WERRIBEE captain Shaun Dean says his side has “blown out the cobwebs” on a successful Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association opening-day mission to Sunshine on Saturday.
The Tigers were a bit rough around the edges first up, but came away from Dempster Park with a comfortable seven-wicket one-day victory and a vital six points.
They have also gained some momentum ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster home-opener against Melton at Chirnside Park.
“I was happy with the result, getting the six points and getting the runs as comfortably as we did,” Tigers captain Shaun Dean told the Weekly.
“There’s obviously a few little things we’ve got to improve on, but that will happen every game. You’re not going to come off totally satisfied with everything you do.”
Sunshine managed an imposing 9-190 from a somewhat stop-start 45 overs.
The Crows built off a solid base set by openers Evan Bassingthwaighte and Kane Twentyman.
They moved along to 2-82 at drinks before the game began to twist the Tigers’ way.
After the break, the Tigers picked up a four quick wickets for just 18 runs, inspired by the change of pace provided by off-spinner Adam Alifraco.
Alifraco bowled his allotted nine overs straight to finish with 2-22.
Tim O’Brien, the vice-captain and leg spinner, proved a stumbling block for the Crows’ progress too. O’Brien’s first two overs were expensive, but once he found his rhythm, he proved a vital contributor with the ball, finishing with 2-44 off nine.
“It swayed the game our way for a little bit there,” Dean said of the spin combination.
The Crows recovered to post a competitive total.
Troy Stone finished with 85 not out and he found an ally at the crease in Andrew Webb (30).
The pair put on 82 for the seventh wicket and Dean was left frustrated.
“Walking off the ground, I thought they got 30 too much,” he said.
“At one stage they were 6-100 and the run rate was under control from our end.
“All of a sudden, he [Stone] was the set batsmen and we couldn’t get him out, and Webb hung around. I was a bit disappointed with the bowling at the end and I let them know in the debrief after the game.”
The Tigers were always confident of chasing down the total.
The batting deck at Phoenix Street was flat and becoming more enticing for run-makers the longer the day wore on.
“It was a tricky total,” Dean said.
“But I knew we had the best of the conditions and we’ve got a lot of batting depth.”
The Tigers chased down the total with an element of ease.
Veteran opener David Wolfe top-scored with 64, but things might have been different for the visitors had the Crows not dropped him when he was still on zero.
“He had a bit of luck,” Dean said, “but we all need a bit of luck as batsmen.
“There was a comment from one of the boys when he got dropped saying, ‘I hope that costs them a few’, and it certainly did.
“He built his way up and once he gets his eye in, he accelerated pretty quickly.”
Wolfe was the cornerstone of the innings.
He was fed the strike by his teammates and he did not let them down.
Dean (28), O’Brien (35 not out) and Jake Purton (26 not out) played their part as the Tigers reached the target with 43 balls to spare.
“I couldn’t really fault the batting. It was pretty solid, everyone did their bit,” Dean said.
“It was a pretty even performance.”
VSDCA RESULTS
Firsts: Werribee 3-193 d Sunshine 9-190
Seconds: Werribee 265 d Sunshine 9-134
Thirds: Werribee 8-230 d Sunshine 218
Fourths: Werribee 4-112 d Sunshine 111
