Werribee’s hold on a top six spot in Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association north-west first XI appears shaky.
The Tigers have been lauded for the stunning run of form that saw them pounce on sixth place, but their time there may be short-lived.
Few would have envisaged Taylors Lakes as a threat to the in-form Tigers, but it is the visitors who hold the aces after the first day’s play at Chirnside Park last Saturday.
Werribee could muster only 181 on a pitch captain-coach Tim O’Brien assessed as a plus-200 score.
If the Tigers’ low total was cause for concern, what transpired in the final nine overs of the day only deepened their troubles.
Taylors Lakes came out with a nothing to lose mentality, blasting 1-61 off just nine overs, leaving it requiring just 120 for victory with nine wickets in hand.
Dilan Chandima did the damage for the Lions with a whirlwind 38 not out.
“We thought it was a good opportunity to bowl nine overs at them and have them a couple of wickets down, but their opening batsmen teed up,” O’Brien said. “When you can’t make the finals and you’ve got nothing to lose, you can get away with doing that.
“We dropped him [Chandima] early though, which didn’t help. If we had taken that catch, things could’ve been a bit different.”
Earlier in the day, Werribee’s innings was stop-start.
At 2-6, the Tigers were crying out for rescuers, and O’Brien (67) and Marcus Worrall answered the call. O’Brien and Worrall put on 99 runs for the third wicket to get the Tigers back in the game at 3-105. Werribee lost another wicket soon after to be 4-105.
There was a little recovery from the Tigers before a major collapse saw them lose 5-29 to be in all sorts at 9-150.
Important late runs from Jonathan Burton (28no) and Travis Bean (17) dragged the side to a defendable total.
Taylors Lakes will go into day two feeling better about its chances of victory. But O’Brien knows his team is up for the challenge.
“We’ll throw everything at them,” O’Brien said.
