Point Cook Centrals are on the cusp of playing finals in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association division 4 in its first season in the division.
The Sharks were promoted from division 5 after playing off in the grand final last season. Now following a win against Laverton on the weekend, the club sits in a good position heading into the final round.
In the match against Laverton the Sharks bowled first and were off to a strong start, with Laverton’s top and middle order being blown away. After being 8-58, Laverton were able to string a partnership together, being bowled out for 143.
“We put them under a lot of pressure early, we have some really good new ball bowlers and they did a wonderful job,” captain Brett Talbot said.
“They had a partnership, which every team tends to have, either a partnership or one or two people that step up, and that happened. We just couldn’t close them out for under 100 runs which was our goal but we fought and got the six points.”
With the bat the Sharks were able to chase the runs down, but it wasn’t without a challenge, with them just reaching 147 before being bowled out in the 51st over.
“We needed the six points and had a couple of scary moments but we got the job done and that’s all we needed to do,” Talbot said.
“The last four or five games have been very competitive and very close each and every week.
“We knew that we would have to be close to our best to win those games and we’ve done a good job to put ourselves in a position, but we’ve just got to remain focused and keep winning.”
Talbot said all his focus is now on Bellbridge this Saturday, with the winner locking themselves into finals, and the loser relying on other results.
“We’re just focussing on the game ahead of us,” he said.
“Bellbridge are a pretty strong team and they’ve been at this grade for a couple of seasons now, they’ve positioned themselves really well to be fighting for a finals position.
“So we just have to remain focussed, they’ve got some really big players and some top quality players that we have to combat and come up with a strategy to beat them.
“Both teams have to win, both teams are aware of that. So I think it’s going to be a super competitive match.
“It’s a game that we just have to win, the club’s been progressing really well. We’ve got ourselves into a position now which is something that we haven’t really done previously.”
