Armstrong Creek skipper Daniel Maclean says “boring cricket” and tight bowling was the reason behind his side’s win against Jan Juc.
The Titans claimed their first victory of the season after making 9/130 batting first, a total Maclean described as “probably not even close to par”.
Ben Robertson top scored with 37 from 42 deliveries and Clay Mulgrew got 22 while Maclean made a handy 15 not out at the end.
Alex Jennings (4/29) and Oskar Crocker (3/10) were the pick of the Sharks’ bowlers.
“It was a tough day for the batters,” Maclean said.
“Ben Robinson did really well, (he) came in at a tricky stage where we lost a few in row and had to take that heat a little bit then finished off really well.”
Jan Juc started its run chase in solid fashion and was 1/60 after 20 overs when drinks were taken.
With Nick Hyden at the crease, the Sharks were always a chance, but a flurry of wickets saw them clump to 6/80.
Former GCA quick Matt Kennedy, who now bowls what Maclean described as “flat off-spinners” got Hyden first ball from a long hop.
The Titans were now on top and Maclean said his side hurried through its overs with the aim of restricting the run rate in the hope of forcing some bad shots.
“Sometimes it’s boring, some people might not be coming to watch it or coming to play against it, but that’s the way we want to play,” he said.
“That’s what we believe will win games with cricket.”
The tactics worked. Jan Juc was all out for 110 in the 38th over with Kennedy taking 6/19, Maclean 2/15 from eight overs and the rest of the attack doing its job.
“Our bowlers stood up and delivered when we needed it the most,” Maclean said.
“Our ground fielding was good. We dropped a couple of catches, but that’s to be expected sometimes – we’re all human.”
Jack Maclean conceded just 25 from eight overs and was, in the words of his brother, “the one that was a bit unlucky”.
“He had a few catches dropped, but Jack was the one that picked it back for us to start with and then me and Matthew (Kennedy) went to work during the middle overs and we relied on one of our quicks (Lachie Mulgrew) to finish.”
Armstrong Creek takes on newly promoted Drysdale this weekend. The Hawks are unbeaten.
“The last time we played against Drysdale was the A2 grand final a couple of years ago,” Maclean said.
“So it’ll be good to see them again. They’ve got a few of the same players and a few different ones in from that lineup so it should be a good match.”
BARWON HEADS completed a 10-wicket thumping of rivals Ocean Grove. English import Zac Jones top scored for Grove with 25, but the medium pace of Luke Schilling (3/21), slow bowlers Matt High (2/25), Dan Donaldson (2/23) and quick Darcy Hewitt (2/18) ensured the Seagulls would only be chasing 115 for victory. Max Melzer (66 not out) and Jaxon Mallett (44 not out) then made easy work of the chase.
DRYSDALE was too good for Queenscliff, winning by eight wickets. Hayden Illingworth made a fine 62 not out for Queenscliff, but a final total of 8/114 was well under par with Ben Spencer picking up three wickets. Spencer (49), Jason Malcom (32 not out) and Jack Wilkinson (28) then got the Hawks home in the 29th over.
THE Barrabool vs Anglesea never got started with rain on Friday hitting the Ceres ground particularly hard.
