Point Cook was looking shaky a third of the way through the opening day of its crucial stoush with Seabrook in Victorian Turf Cricket Association’s west B1.
The Warriors limped to 6-75 with the only constant being plucky opener Daryl Groves (19), who watched in dismay as wicket after wicket fell at the other end.
Picking up their game was a must for the Warriors with their top two spot at stake.
They lost their previous match and losing the last game of the home-and-away rounds would not be the ideal finals preparation.
“There’s a lot to play for this game,” Warriors player-coach Travis Bean said.
“Seabrook have to win to get in the finals; we have to win to get a home semi-final.”
The Warriors slowly turned the corner, first with Bean’s (32) 41-run partnership with Aaron Whear (14). Then it was Bean and David Hicks (48no) with an identical stand.
Hicks turned the Warriors’ so-so score into one that will be hard for the Brookers to chase.
He summed up the situation perfectly, calmly getting his eye in and then ramping up the run rate as the overs counted down.
A fully fit Hicks could be the X factor that lifts the Warriors to a premiership.
“He was in the team of the year last year and is just coming back off an injury,” Bean said.
“He knew that a big partnership was important, reined in some of his natural aggression and was patient early on.
“Once he got the feel of the wicket, he started to accelerate and hit a few boundaries.
“It was a really well-timed innings.”
Bean admitted his side was staring down the barrel in the early exchanges.
He said a period of consolidation between the 20th and 60th overs was vital.
“We lost three or four early wickets and there was a run-out early on,” Bean said.
“We were under the pump a little bit. It was good that we were able to get through that middle period and bat for that middle 40 overs.
“It laid the foundation for the last 20 overs.”
Seabrook has an enormous task ahead, despite good bowling performances from Stephen Gregory (3-33) and Dilip Sarkhell (2-40).
It is do or die for the fourth-placed Saints, who have Wyndhamvale and Newport-Digman breathing down their neck, the two sides meeting each other in this final round.
Wyndhamvale would be the favourite to displace them in the four after having already secured first innings points with ease.
Newport-Digman was rolled for just 73 with Jake Styles running riot with 6-38, while the Vales declared on 5-128 with a view to forcing an outright.
It promises to be a tense final day for all clubs involved in the race to the four.
