Sunshine coach Mark Brown can feel a win just around the corner after a much-improved showing against Altona on Saturday.
The Crows are still without points but fell only 21 runs short of Altona’s target at Frank Kirk Oval and avoided the collapses which haunted them in their opening two games.
After Sunshine skipper Kane Twentyman won the toss and sent Altona in, Troy Stone struck early with the ball when he bowled opener Tim Collins for four.
Aaron Maynard joined Peter Herrick and the pair put on 115 for the second wicket before Herrick was run out for 55.
Maynard carried his bat through the innings for 82, with Josh Young’s 39 the other score of note in Altona’s 5-255. Paramjeet Hundal, Laka Khan, Stone and Kapelan Kulendranathan took wickets for Sunshine.
In reply, Sunshine lost Nathan Bolus (0), Brown (15) and Stone (6) to be reeling at 3-35 and Nathan Armstrong was caught and bowled for 19, leaving the Crows 4-76.
But a disciplined 60-run partnership between Fayaz Ughradar (62) and David Bonavia (42 not out) rebuilt the innings.
Khan backed up his first-round half-century with 38 but the Crows ran out of time to press for a maiden victory.
“It was disappointing to lose but we’re taking positives out of it,” Brown said. “The intensity we showed against good-quality opposition was good.
“There’s something there and now we just need to get a victory.
