collapsed to 7/73 at one point before a minor recovery. Royal Park/Brunswick reached 0/37 at stumps. Keilor took to the bowling crease on Saturday against winless Greenvale and conceded 9/210.
In North Division games, Altona North managed just 132 against Hoppers Crossing (0/13), while Sunshine Druids (158) fared a little better against Westmeadows.
Werribee Centrals (1/22) has a big task in front of it to overcome Strathmore, which hit 266 in its stint at the batting crease.
In other fixtures, Keilor Park (0/62) appears set to claim victory against Doutta Stars (155), while Sunshine United spent the day chasing leather against Moonee Valley (8/216).
