By David Nagel
Getting its home ground at Gunton Oval ready for play was probably the biggest challenge that confronted Cardinia (6/170) on Saturday as the Bulls defended well against a disappointing Officer (103).
The Bulls toiled for hours to get their lush headquarters ready for battle, and then put that hard work to good use to remain undefeated this season.
“Officer was good, they weren’t interested in getting the game called off and came to play cricket,” said an impressed Cardinia skipper Jake Prosser.
The Bullants had the upper hand early, with the dangerous trio of Alex Nooy (0), Morteza Ali (12) and Prosser (13) all back in the sheds, courtesy of some tidy bowling from young guns Cooper Pursell (1/25 off 8) and Aidan Pipicelli (2/24 off 7).
The left-arm (Pursell), right-arm (Pipicelli) combination works well for the Bullants and the two openers look set to make a real impact in the Premier Division this season.
But what the Bullants haven’t faced in recent seasons is depth in the opposition batting order, and that’s what the Bulls delivered on the weekend.
After a heavy collapse in round one, and some stern words from Prosser, the Bulls’ middle-order fired nicely under pressure.
Trent Wheller (31) and Leigh Paterson (45) laid the platform, before Travis Wheller (27 not out) and Nathan Volpe (15 not out) finished off the innings in style.
Leigh Boyle (2/26 off 8) joined Pipicelli as the pick of the Bullants’ trundlers.
Despite their competitiveness with the ball, the Bullants batters then once again struggled to show firm resistance against a high-quality bowling attack.
Jack James (47), Pipicelli (18) and Pursell (12) were the only visitors to work their way into double figures as Prosser (4/15 off 8), Josh Grogan (2/21 off 7) and Trav Wheller (2/23 off 7.1) went about their work without ever really being challenged.
Prosser said the response of his middle order, on a slow outfield, was the highlight of the match.
“We didn’t get off to a great start with the bat, with three poor shots from our top order, but our middle order held together really well, which was our emphasis from the week before, where we lost 5/19 off the last six overs,” he said.
“We spoke about how we wanted to fix that and I think we did that pretty well.
“I would have been happy with 125; I couldn’t believe we got that many to be honest.
“Once we hit 130 every run was a bonus after that, and we got that pretty early, and I knew that would take us a long way towards winning.”
Prosser said the switch of Travis Wheller from regular opener last season, to the middle order, would not dampen his impact on the side.
“I like him everywhere, he’s just a good cricketer, and he was lucky enough that he got plenty of time to bat on the weekend,” Prosser said.
“He can play any role and adapt to any situation so he’s perfect for that role in the middle order.
“He’ll come in, run hard, work the gaps, get his ones and twos and put pressure on the opposition fielders.”
The Bulls’ skipper said he was obviously happy with a two-nil start to the season, but the bar was about to be lifted against Tooradin and Pakenham in this weekend’s double-header.
“Yeah, happy, we’ve blown the cobwebs out a bit and worked our way through the first two, but we’ve got Tooradin and Pakenham now so it’s going to be a huge weekend,” Prosser said.
“Everyone has strengthened up, so every game will be difficult this season and those two are no exceptions.
“If we can get the win on Saturday (Tooradin) that takes the pressure off a bit and whatever happens on Sunday is a bonus.
“It would be ideal to get two wins but it’s not going to be easy going that’s for sure.”
Officer also faces a huge weekend, with a home game against Clyde followed by a Sunday trip to Merinda Park.
