St Albans held its composure to secure first innings points of day one of its clash with Altona North in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division on Saturday.
Not for the first time, the Saints have been in a low scoring battle on day one of a contest but had previously missed out on the points on a couple of occasions.
This time the Saints were able to find a way against Altona North in the first game after the Christmas break.
Saints captain-coach Paul Hetherington said it was a strange day.
“It was a funny game as 21 wickets fell on the day,” he said.
“There were a few more than we expected but it was nice to be on the right side, that’s for sure.”
Altona North won the toss and decided to bat.
It finished 9-109 in just 39 overs.
Daniel Blatherwick took 4-35 for the Saints.
The Saints struggled to get going in their innings but were able to do enough, bowled out for 129.
Blatherwick top scored with 31.
Hetherington said they would take a lot out of that run chase.
“We’ve been in a few positions where we’ve had to bowl and then bat for 20 or so overs,” he said.
“It’s about working out whether we put pressure on and get through the day. You’re stuck in that position.
“The last three games we’ve shown good growth on how we want to play and there’s a bit of an opportunity to finish it off.”
Altona North will resume at 1-10 in its second innings.
Hetherington said while getting an outright win would be handy in their quest for finals, that wasn’t the main focus.
“We’re pretty big on sticking to the process and we’re focused on wanting to bowl well and see how the game presents,” he said.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves.”
Among those for the Saints on Saturday was Jasnoor Chatha, who made his first XI debut.
He made 13 with the bat.
Hetherington said it was the fourth player under-18 who had made their debut this season in positive signs for the club.
Having entered the Christmas break in fourth and with a win over Deer Park, the Saints have set themselves up for a finals tilt.
Hetherington said they were unsure where they would be this season but now they had the chance to push for a top four spot they were working towards that.
He said overall the club was really young this season but they were starting to see some real contributions from the players coming through.
In their fourth XI on Saturday, Tyler Hubery and Logan Chamberlain combined for a 336-run partnership, making 187 not out and 181 respectively.
In other results, Airport West St Christopher’s are 0-8 in reply to Sydenham-Hillside’s 231.
Keilor was bowled out for 151 against Craigieburn.The Eagles were 5-65 at stumps in reply.
Deer Park made 8-363 against Aberfeldie.
