By ADEM SARICAOGLU
ST ANTHONY’S failed miserably in its chase of Riddell’s declared 4/399 in the Gisborne and District Cricket Association’s McIntyre Cup on Saturday.
The Saints were given little, if any hope of getting close to their target on day two of play at Riddell’s Bullengarook Reserve and by game’s end could not even hit three figures on the scoreboard, getting rolled for 99 to lose by an even 300 runs.
Darren MacRae battled hard with the bat to score 42 but with little help from his team-mates, St Anthony’s never got close and remains last with just one win in the McIntyre Cup after five games.
However things are looking much rosier for Bacchus Marsh, who sits second on the table after scoring win number four on Saturday.
The opening day of play proved to be a fruitful one for Bacchus Marsh, who chose to have a bat in the familiar surrounds of Maddingley Park against a visiting Romsey outfit.
A 140-run partnership between skipper Scott Wakefield (85) and Justin MacDonald (88) led Bacchus Marsh to a formidable total of 280, which was reached for the loss of seven wickets.
On Saturday it took Bacchus Marsh only 42 overs to get through the Romsey order, with Mark Hooper (3/14), Rhys Watson (3/22), Brenton Payne (2/11) and Nick Strangio (2/23) all causing havoc for the visitors.
Romsey could only manage 77 runs and was hence sent back in for a second dig, in which it made 4/110 by stumps.
Kieran Atkin, who wasn’t given the ball in the first innings, claimed three of the wickets, while Watson added to his three wickets from earlier in the day with another one for the loss of just eight runs in five overs.
This week will mark the start of the GDCA Twenty20 season, with St Anthony’s and Bacchus Marsh due to meet tonight (Tuesday) at Melton Recreation Reserve.
On Saturday the two will meet again for the start of another two-day game, also at Melton Recreation Reserve.
