By Tara Murray and Alesha Capone
It was a tough day for the west teams in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association south-west on Saturday, with Werribee and Williamstown the only teams to come away with points.
With only Spotswood sitting in the top six heading into round nine, the west teams all needed to get wins to try and keep in touch and keep their finals hopes alive.
Werribee was able to get a valuable win and in the process moved into the top six with victory against Taylors Lakes.
The Tigers batted first and were bowled out for 207 in the last over.
Skipper and captain Tim O’Brien top scored with 37 as one of four batters to reach 30.
The Lions shared the wickets around, with four players taking two wickets each.
At 6-66 the Lions were in trouble.
Once opener Luke Denny fell for 55, the match was all but over with the rest of the top and middle order having already failed with the bat.
The Lions were bowled out for 142.
The win moves Werribee up to sixth, with Taylors Lakes sitting in 12th.
O’Brien described the game as “a good win” for his side.
“It was an important game, with it being so close on the ladder at the moment,” he said.
“It was a team effort, everyone played a part, lots of players contributed 20 or 30.
“Jonathon Burton took four wickets for the match and three early on to get us going.
“Michael Kelly chipped in with three wickets as well.”
The Tigers will play against Malvern on Saturday, January 30, which O’Brien also described as a significant match for Werribee.
“If we beat them, we’ll get an extra six points,” he said.
“It’s an important game so hopefully we play well.”
O’Brien said that he hoped team member Matthew Dean, who has been out for the past two weeks due to an injury, would be back on board for the game against Malvern.
In addition, O’Brien said that finals were still “a long way to go” with five games until they took place.
“I think we’ve still got a fair bit of improvement within the group, no-one has had an outstanding season yet,” he said.
“Hopefully it will all come together and we can play our best in the finals.
“Hopefully we win enough games to make the finals and from there anything can happen.”
Also on Saturday, Hoppers Crossing pushed Ormond all the way but couldn’t come away with the points.
Ormond made 6-218 from its 45 overs with Adam Bull making an unbeaten 139.
Jeremy Swan took two wickets for the Cats, but was expensive, going at nearly a run a ball.
After losing 3-8, the Cats middle order set about chasing the total.
When Brett Smith was dismissed for 88 it left too much work for the lower order, with the Cats bowled out for 191.
The Cats sit ninth.
Williamstown had a vital win against Melton.
The Seagulls had no trouble in the run chase, finishing 4-144.
