After just five rounds of season 2014/2015, it appears the finals hopes of the Geelong Cricket Club are all but gone after the Cats lost to Frankston Penninsula last Saturday.
With their backs against the wall, the Cats did a reasonable job bowling first, restricting their hosts to 8/179 from 50 overs.
Jack Sheppard (2/33) and Jeremy Hart (2/41) were the pick of the bowlers.
With Aussie T20 skipper Aaron Finch in the line-up, Geelong would have been confident of getting its season back on track.
Alas, two balls into the innings and Finch was out for one.
However, Hayden Butterworth (52) and Eamonn Vines (31) saw the Cats cruise to 1/87.
But from there things went pear-shaped as the lack of depth in the middle-order was exposed, seeing the side crash to all out for 144 in a disappointing day for the club.
Things don’t get any easier in this competition, with Geelong hosting fifth placed St Kilda over the next two Saturdays.
Perhaps the chance to bat for long periods of time is just what the doctor might order for a side short of confidence.
However, the Cats will need to improve dramatically to win this one.
In Geelong Cricket Association match of the round, North Geelong appears to have the upper-hand over St Joseph’s after posting a very competitive 9/276 from 85 overs.
Shane Dillon top-scored with 81, while superstar skipper Jake Thorne continued his good form with 71.
For Joeys, Trent Walerys showed his class with 3/45 while Justin Foss and Jack O’Donoghue took two wickets apiece.
While this is a healthy total to defend, the Magpies will know that St Joseph’s is more than capable of chasing them down tomorrow and will need to claim early wickets to put the pressure on from the get go.
In division two, Highton did all the hard work early against Thomson only to blow it all away late on day one.
After dismissing the Tigers for just 131, with only Grant Dew (64) showing any resistance, the Heat would have been cock a hoop.
Brandon Ross (3/22) and Mark Freijah (3/31) were the destroyers.
But in an awful 16 overs before stumps, Highton crashed to 4/17 after James Menzies (2/6) struck early.
While all is not lost, Luke Daffy will hold the key tomorrow. If the veteran can regain some momentum it will still be a small target to chase down, and if he can find some allies the game could still have a positive outcome for the Heat.
Bell Park’s season in division three hangs by a thread after the Dragons failed with the bat last week despite keeping Shelford to a moderate total.
At 0/78 after winning the toss, Shelford was flying but the Bell Park bowlers, led again by Jhye Kenna (4/51), dragged their side back into it when they dismissed their hosts for 198.
With 21 overs to face on day one, the Dragons would have hoped to casually knock some runs off the target without too much fuss.
But Shelford had other ideas, ripping through their top order to see them finish day one on 6/55.
Jaydon Etteridge was the key with the new ball, taking 4/22.
Bell Park skipper Ashlee Carter is still at the crease and while he’s there his side is a chance. But too often he’s been unable to find anyone willing to stick around with him and it’s hard to see tomorrow being any different.
