By Lance Jenkinson
Taylors Lakes was instructed to clean up its act with the bat.
The Lions achieved that aim, batting with patience and putting more value on their wickets, but even so, it might not be enough to beat Yarraville in their Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association south-west group clash when play resumes at the Yarraville Oval on Saturday.
An “underdone” score of 191 was not the desired result for 70.4 overs of toil, but it was, at least, a sign of improvement for the Lions.
“Obviously last week was very disappointing [with the bat],” Lions captain Jarrod Wakeling said.
“We went into this week with a goal of essentially just wanting everyone to put a bit of value on their wicket, bat for long periods of time and let the score look after itself.
“From my perspective, it was pleasing that we really worked hard to achieve those goals.”
It was still a ‘nearly’ innings from Taylors Lakes.
All they needed was one or two of the players who got starts to capitalise and Yarraville might have been facing a more daunting run chase.
Chris Marr top-scored with 44 for Taylors Lakes, while four other players – Mick Brne (26), Nipun Sumanasinghe (29), Dilshan Kanchana (26) and Wakeling (26) – got starts and went out in the 20s.
“Our boys probably chased some balls they didn’t really need to go after,” Wakeling said.
“It was a bit of fatigue or a lack of concentration that’s led them to play a shot they didn’t need to play.
“I’m finding when these boys are getting to 20, 30 or 40, our shot selections are probably not quite there and that’s probably the difference between us and the young boys at the moment and the more established, more experienced teams.”
Photo Gallery: Yarraville vs Taylors Lakes
Marr’s knock was pleasing for Taylors Lakes.
He was strong through the covers, pouncing on any loose balls outside off stump.
Marr combined for strong partnerships with Brne and Sumanasinghe to get the Lions innings rolling.
“He batted really well,” Wakeling said.
“He was really patient.”
While conceding his team’s score is below par for the conditions, Wakeling believes Taylors Lakes has a red hot chance of defending the total but they will have no margin for error.
“Once the runs are on the board, there’s a bit of pressure,” Wakeling said. “It doesn’t matter what deck you’ve got to bat on, if you’ve got to chase down 190, you’ve still got to bat well.
“If we do everything right and have a bit of luck, you never know.
MORE VSDCA NEWS
www.starweekly.com.au/sports/altona-eyes-an-upset-victory/
www.starweekly.com.au/sports/melton-bats-need-to-fire/
