By Tara Murray
A devastating spell of 10 overs after tea sealed a big win for Caroline Springs against Williamstown Congs in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association Charles Clark Shield division 4 competition.
After making 242 on day one of the match, the Falcons were slightly on the back foot early on day two.
The Congs got to drinks without losing a wicket and still had plenty of wickets in the shed at tea.
Falcons captain Kane Sevior decided to send in spinners Mujtaba Hussain and Gayashan Weerasekara from both ends after the break.
The move would be a match winning one, as the Falcons took seven wickets in 10 overs to end the game.
The Congs were bowled out for 133.
Sevior said it was a turnaround of fortunes late in the day.
“We didn’t feel like we were bowling badly, we just needed some luck,” he said.
“Coming into tea, I thought the game would go down to the wire.
“After tea we started with the spinners as it was turning. We thought we could restrict them a little, but were able to clean them up in 10 overs.”
Photo Gallery: Caroline Springs vs Williamstown Congs
Hussain and Weerasekara took four wickets each. Weerasekara had already made 74 on day one.
The win is the Falcons’ second for the season. With a lot of new sides in the division, Sevior said they were more than happy with two wins from three games.
“Because it’s a new competition, it’s so close,” he said.
“One team has three wins and there’s three teams with two wins.
“You don’t know where you sit and who is the most competitive.
“We want to get a lot of wins early on to set ourselves up. We’ve got a number of home games coming up.”
The Falcons this week face St Andrews and Sevior said this was one of the teams they were unsure about.
He said hopefully they can continue to build some momentum this week.
Meanwhile, Sydenham-Hillside managed to avoid an outright defeat against Maribyrnong St Marys.
St Marys made 168 in its first innings, before bowling the Storm out for 133.
St Marys then made 138, giving it a lead of 178. The Storm were 9-116 at stumps.
In division 5, Melton South Royals and Melton Centrals both recorded outright wins.
After making 4-307 on day one, the Royals bowled Flemington out for 67 and then 45 to claim all points available.
The Centrals finished Jacana’s first innings early on day two, bowling them out for 82.
They then bowled them out a second time for 165, giving the Jaguars a second innings lead of 10 runs.
Centrals made the runs without losing a wicket.
Meanwhile, Caroline Springs women’s side won its first game in Cricket Victoria Women’s Community Cricket Competition.
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