Jan Juc captain Nick Hyden is well aware that his side still has a lot of work to notch up a second consecutive BPCA win despite having runs on the board after day one of round six.
The Sharks were all out for 229 against Ocean Grove on Saturday and are well placed to win.
However, Ocean Grove successfully chased down a similar total against Barrabool in round five.
“They’re a good team and we’ve had some good games against them in the last couple of years,” Hyden said.
“It’ll be a good game. They’ve got some key wickets that we’ll need to get early and last week they chased 230 and were about one for 130, so we’ll need to create a bit of pressure early.”
Although Hyden was happy with the final total, he said it could have been more.
“If you gave me 230 at the start of the day, I’d have taken that,” he said.
“We probably left a few out there. I think everyone from one to number six got almost 20 or more without anyone going past 50. So we probably left a few out there, but at the same time to get some even contributions was pretty good.”
Opener Luke Edwards and middle-order player Fraser Clatworthy each made 44 in different circumstances.
Edwards was patient and did the hard stuff early with his runs coming from 159 deliveries while Clatworthy had more freedom later in the innings with his coming from just 40 balls.
Edward Cole made 37 from 43 balls and Hyden made 23 from 92.
“The platform was set for guys like Fraser and Jack (Taylor, 27 off 25 balls) to come in and play with a bit of freedom,” Hyden said.
“If our top six are all getting starts, then that’s progress that we can keep going on mostly as the year goes on.
“They bowled pretty well through that middle period. Micky Thornton and Dan Roddis are two of the best seamers in the comp in my book given the times I’ve played against them.”
Thornton sent down 22.1 overs for 3/70 while left-armer Roddis put in a similar shift with 1/51 from 19 and Dylan Thorley took 3/32.
Hyden said his side is finally getting balance. Last season’s runners-up, Jan Juc lost its first four games.
“I think we’re probably as settled as we’ve been in the last 18 months or so,” he said.
“Hopefully we can continue that form and someone can go on and get a big score in the next few weeks.”
BARRABOOL is on the verge of first-innings points, needing 23 to defeat Inverleigh with seven wickets in hand. New-ball pair Brad Greenwood (4/17) and James Fisher (3/16) were largely responsible for the Bulls getting Inverleigh all out for 71. Despite some hiccups, Michael Kelson (28 not out) saw Barrabool to 3/49 at stumps.
ANGLESEA went a long way to keeping its unbeaten run intact, making 7/255 against Armstrong Creek. Consistent opener Tyron Norman top scored with 89 while Titans skipper Daniel Mclean sent down 18 overs and captured 3/53.
BARWON HEADS dragged itself back into the contest after Lachie Stott (74) Hayden Illingworth (64) set Queenscliff up for a huge total. But slow bowlers Brent McMinn (6/50 off 22.1 overs) and Sam Schaller (3/60 from 30) applied the brakes and had the Coutas all out for 180.
