BPCA wrap: Jan Juc and Barrabool tie in first game of the new season
Two BPCA teams expecting to be contending for the title could not be separated after 40 overs each in a dramatic finish to their first match of the season.
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If Saturday’s game between Jan Juc and Barrabool was any indication on how the season was shaping up, the BPCA is in for a cracking year.
The two contending sides could not be separated after 80 overs of cricket, with a two on the final ball of Barrabool’s innings only good enough to tie the scores on 181.
Jan Juc coach Nick Hyden, who made 84 in his first knock for the team since moving from Grovedale, said his side “was lucky” to finish the game with some points.
“I think with about five overs to go, we were on the back foot a little bit,” he said.
“Brody (Andrew) was able to bowl a really tight line and had a few great yorkers in there as well to tie them down a bit, then Iva (Priest) was also really good from the other end.”
Barrabool finished outside the top four at the end of last season, but the club has made some improvements to its batting and bowling stocks and will contend in 2022/23 season.
Hyden said the competition looked to be really even this season, and clubs were putting pressure on teams at the top to stay consistent.
“Barrabool was really impressive on Saturday,” he said.
“They brought in a couple of players that performed well, they looked really strong at the top of the order and we could barely take a wicket.
“Our bowling in the second half of the innings was really strong and that got us back into it, but we were not in a position to win it.
“There are some good teams going around, really the top six sides will all beat each other and that’s always good for the competition.
“Three points is better than zero, and while we would’ve liked a win it probably suits us with how we played
“It was round 1, we were a bit scratchy and did some things that we shouldn’t have, and with five overs or so left we probably weren’t in a position to win, so to come away with some points is pleasing.”
BPCA A1 WRAP
Anglesea v St Leonards
Anglesea recorded its first win of the season, chasing down St Leonards’ target of 176 in 37.1 overs.
Opener Kanishka Nawagamuwa top scored for St Leonards with 92, while partner Jack Jeffrey scored 49, helping St Leonards finish 2/175 after 40 overs.
But solid top-order batting from Anglesea’s Joel Davies (71 not out), Tyron Norman (49) and Simon Umbers (38) helped secure the eight-wicket victory.
Armstrong Creek v Inverleigh
Armstrong Creek has won its first-ever BPCA1 game, defeating Inverleigh by seven wickets.
Coach Dan Maclean took an impressive 4/8 off eight overs, including five maidens, to hold Inverleigh to 118 runs off 40 overs.
Batter Brandon Ross then starred with the bat, scoring an undefeated 73 to lead Armstrong Creek home in the 23rd over.
Ocean Grove v Queenscliff
A four-wicket haul to Queenscliff’s Lachlan Stott helped set up a five-wicket victory in the opening round.
Stott claimed 4/20 off eight overs to restrict the Grubbers to 115, before first drop Max Potter scored 46 with the bat to help Queenscliff secure the win.
Taylor Harvey took 4/29 off eight overs for Ocean Grove, but his efforts were not enough to prevent a Queenscliff win with nine overs remaining.
BPCA A2 WRAP
Drysdale v Winchelsea
A dominant team performance has set up an ultimately easy win for Drysdale in the opening round of the BPCA A2 competition.
Drysdale had Winchelsea 3/8 after ripping opening spells from Blake Dobbin and Ben Spencer helped keep the Blues to a low total of 78.
Dobbin finished the game with 4/7 off his eight overs, while Spencer had 1/14 off eight and Dylan Justice finished with 2/13 off six overs.
Drysdale coach Nick Hallam said it was the “perfect start” to the season.
“We’ve had a really strong pre-season, so it was great to see it carry over into round 1,” he said.
“It was probably the best spell of fast bowling from Blake that I’ve seen in a long time, he was so dangerous and quick.
“All of our bowlers performed exactly how we planned.”
With just a small target of 79 to chase, Hallam said the batters had the instruction to be assertive with their shot selections.
“We made the decision to chase the runs down quickly, we didn’t want to get lost in the chase,” he said.
“Sometimes when you’ve only got a small target you can get stuck a bit, we did talk about using all 40 overs to go at it slowly but we chose to attack.
“We probably lost more wickets than we would’ve liked, but it was a good win in the end.”
Drysdale passed Winchelsea’s total in the 15th over with five wickets in hand, with Spencer top scoring with 25 runs.
Daniel Lenehan took 4/37 off six overs for Winchelsea.
Portarlington v Collendina
PORTARLINGTON claimed a five-wicket win against Collendina after chasing down a target of 132.
Collendina posted 7/131 after 40 overs with opening batter Richard Peters top scoring with 29.
Portarlington’s Tom Gillett took 3/33 off eight overs to lead the way with the ball.
Cameron Gourley led Portarlington’s run scorers with 42 to help steer his side home in the 37th over.
Wallington v Newcomb
A TIGHT bowling performance from Wallington helped secure a nine-wicket win against Newcomb.
The Power were restricted to just 7/71 off their 40 overs, with Dane Wise-Graham taking 2/1 off four overs.
Kawalpal Singh was also dangerous with the ball, taking 2/15 off seven overs for Wallington.
Sven Burluraux top scored for Wallington with 25 not out to help secure the victory in 19 overs.
Originally published as BPCA wrap: Jan Juc and Barrabool tie in first game of the new season
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