Werribee are off to a strong start in the Victorian Sub District Cricket Association season, winning its first game and in a strong position in round two.
The Tigers elected to bat on a docile wicket at Chirnside Park on Saturday afternoon, in their first two day game of the season.
While Fayzan Abdul Sathaar only lasted 13 balls, making ten, his opening partner Adam Alifraco, scored 20 off 81 deliveries, as a rock for his side.
Shaun Dean topped the Tigers scoring with a handy 63 to put them in a commanding position.
However, when skipper Tim O’Brien came to the crease at second drop, he unfortunately re-injured his calf forcing him to retire hurt on seven.
The Tigers then had a mini collapse losing three wickets for 20 runs before Jonathan Burton steadied the ship with an unbeaten 56.
O’Brien then returned with a runner when his side was seven wickets down, before his runner was run out.
The Tigers finished their 75 overs with a total of 236.
“I think it was pretty much par-total for us,” O’Brien said.
“The outfield was a bit slow so we had a lot of running to do, so 240 odd, if we bowl well it should be enough.
“The wicket was pretty dead, it kept a little bit low throughout the day, but it was a pretty slow, dead wicket, so it was easy to stay in but a little bit tough to score.
“Jonathan Burton played a terrific innings for us… he played a great knock.
“We wanted to bat our overs, we always speak about batting our overs, so we had players contribute but [Burton] was obviously the main contributor, he was the reason we got to that score.”
O’Brien said that he thinks his side has had a positive start to the year, blowing the cobwebs off in the first game and then being able to spend some time out in the middle on Saturday.
With Altona needing 237 for victory, O’Brien is expecting a tough day of cricket on the weekend.
“If we can try and take some early wickets, they’ve got some good bats at the top of the order,” he said.
“If we don’t get early wickets, it’s about bowling dot balls and creating pressure around them, and bowling in good areas, setting good fields, and building pressure that way, with them needing to get almost 240 runs.”
