VSDCA 2018-19: Preston collapses to 7-25 to put Coburg on cusp of victory
Coburg thrust itself back into finals contention with a destructive hour of bowling on Saturday which left Preston reeling at 7-25.
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Coburg thrust itself back into finals contention with a destructive hour of bowling against Preston.
Sitting 12th on the North-East ladder, 15 points out of the top-six, the Burgers can dream of a priceless outright victory after reducing the Bullants to 7-25 in a remarkable last session on Saturday.
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Coburg had seemingly spurned its faint hopes of a late charge at finals when it was skittled for 120 after opting to bat in favourable conditions at Preston City Oval.
But Preston then crashed to 5-9 when Ryan Fort (2-1) claimed the prized scalp of Bullants skipper Eoghan Delany (0) after Jordan Ashby (3-7) carved through the hosts’ top-order.
The carnage was not over as Adrian Smith (1-4) and Burgers captain Zac Thorne (1-2) landed late blows to put Coburg in sight of victory.
“It was probably one of the best hours of cricket I have been involved in,” Thorne said.
“It was just a great vibe, one of those times where everything was going right for us and we rode the wave.
“We just kept bringing the effort we asked for and it worked really well.
“We’re back in control of the game and realistically we should come out next week and hopefully polish it off pretty quickly.”
Shane Lee (30) and Thorne (21) had the visitors well-placed at 5-108 before they lost 5-12 to hand the initiative to Preston.
All-rounder Chaminda Vidanapathirana was the Bullants’ chief destroyer with 4-18 and will be the key wicket on day two when he resumes on 14 not out.
Thorne said the constant flow of wickets — 17 tumbled for 145 runs — was difficult to fathom on one of the VSDCA’s premier batting pitches.
“That wicket is flat as hell and it’s short and fast,” he said.
“There’s just so many runs out there. It was interesting batting from both sides in the sense that you won’t get a better day, outfield and wicket to score runs.”
He said Preston’s batsmen had “played into our hands” and allowed Coburg to apply the blowtorch late on the opening day of the Round 11 fixture.
“In 20 overs you’re either going out there to make 120 run relatively quickly and kill the game,” he said.
“They didn’t come out to do that, so that just played into our hands.”
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