Kealba Green Gully had to be content with splitting the points at the weekend, but still looks like the team to beat early in the season.
After opening their North West Metropolitan Cricket Association George Luscombe Shield premiership defence with an outright win in round one, the Cougars were on the charge towards a victory against Northern Lions when weather intervened.
Chasing down the Lions’ total of 167, the Cougars were well placed at 2-104 in the 24th over when the rain came.
“There was just a bit of a downpour at the wrong time, which just held on for long enough to make the pitch too wet to continue which was unfortunate,” said Cougars’ captain-coach Evan Long.
“I thought we only needed another eight to ten overs, barring any disasters wickets-wise, to get the result. We were batting really well, I thought we were in complete control before the rain came.
“It is what it is, but all the other games got a result so it’s a bit disappointing from that perspective. That outright in round one has come in handy straight away.”
While the Lions shot out to a fast start, putting on 70 for the first wicket, the Cougars bowlers readjusted their bowling plans and were able to rip the heart out of the middle of the innings with a steady stream of wickets.
Long (3-24), Jarrod Catania (3-20) and Matthew Nadzielski (2-26) were the standouts for Kealba Green Gully, as they dismissed the hosts for 167.
In reply, the Cougars lost Dave Rogowski (8) early, and Matthew Nadzielski (17) as the score approached 50, but Long (30 not out) and Roshan Laksiri (26 not out) soon established a strong partnership before the rain interruption.
“I felt like the first 8-10 overs of the day were played on their terms, but once we changed it up with the ball I felt like we had control of the contest from there,” Long said.
“To peg it back the way we did after they got off to a bit of a flier was very pleasing, and also to see a few different people to round one stand up when we needed them too will definitely stand us in good stead.”
After recruiting Jaydan Moore from Gladstone Park, and Robbie Bullock from Buckley Park, the Cougars are hoping to continue their recent run of success that has yielded the past three premierships.
“I think having some new guys around the club has really helped us stay motivated,” Long said. “We expect the highest result we can get, and we set our standards really high, so right now we just want to win enough games to make finals but the ultimate goal is to continue this dynasty we’ve started because we don’t really feel like stopping it just yet.”
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