Taylors Lakes is experiencing its first form slump since crossing to the sub-district cricket ranks.
The Lions have lost the past two matches, including Saturday’s disappointing 31-run defeat to Noble Park at Pat Wright Senior Oval, which detached them from the top six for the first time this season.
Lions’ captain Michael Brne believes his side was “a bit overawed, a bit rushed” in its search for Noble Park’s modest total of 206.
Instead of carving a niche, the Lions were bowled out for 175 in the 77th over.
“We’ve only got ourselves to blame,” Brne said. “There was probably a couple of rash shots in there that didn’t help our cause.”
With the exception of opener Dilan Chandima, Taylors Lakes’ top order can take the brunt of the blame.
Chandima was stellar in his construction of 63 runs. Usually a free-wheeling batsman, Chandima curtailed his aggression and batted to suit the conditions, a blueprint that he offered up, but teammates failed to follow.
“It was tough early … the ball was moving around and the pitch was hard, but it was damp underneath,” Brne said.
“Dilan proved that if you did the tough things early, you could get through.
“He summed up the conditions and really knuckled in for us.
“There were a few balls kicking at him and he’s a really aggressive batsman, but he really pulled his head in and worked the ones and twos around for us.
“We just needed someone early to go with him, and we didn’t have that.”
Taylors Lakes was 5-51 before its fightback kicked in.
Adam Dudderidge (21) and Mark Koutroubas (10) dug in through the middle order with a stubborn Chandima to reinvigorate the run chase.
But when Chandima was dismissed with the score on 8-115, it appeared as though the Lions had fired their last shot.
That was not the case, as injured batsman Shaun Guerra (25), who moved down the order due to a groin issue, combined with Jason Denny (27) for a 60-run ninth-wicket stand to give Noble Park a fright.
It proved to be a false dawn for Taylors Lakes – they lost Denny and Guerra in quick succession to fall short in their chase.
Brne was proud of the way his tail-enders dug in, but lamented what might have been had the top order taken care of business.
“I was really pleased that the guys fought it out,” he said. “It was a disappointing finish to get so close in the end.”
Taylors Lakes is 3-3 with one game to go before the mid-season break. Brne said the club would be “absolutely stoked” to go into Christmas with a winning record, possible if they get a win over second-placed Croydon in a one-day game at Lionheart Reserve on Saturday.
“They’re second on the ladder, but we’re champing at the bit to knock sides like these over,” Brne said.
