By Mark Murray
SUNSHINE broke through for its first win of the Victorian Sub District Cricket Association (VSDCA) East/West division summer on Saturday.
After enduring a horror pre-Christmas run, Sunshine toppled Mt Waverley on the weekend.
The team is still languishing on the bottom of the table but will be hoping the win is a sign of things to come.
Mt Waverley batted first and set Sunshine a tricky 226 for victory.
Robert Bartlett was the mainstay of the innings hitting 76 at the top of the order, while fellow opening batsman Craig Ferguson made 48.
Ferguson and Bartlett got their side off to a dream start with a 106-run opening stand before Kevin Sibler broke through for Sunshine.
From then on it was a brave fightback from Sunshine to hold Mt Waverley to 110 runs for the rest of the innings.
Kapelan Kulendranathan took 3/43 with the new ball while Sibler also finished with three wickets.
Sunshine’s run chase started off shaky with Jonathon Blake dismissed cheaply, but Troy Stone and Glen Sullivan (28) steadied the ship.
Stone went on to be one of the match-winners, his well-crafted 60 his side’s top score.
Shane Jones played arguably the most important hand in the win with 58 in the middle order.
Sunshine passed the target in the 43rd over with 7/229.
Daniel Eastley was unbeaten on 18.
Williamstown had a narrow win over Box Hill in the battle for top spot on Saturday.
The Seagulls enhanced their reputation as the side to beat this summer by chasing down the 155 runs required.
They have moved clear on top of the VSDCA East/West Division table following the victory.
Box Hill has dropped to third, replaced in second position by a much-improved Broadmeadows outfit.
Williamstown had a few batsmen chip in, which ensured it grabbed the six points against the Hawks, with Matthew Drain’s 29 crucial to the outcome.
Robert Fortington made life difficult for the Seagulls batsmen and finished with the impressive figures of 4/38.
Daniel Snell (31) and Andrew Goldsmith (21) were the most impressive with the bat for Box Hill, but the modest total of 8/154 was always going to struggle to stand up against Williamstown.
In other matches, Altona triumphed over Melton in a low-scoring affair, needing just 133 to grab the points.
Werribee was too strong for Yarraville with Mark Hodgkiss (48) and Mitchell Chadwick (46) helping their side to a total of 186.
Tim McRae took 5/64 for Yarraville, which finished on 147 in reply.
Endeavour Hills triumphed over Noble Park while Oakleigh defeated Bayswater.
