Tim O’Brien’s steely resolve on a baking-hot Saturday has given Werribee the upper hand over Williamstown on day one of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association western derby.
O’Brien refused to yield to the inconsistent bounce of the Chirnside Park pitch or the Melbourne heatwave, producing a rock-steady 106 not out to create a slight wedge between the two sides.
The top-of-the-ladder Tigers finished on 9-238 from 65 overs, an imposing total on a day when 15 overs were lost to the heat policy.
PICTURE GALLERY: Werribee v Williamstown
Tigers captain Shaun Dean was thankful that O’Brien had the concentration to battle it out and prop up the innings.
“Every time we looked to accelerate, we had to consolidate again because we’d lose a few wickets in a row,” he said.
“When wickets were falling around him, he brought the innings back and pulled the ascendancy our way.”
The Tigers were at a crossroads on 3-59.
The cavalier David Wolfe had come and gone for an entertaining 31, while Dean lost an arm wrestle with Matthew Inness to be out for 16.
A 66-run fourth wicket partnership between O’Brien and the free-wheeling Michael Freeman turned the tide.
Freeman scored at a run-a-ball to contribute 40 to the partnership, with O’Brien simply letting him go to work.
“When ‘Frees’ came in, the game could’ve gone either way,” Dean said.
“But he came out and really punished them.”
When the heat got the better of Freeman, O’Brien picked up the slack.
It was O’Brien’s second century of the summer, but it did break a barren run of scores in his past five digs, in which he’s averaged just 6.25.
The Tigers will be taking aim at their 11th straight victory when the Seagulls’ run chase starts on Saturday.
