ECA 2020-21: Peter Dickson fires in East Doncaster’s win over Mont Albert

Former Premier Cricket batsman Peter Dickson showed his class as East Doncaster topped Mont Albert in an enthralling ECA Dunstan Shield clash.

Peter Dickson is averaging 114 after two rounds. Picture: Brendan Francis

Star East Doncaster signing Peter Dickson fell short of three figures against Mont Albert on Saturday.

But his classy 77 from 85 deliveries was the headline performance in a top-quality Eastern Cricket Association Dunstan Shield clash between two flag contenders.

Former Fitzroy-Doncaster champion Dickson struck eight boundaries and a six and shared a 115-run stand with ex-Premier Cricket teammate Matt Bremner (36) at the top of the order to lay the foundations for East Doncaster’s 9-235.

Skipper Matt Vaiano provided the fireworks, hammering 45 from just 19 deliveries with 42 of his runs (five sixes, three fours) coming in boundaries.

Mont Albert reached 205 in reply after a crushing opening-round win over Canterbury, with coach Mark Simpson and wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Adgemis both contributing 36.

Vaiano was hopeful Dickson’s hand was an early taste of what he will deliver this season as their team moved to 2-0. The gun right-hander boasts an average of 114 after hitting an unbeaten 37 against Heathmont in Round 1.

“He just made it look easy to be fair,” Vaiano said.

“He just played class cricket, had a good partnership with Matt Bremner as well and I think they showed a bit of patience and a bit of skill for finding the gaps to keep the scoreboard ticking over while they’re not smashing boundaries.

“It was good to see them set up the innings for the rest of the boys and ease the nerves because there was a bit of tension going around because of the expectation of the game itself and I think they just controlled it right from ball one.”

With the shine off the ball, Vaiano took full advantage in the crucial No.3 position to back up his rapid knock of 64 against Heathmont.

“I’ve said for a very long time that my job is to try and score as quickly as possible to make it easier for the other guys not to do anything out of the ordinary,” he said.

“It will pay off or it doesn’t, so we’ll see what happens. Just got to keep swinging I guess.”

Vaiano said his bowlers were “shaky with the new ball” before finding the right lengths.

Rob Sayer (3-26), Adam Chan (2-26) and Shaun Morris (2-36) all fired.

Shaun Morris bends his back for East Doncaster. Picture: Hamish Blair

“We’ve got a really, really young bowling attack,” Vaiano said.

“Only myself (on Saturday) was over the age of 25. We’ve got three 21-year-olds and a 24-year-old. It’s just fantastic to see that when things don’t go your way, they can fight back and finish the game against a real quality opposition.

“There’s so much room for growth with our bowling attack.”

Vaiano said Mont Albert, which has plenty of star power in former Premier Cricket players Simpson, Sam Taylor and Nathan McNally, was a difficult opponent.

“It’s pleasing to see that even if things didn’t go our way for periods of time, we know we can match it with the best and bring it back to our way and get the victory,” he said.

“It was terrific game of cricket, probably one of the higher standard (matches) that I’ve played in for a very long time with two quality teams battling it out.

“I think the scores showed it with 400 runs hit in a one-dayer, which is pretty impressive. I don’t think the bowling was that bad either.”

In other Round 2 results, reigning premier North Balwyn (9-195) hammered Surrey Hills (65), while Canterbury (7-234) prevailed in a close fixture against Heathmont (9-224).

Old Carey (4-119) scored a six-wicket victory over Marcellin Old Collegians (118) on Sunday.