Bellbridge moved a game clear on top of the WDCA A turf ladder with a convincing win over Melton South at Mossfiel Reserve on Saturday.
A five-wicket haul from Jake Styles was the catalyst to the victory for the Bridge, who just missed out on an outright result.
“It was just good to try for an outright,” Bellbridge president Mark Croswell told
Star Weekly. “In the end, they just didn’t have enough time to do it.”
If Bellbridge is comfortable in first place, they are not showing it.
The players are aware of the challenges which confront them in the final two rounds before the Christmas break when they cross paths with both last summer’s grand finalists.
Runners-up Melton Centrals visit Mossfiel Reserve for a two-day game starting on Saturday before a two-dayer away to champions Grand United.
“Those games will really tell us where we are, whether we compete with those top teams or whether we’ll be battling with the third to sixth teams trying to get the last two finals spots,” Croswell said.
“If you don’t get up for these games, you probably shouldn’t play cricket.”
The Bridge comprehensively outplayed Melton South, who were bowled out on day one for 132 with Styles the chief destroyer with 5-22 off 12 overs.
“It’s consistency of line and length with him,” Croswell said.
“He’s been playing cricket for the past 12 months, six months with us and six months in England, so it’s probably kept him in that little bit of form.
“He’s an athletic bloke and he’s young and fit, so he hasn’t had the stresses on his body so far and that’s probably telling.
“A couple of early wickets gave him confidence and once he gets his confidence up he’s one of the hardest bowlers to handle.”
Bellbridge had a couple of hiccups along the way in its run chase, but managed to pass the target six down with Sam Hewitt (40) and Steven Nolan (32 not out) pointing the way.
Melton South managed to avoid the outright, finishing with 7-79 at the close.
In A grade matting, Truganina cruised to a 138-run win over Deer Park at Clearwood Drive Reserve, with Muhammad Usman Afzal scoring 99 to go with two wickets.
And it was a one-man show for Williams Landing in a 30-run win over Melton South, with Anish Banga taking 5-11 and making 33 not out.
