VSDCA 2018-19: Preston falls short in bid for reverse outright after declaring early against Coburg
Preston fell short in its bid for an unlikely reverse outright victory against Coburg on Saturday in a loss which spelt the end of its finals chances.
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Preston fell short in its bid for an unlikely reverse outright victory against Coburg on Saturday in a loss which spelt the end of its finals chances.
The Bullants mathematically remain in the mix for a top-six finish in the VSDCA North-East group, but would need a series of improbable results to go their way in the last two rounds.
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Preston sits ninth, 15 points outside the top six, after both Brunswick (fifth) and Box Hill (sixth) pulled off close wins on Saturday.
Desperate to keep his side’s season alive, captain Eoghan Delany declared at 8-39 with the Bullants still trailing Coburg’s first innings by 81 runs.
“It was just a matter of really trying to change the dynamic of the game,” Delany said.
“They were well on top and when you are 7-25 overnight you are probably not going to win too many games anyway.
“We just needed to change the feel of the game.”
The Burgers left Preston 34 overs to chase 222 for victory, a target of more than six runs per over.
Openers Alex Maratos (15 from 20 balls) and Akashdeep Cheema (29 from 29) kept the run rate in check, but when they fell the asking rate quickly became unrealistic.
“If they’d declared at tea, we wouldn’t have lost any overs,” Delany said.
“But as it was, they batted on for another three overs and then we changed over. So, we lost another three.
“It ended up being something like 230 (runs) off 190 balls. If it had have been a-run-a-ball, we would have given it more of a crack.”
Preston rounds out the season with matches against Kew and Endeavour Hills.
“Unless (we have) an outright win next week it’s pretty much done,” Delany said.
“I for all money thought Box Hill wouldn’t defend 148, but credit to them, they did. “Brunswick, to chase 250, was always a good effort because someone has got to get in and get runs.
“We couldn’t have known that. We just tried to grab six points anyway we could.”
The Bullants travel to Victoria Park to meet Kew in Round 12, which starts this weekend.
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