By Tara Murray
Taylors Lakes finds itself in a solid position heading into day two of its clash with Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association south-west.
Looking to cement their spot in the top six heading into the Christmas break, the Lions have two matches to go.
The first is a two-dayer against Yarraville which started on Saturday. They then face Caulfield in a T20 match for points on the Saturday before Christmas.
Day one against the Eagles on Saturday, the Lions took the honours.
The Eagles, who have struggled to put it together so far this season, were bowled out on the final ball of the day for 218.
Senad Jahic top scored for the Eagles.
Lions coach Peter Brasher said there were mixed feelings about the day. He said the effort was there from the group, but it wasn’t their best day nor their worst.
“The feedback from the boys was that the pitch was flat and not a lot in it for them” he said. “They would have been happy to keep them to 218 at the start of the day.
“We had them at 5-90 so we would have liked to have kept them to 160-170 would have been nice.
“We were disappointed not to keep them to under 200. Overall it was a pretty steady day.”
Brasher said they didn’t help themselves in the field as they dropped five catches that they should have taken and would have reduced the target.
Melisha Deshapriya took four wickets for the Lions, while Dhanushka Lahiru Kumara and George Sakkas took three each.
Brasher said the two spinners bowled really well, while Sakkas came on first change and got three crucial wickets to help get rid of the Eagles top order.
The Lions will now have to bat well to get the win this Saturday. The Lions are searching for their fourth win of the season and are currently in third position.
Brasher said it would be a good test for their batters.
The Lions have already chased down three totals this season, while in their round five match which ended in a draw they made 6-333.
“It’s not a massive score and the likelihood of decent weather during the week will favour us,” he said.
“They’ve got a steady bowling line up. Our form has stood up so far, so hopefully we’ll have a good chance of getting the runs.”
