By Lance Jenkinson
Sunshine United will be fighting for its survival in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division on Saturday.
If the bottom-of-the-ladder Tigers cannot surpass second-last Strathmore’s 8-184 on the second day at Selwyn Park, it could be a blow significant enough to send it back to the VTCA’s second tier.
Tigers batsman Leigh Sheridan is fully aware of the ramifications of a failed run chase.
“If we lose this week, we’re staring down the barrel of relegation,” Sheridan said.
“Finals is not really a thing for us at the moment, it’s more about survival.”
Sunshine United bowled with purpose early in the Strathmore innings. The new ball operators had the Mores in a state of disarray.
Tom O’Brien put the squeeze on with a remarkable 1-22 off 21 overs, including 12 maidens.
Rhys Dodemaide (2-37) and Nalin Amarathunga (3-37) combined for five wickets.
“The three seamers up front were really good with the new ball,” Sheridan said.
“They really put the clamps on.” Sunshine United could not deliver the knock-out punch with Strathmore in all sorts of trouble at 7-92.
The Tigers were not helped by the pitch conditions, which seemed to flatten out the longer the day wore on.
PHOTO GALLERY: Sunshine United vs Strathmore
It led to the Mores tail wagging with Chris Williams (25), Samuel Dukic (42no), Daniel Slevison (31) and Tom Stevenson (20no) doubling the total.
“The deck flattened right out after tea and it got a lot easier to score,” Sheridan said.
“They got away from us a little bit, a few things didn’t go our way, but all in all we were pretty happy with how much we restricted them.”
A target of 185 is certainly within reach of Sunshine United, but with the pressure on for both sides, it will make for a fascinating run chase.
Elsewhere in senior division, Keilor has made an encouraging start against Haig Fawkner, posting a competitive 283.
Kaushal Lokuarachchi starred for the Blues with 94, while Chetan Arjun added 62. The Blues could be sucked into the relegation zone if they fail to defend the score.
St Albans has been set a target of 257 away to Yarraville Club.
