By Lance Jenkinson
If Werribee was looking for a test in the lead-up to the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association south-west group finals, Moorabbin has granted its wish.
The second-placed Tigers could be in for a real battle on day two against a determined and in-form Moorabbin side that has nothing more than pride to play for.
After posting 226 with the bat, Werribee’s bowlers will need to be at their best to secure the victory.
Tigers captain Tim O’Brien welcomes the challenge.
“It could be a positive, only making 226, because it’s going to really make our bowlers work,” O’Brien said. “If we want to be a top
two side, we’ve got to be able to defend
totals like this one. It’s going to be a good challenge.”
Werribee finished its innings a little short of its desired total.
The Tigers were ruing their inability to bat out their 80 overs, leaving in excess of seven overs on the table.
Had they batted the extra time, O’Brien believes the Tigers could have posted above 250 and just about taken the game away from Moorabbin.
Now it’s definitely game on.
“We lost our last three wickets pretty quick and still had another six or seven overs to bat,” O’Brien said.
In Werribee’s top order, O’Brien top-scored with 44 and Matt Dean added 42, with Adam Alifraco (25) and Jonathan Burton (21) making handy contributions.
The key to building a competitive score late in the day was James Freeman.
The side’s form all-rounder scored 43 not out to follow 58 and 44 in his past two digs, while he’s also been delivering some quality bowling.
If Freeman had not run out of batting partners against Moorabbin, he could have really taken the opposition bowlers to the cleaners late in the day.
“It would’ve been good if the last couple could’ve hung around,” O’Brien said. “He could’ve really done some damage. Last three games, he’s really produced.”
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