2 weeks Ago By jimjin
Tara Murray Hoppers Crossing continues to rack up the wins without really firing in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association south-west. The Cats have now won their last three games to get their season back on track after a disastrous start to the season. On Saturday, it was their bowlers that got the job down against Yarraville.
After winning the toss, the Cats bowled the Eagles out for 97. Cats captain-coach Simon Lambert said they were able to make the most of the conditions early on. “It was an important toss to win,” he said.
“It wasn’t the greatest pitch and it had a bit of moisture in it early on. “We put them under some good pressure and had a fair bit of momentum early on. To keep them under 100 was great.
“We gave ourselves a pretty chasable score.” Harshit Takkar took three wickets for the Cats while Brett Smith, Daryl Sunder Ferrario and Lambert took two wickets each. Like that has become the norm for the Cats, they made harder work of the run chase than it needed to be.
The Cats were in trouble at 3-9 and then 5-52. Sunder Ferrario (53 not out) and Shadi Sideek (19 not out) got the job done as the Cats made the winning runs in 24 overs, finishing 5-98. Lambert said the run chase was similar to the week before.
“Last time we got off to a flier and were 0-90 off 10 or 11 overs,” he said. “This time we were 0-1 after one over. “The first few overs can set up your run chase and we didn’t set up how we would have liked.
“The middle order stood up and Darryl got us home.” Lambert said in the past that was a match that they might have dropped. He said it was a pleasing sign that they were yet to hit their straps with the bat and were still getting wins on the board.
“I feel like we’ve been OK,” he said. “With the ball we’ve been pretty good, but our top order is not quite firing yet. “I’ve had a couple of 50s and Darryl made 30 odd last week and then 50 this week, but no one in the top six has fired yet.
“It’s a good thing for us that we can win without the top order firing.” The Cats are one of five teams with a 3-1 record after four rounds, with Brighton sitting undefeated. Lambert said he hoped the two-day format would allow their batters more chance to shine.
The Cats face Endeavour Hills in a two-dayer this weekend. Meanwhile, Werribee wasn’t able to make it two in a row, losing to Caulfield. Caulfield made 5-177 with the Tigers falling well short, bowled out for 107.
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