WERRIBEE more than rode its luck on the way to a five-wicket win over Malvern in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association.
The Tigers wore the look of a team that hadn’t played a competitive match in three weeks.
They made errors not usually associated with them and lacked the polish of a finals contender.
Tigers captain Shaun Dean was not ducking from the fact it was an ugly win.
His pre-game speech centred around teams coming out “flat” after the break, and the players bowed to the holiday hangover.
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But all’s well that ends well. It could be a good sign that the Tigers found a way to win while not playing their best cricket.
“We bowled and fielded as bad as we could,” Dean told the Weekly. “We didn’t bowl well, we dropped seven catches and three of those were sitters.” Malvern took full advantage of the Tigers’ sloppiness. The hosts posted a massive 45-over score of 5-242 with Dean McAuley (55), Tom Knight (48 not out), Damien Hale (47) and Monto Perera (33 not out) proving tough nuts to crack.
Most effective bowlers for the Tigers were Tim O’Brien (2-42) and Adam Alifraco (1-43).
“The two spinners bowled from around the 17th to the 35th overs,” Dean said. “They stemmed the tide really well.”
The Tigers, who have shown their ability to stalk a run chase this summer, were not daunted by a required run rate of 5.4.
“Batting has been our strength all season,” Dean said. “We haven’t faltered in any games. We have batting depth and our top order is up there with the best in the competition.”
It showed.
Whatever frailties the Tigers displayed in the field did not extend to the crease.
They reached the target five down and with four balls to spare.
A genuine team batting performance saw significant contributions from David Wolfe (33), Matthew Dean (37), Shaun Dean (45), O’Brien (38), Jake Purton (33 not out) and Alifraco (37 not out).
It was not all plain sailing for the Tigers.
“We were in trouble,” Dean said. “We were a bit behind the rate.
“Purton and Alifraco batted unbelievably well at the end to win us the game when we needed about 75 off 54 balls.”
The Tigers play Roxburgh Park-Broadmeadows in a two-dayer at Chirnside Park starting Saturday.
SCORES:
Firsts: Werribee 5-243 d Malvern 5-242. Seconds: Werribee 175 tied Malvern 175. Thirds: Kew 139 d Werribee 128. Fourths: Kew 6-150 d Werribee 113
