Local Cricket, by Jim Timberlake
In a repeat of the previous weekend’s Twenty20 double header, the Geelong Cricket Club claimed the points on Saturday before lowering their colours on Sunday.
The Cats travelled to Windy Hill on Saturday, with all the excitement centred around the fact that Australian and Big Bash star Brad Hogg was joining the side in an effort to gain some match practice prior to the Big Bash starting in a few weeks.
He had to wait to show his wares though, after Eamonn Vines won the toss and batted, with Liam Buchanan opening up and smashing a quick-fire 55, before Tyler Larkins (21) and Brenton McDonald (16) saw a competitive score of 7/151 posted.
In reply, Essendon were never in the hunt, as the class of Jake Reed and Hogg shone through, the pair taking 2/20 and 2/21 respectively, a 37-run win the final result.
On Sunday, a big crowd turned up to Kardinia Park to see Hogg in action, this time against Carlton. This time though none of the bowlers were allowed to settle in, as the Blues cruised to 6/145 from their 20 overs.
Buchanan once again top scored at the top of the order with 38, but a lack of significant partnerships saw the Cats struggle to keep up with the run rate, eventually finishing on 9/119.
With two weeks to go until the Christmas break, Premier Cricket returns to its longest form, with a two day game scheduled over both Saturdays. Geelong will travel to Camberwell and will be desperate to go into the summer break with a win under their belts.
In the Geelong Cricket Association, the top of the table match of the round between Newtown & Chilwell and East Belmont is evenly poised after the first days play, although East Belmont may feel they are slightly ahead with 272 on the board on a wicket that looked at times to have quite a bit of variable bounce.
Mark Hanley got a dose of the runs for the Lions, making a patient 97 before falling LBW just shy of his century.
He received good support from Hayden McMahon who made 41, while Becker Nguyen, Dylan McMahon and Dean Riches all contributed scores in the twenties to help their side to a solid 272.
For the Two Blues, Nick McGuane picked up 3/50, and Jackson Davis took 3/73, to be the pick of the bowlers.
This will be a great test to see where Newtown & Chilwell are really at, and the fact that Lions star bowler Dave Lineen isn’t playing due to the birth of his first child last week, means they won’t get a better chance to run down a big total and send a message that they are the real deal this season.
In division two, Alexander Thomson held high hopes of mixing it with the pace setters of the competition Bell Park, but were brought back down to Earth rather quickly as the Dragons flexed their muscles to show why they are premiership favourites.
Winning the toss and batting, the Vikings started brightly moving to 1/48 in the early stages of day one, Nathan Saunders making a steady 23 at the top of the order. But from there, things went downhill as Kell Craven took two top order wickets, while Mitch Trask returned figures of 3/28, as both the middle and lower order failed to have any impact in a disappointing score of 135.
With 17 overs remaining to complete day one, Luke Turner opened up for the Dragons and showed positive intent from the start, moving to 41 not out in his side’s total of 1/72 at stumps.
The Vikings will need a miracle to win this, and as it stands, they may well end up spending the afternoon session battling to avoid an outright defeat.
