Tara Murray
Rain put a hold to Sanctuary Lakes momentum on Saturday in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association division 5.
After winning their last two matches, the Sharks were keen for the challenge against Footscray Angliss.
While the rain stayed long enough for results in all the other matches, there was no play at Featherbrook Oval.
Sharks captain Brett Talbot said it was disappointing not to get out there against another side which is set to be in the mix.
“We tried to get out there a couple of times,” he said. “But the last lot of rain got us in Point Cook and that was it.
“Both teams have been playing well and it would have been a good challenge for us to see where we were at.
“It’s a little disappointing.”
Talbot said they had been happy with the results they had been able to produce so far, considering the conditions.
The first five days of play for the season were washed out, while several Tuesdays and Thursdays have had heavy rain which means training has also been impacted.
“It’s been a bit hard to get momentum,” Talbot said. “It’s been stop-start. Rain on Tuesdays and Thursdays means wet wickets, which makes batting and bowling hard.
“We’ve done well so far as a group trying to gel, we’ve got a good group of guys. We play Seabrook this week and hopefully we can get a win and make it 3-0 and a draw.”
The Sharks women’s side has also been impacted by the rain. They’ve played just one match.
On Sunday, there was no play for any of the sides as the VTCA called off games after heavy rain on Saturday night.
Talbot said it had been frustrating for the women’s side as well, with the one highlight being able to play on their home turf wicket for the first time.
Outside of the rain, he said things had been going well.
“There’s a lot of energy,” he said. “The youth is coming through and we’ve got women around the club as well.
“There’s 50-odd senior players, we’re in a good space.”
In other division 5 matches, Wyndhamvale was too good for Seabrook.
Wyndhamvale were bowled out for 140 in the 33rd over. Umesh Rawal played a lone hand making 88 at the top of the order.
Wyndhamvale’s bowlers then did the job, bowling Seabrook out for 95 in the 31st over. Jacob Carter cleaned up the tail, taking 4-2 off 1.5 overs.
In division 3, both Werribee Centrals and Point Cook suffered losses to Williamstown Imperials and Grand United respectively.
Centrals were bowled out for 142 in the 30th over with skipper Usman Ashraf top scoring with 32 at the top of the order.
The Imperials had little trouble chasing down the runs, finishing 5-146.
Point Cook fell agonisingly short against Grand United. The Gorillas made 9-176 from their overs, with Max Rouvray taking three wickets for Point Cook.
The match went down to the wire with Point Cook bowled out for 175 with one over remaining.
