BELLBRIDGE did everything in its powers to extract an outright result from Williamstown Congs, only to fall one wicket short in the Williamstown and District Cricket Association B1 turf.
Entering the final hour of day two on Saturday at KC White Reserve, Bellbridge needed six wickets to claim the maximum points, but could manage only five.
The Congs’ plucky last two batsmen, Sonny Brown and Mitchell Alexander, saw out the final three overs under intense pressure.
“They shut up shop,” Bellbridge captain Steve Nolan said. “In the last over, we had two chances. It really went down to the wire.”
Bellbridge came out with real intensity in the field on day one. They’re eager to go one step further than the semi-final finishes of the past two seasons.
“We want to finish top two and give ourselves a better chance of progressing through to the grand final,” Nolan said.
Met by a switched-on and fired-up Bellbridge in the field, the Congs perished for 70 in 35 overs.
Veteran opening bowler Andrew Wilks wasted no time putting his stamp on the game, finishing with 6-29 off 12 overs. Adam Townsing’s return from 11 overs was 3-15.
“You just want to get off to a good start and put as much pressure on as you can,” Nolan said. “The bowlers did the job and the fielding was first class. We had them on the back foot early.”
Bellbridge picked off the runs on the opening day, holding a 20-run lead overnight.
Martin Ritchie (42) and Dave Henderson (13) set the platform with a 52-run opening stand.
Nolan, coming in at No.6, chanced his arm to make 60.
Bellbridge’s first-innings lead stood at 103 after the declaration at 9-173.
“We always wanted about 40 overs to have a crack at them,” Nolan said. “We thought with a 100-run lead it would give us a massive chance.”
The Congs brought a more robust attitude on the second day, chewing up valuable time and overs and giving nothing to the visitors for free.
The hosts still had no answers to man of the match Wilks, who continued his rampage with 6-12 off 14 overs for 12 wickets for the match, while Townsing was again his right-hand man with 3-144 off nine.
A1 turf: West Newport 223 (T Lawford 4-45
J Dolliver 2-25 J Styles 2-35) d Wyndhamvale 130 (T Lawford 64no A Mundey 31) and 5-176 (T Lawford 84 A Mundey 55)
B1 turf: Williamstown Congs 70 (A Wilks 6-29
A Townsing 3-15) and 9-62 (A Wilks 6-12
A Townsing 3-14) lt Bellbridge 9-173dec
(S Nolan 60 M Ritchie 42)
C composite: Gellibrand 9-242 drew Tarneit, Western All Stars 241 and 0-37 d Newport-Digman 83
