By RUSSELL BENNETT and JARROD POTTER
WEST GIPPSLAND CRICKET ASSOCIATION
REVIEW – ROUND 6 (DAY 1)
WITH the Emerald Premier side going strong at 3/160 at one stage on Saturday and danger man A.J. Walker (77) at the crease, Pakenham skipper Jason Williams admits he was “starting to stress a bit”.
In a brutally tough season, the clash between the two sides is a must-win for the Lions, who still have just the one victory on the board so far this season.
But the Bombers stumbled, and spectacularly – losing six wickets for just three runs at one stage before being bowled out for 194 in the 64th over.
There’s long been a suggestion that if a bowling side can remove Walker and expose Emerald’s middle and lower orders, a collapse could be on the cards – and Saturday proved it.
“On a small ground (Haileybury), I was happy with anything under 200,” Williams said in the wake of the first day’s play.
“We just have to try to bat the overs this week – we don’t need to do anything drastic.”
But that could be easier said than done for the Lions, who’ve had more than their fair share of middle-order batting issues to deal with.
Couple that with the fact that Emerald’s attack is yet to concede 200 runs in an innings this season, and this Saturday looms as an absolute belter.
“We’ve had it in our minds that we haven’t batted for 80 overs yet this season,” Williams said.
“Even at training it’s just been about batting time.
“We can just wait for the bad balls (on Saturday).”
Williams claimed 5/41 in 17 overs on day one and together with left-arm seamer Jack Ryan (3/39) was a real difference-maker with the ball.
“Jack bowled a bit fuller this week and he was rewarded for it,” Williams said, with Ryan unlucky not to walk away with an even bigger bag of wickets.
Looking ahead to this week, there aren’t any excuses. The Lions survived the final 13 overs of day one unscathed and will resume on 0/31 with Chris Smith (11) and James Vela (13) at the crease, and regular opener Russ Lehman still to bat.
“Russ was a bit buggered after bowling so he didn’t open, and Jimmy had batted in the top three for Frankston and had craved his opportunity up the order for us,” Williams said.
With the likes of Greg Interlandi, Josh Gonzalez, and Sam Webster all making runs for the Sub-District side, no one is safe in the Premier middle-order.
There’s plenty of depth in the club with both bat and ball, which can only be a good thing.
“We’ve got a lot of time to bat this Saturday so we just need to be smart about it,” Williams said.
There’s the chance that Emerald’s bowlers might bowl short of a length and tempt the Lions to try and hit out over the short boundaries square of the wicket, but the Lions skipper added: “I’ll be telling our blokes to bat like they’re at any other ground.
“We’ll play our normal shots.”
SUB-DISTRICT
SIX for 457 … a particularly monstrous number. Just how big is it though? For starters, Pakenham’s Sub-District side went at nearly a run-a-ball for 80 overs, which hasn’t been seen in a two-dayer in this competition for quite a long time. The last time the league saw 400 was when Beaconsfield carved up Lyndhurst last season in the stinking heat of February, but that was nothing compared to the onslaught Pakenham delivered.
Sam Webster (211) made the umpire work out his signaling arm to the point of exhaustion, with 30 boundaries and a six to his name by the end of his marathon innings at 5/439.
Webster didn’t have to worry about declarations – after he was declared on while on 91 two rounds ago against Cardinia – this time around he had a simple mandate to bat out the overs and post a mega-tally. Webster and Josh Gonzalez (110) – who smashed 17 boundaries and a six of his own – piled on a staggering 301-partnership and left Catani in complete disarray. A solid half-ton from Greg Interlandi (59) will hopefully not be glossed over either as the young wicketkeeper notched his third 50 of the season. Tom Keily (4/82) toiled in opposition to the run scoring machines and held his own across 22 overs.
