Tara Murray
A calf injury couldn’t stop Sanctuary Lakes skipper Brett Talbot producing the club’s highest ever score.
Talbot hit a 161 in the club’s Victorian Turf Cricket Association division 5 match on Saturday against Barkly Street Uniting.
The score is the second highest score in any VTCA competition this season.
Talbot said it was nice to put a score like that on the board.
“It’s a huge game for us and the club,” he said. “It’s been a while since I have done something like that.
“It felt really good. Sometimes you play your shots and get away with it.”
Talbot left the field when he was 140 odd after hurting his calf. He returned to complete his innings.
He said he was likely to miss a couple of weeks with the injury.
The Sharks eventually made 276, bowled out in the 63rd over.
Talbot said this match was massive in the context of their season.
“We want to put our best foot forward and hopefully we have the runs on the board so we can put pressure on the top sides.”
The Sharks then started well with the ball, having Uniting at 3-34 at stumps. Talbot said a big bonus was getting Dimantha Fernando out for a duck.
Wade Kirkwood has two of those wickets for the Sharks.
A win this week could move the Sharks into the top four after 11 rounds. They currently sit three points outside the top four.
Talbot said the group was continuing to build.
“We’ve beaten some of the good teams and played well against some of the other good teams,” he said.
“We’re still learning, but not quite where we want to be. We wanted to be a bit higher. We’ve had four years in the competition and each year we are improving and we’re happy with the path we are taking.
The Sharks will be in action this week in the finals of the T20 competition.
Talbot said the club was using those matches to help the group continue to grow.
“We have got a really solid squad and we think we have a good chance,” he said.
“Maribyrnong Park has had a couple of good wins though. We’ll take it one game at a time.
“Each game we play together helps us become a better team. We’re excited for the challenge.”
In other matches, Wyndhamvale is in a good position against Donnybrook.
Donnybrook was bowled out for 183 in the 59th over.
Nathan Griffiths was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3-34.
Wyndhamvale was 1-27 at stumps on day one.
In division 3, Point Cook is on top in the Wyndham derby against the Werribee Centrals.
Point Cook made a massive 6-305 off 67 overs.
Harvinder Singh top scored with 74 as four players made half centuries.
Centrals was 1-44 having batted for 10 overs.
In division 4, Bellbridge will be hoping for runs on day two of its match with Moonee Ponds.
Moonee Ponds made 192 with Bellbridge 1-17 in reply.
