Local Cricket, by Jim Timberlake
Geelong Cricket Club is staring down the barrel of yet another defeat when it resumes against Dandenong tomorrow.
The Cats batted first last week, and were brilliantly led by skipper Eammon Vines at the top of the order, the ever improving youngster making a belligerent 100 from 218 balls.
As has been the case all season though, too much was left to too few, with five of the top seven batsmen falling for six runs or less.
Brenton McDonald was the only other batsman to offer support, with a well-made 64, including a dozen boundaries.
Despite a handy 22 not out from Nathan Alexander at number 10, the side could only manage 242.
That left 18 overs for Geelong to bowl on day one, but any hopes of a wicket or two to help them get back into it went unrealised, as Dandenong cruised to stumps at 0/64.
It’s hard to see a class outfit like Dandenong letting this one slip, meaning Vines and his charges could be in for a long day chasing leather.
In the Geelong Cricket Association, a number of games were affected by the inclement weather that rolled through the region on Friday, with covers blowing off and rain drenching some of the wickets.
One of those wickets was at Queens Park where the match of the round between Newtown and Chilwell and Grovedale was scheduled.
With the wicket deemed unplayable at the scheduled start time, the players waited around, before the umpires agreed that the game would begin at 3pm.
Curiously, Newtown and Chilwell won the toss and chose to bat on a wicket that was clearly going to favour the bowling side, and, as expected, they paid the price, battling to survive and eventually going to stumps at 9/104.
For Grovedale, Glen Talarico cashed in on the bowler friendly conditions, taking 5/11 from eight overs, while Gareth Yelland continued his good form with two wickets.
While the Two Blues will still be able to bat on tomorrow, the damage has been done, and Grovedale look set to consolidate top spot on the ladder, and consign Newtown and Chilwell to their third loss in four games.
In the division two match of the round involving Thomson and Marshall at Godfrey Street oval, rain again played a big part, with play completely abandoned for the day without a ball being bowled.
With the game reverting to a one dayer tomorrow, Thomson will benefit from the return of Jayden Hicks who was unavailable last Saturday, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Marshall as they pushed for a start last week.
For Marshall, Kal Dubbledam will take over as captain for the remainder of the season, following the shock announcement that Ben Spencer has stood down from the role, with the all-rounder citing work load and a desire to concentrate on his own form as the catalyst for the decision.
With most of the other sides around them on the ladder well placed in their games, both sides will need to be at the absolute best tomorrow if they want to avoid a very untimely slip up in their run in to the finals.
