Jan Juc v Armstrong Creek: BPCA A1 finals race heats up with Clay Mulgrew century

A big century to a Titans batter has set up a huge second day in a must-win match for both sides.

Cricket BPCA A1: Armstrong Creek v Jan Juc Armstrong Creek batsman Clay Mulgrew Picture: Mark Wilson

ARMSTRONG Creek batter Clay Mulgrew said it was good to find form with the bat again but he was more pleased to put up a competitive team total after his second century of the season.

The opening batter was out in the middle for almost all of the Titans’ 75 overs, contributing 114 of the side’s 234 after a past month with scores of 6, 13, 15 and 2.

Mulgrew said he was not focused on his total, rather ensuring the club was in a strong position heading into the second day against Jan Juc.

“It was good to get the chance to just bat out time and face as many balls as I could,” he said.

“I’m more excited about the fact that we put 230 runs on the board, the focus for me was getting us to a competitive score and I think 230 is more than enough runs to get the job done.

“Our bowling line-up is really strong, probably one of the best in the competition I think, so to give them something to defend was really important and I feel like we’ve done that.

Cricket BPCA A1: Armstrong Creek v Jan Juc Armstrong Creek batsman Clay Mulgrew Picture: Mark Wilson

“Getting the chance to bat out the game and essentially wait until scoring opportunities came was great, it’s probably something I’ve forced recently so it was good to get some runs.”

Armstrong Creek is sitting fifth on the BPCA A1 ladder, just four points behind Jan Juc in fourth spot, with the winner of the match set to hold fourth spot on the ladder.

The Titans face ladder-leaders Anglesea in the final round of the season, but Jan Juc has Ocean Grove, meaning the race for finals will go down to the final weekend of round 14.

Armstrong Creek coach Daniel Maclean said it was a positive start to the round and would give his side confidence ahead of the second day.

“It was really good, we set out at the start of the day to bat 75 overs, but after about 50 to 55 overs they started to put a bit of a chokehold on us and we were looking like we might collapse but we dug in and batted really well,” he said.

“Clay was great, he’s had a couple of low scores so it was really good to see him come in and make a big score.

“He’s probably tried to get on with his innings too quickly and too early, but he’s just set himself back to what he knows and bat time, which he did really well.”

Originally published as Jan Juc v Armstrong Creek: BPCA A1 finals race heats up with Clay Mulgrew century