DVCA 2020-21: Banyule defeats Epping in stunning Round 1 win

Banyule was expected to find it difficult to knock off a flag contender in the opening round of the DVCA Barclay Shield season. But the Bears showed they belong in the top grade.

Banyule's Nick Murray collected 2-26 on Saturday. Picture: Sarah Matray

Don’t bet on Banyule to be an easybeat this season.

The promoted club completed a shock victory over flag contender Epping in the opening round of the Diamond Valley Cricket Association Barclay Shield campaign on Saturday.

The Bears secured a six-wicket win, issuing a message to their rivals and securing an important early injection of confidence in a new competition.

Banyule has contested Money Shield finals the past three seasons and went up by virtue of finishing the home-and-away rounds on top of the ladder after the 2019-20 grand final was called off amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Pingers, however, have qualified for Barclay Shield finals the past two seasons and would have been expected to record a Round 1 win.

But the Bears had other ideas as they overcame some nervous moments early in their run chase to finish 4-131 in response to Epping’s 130.

“It’s definitely a big boost to a lot of our younger kids’ confidence who might not know if they were up for the challenge,” captain-coach Henry Tyler said.

“There’s a couple of players in our team who have played Barclay before. I guess until you’ve experienced it, you’re probably thinking the worst or thinking it’s going to be a massive jump.

“But it’s still the same cricket ball, just different people throwing it down at you.

“It definitely gave us a little bit of belief to know we can belong in Barclay.”

While Banyule entered the contest as the underdog, Tyler it was well-prepared despite a truncated pre-season.

In the end, the Bears’ hope that they “might be able to catch a few teams off guard early on” came to fruition first up.

“We probably thought it was going to be a baptism of fire and thrown straight in the deep end, but that’s almost what we wanted,” Tyler said.

“We wanted to see where we were at against probably one of the competition’s best sides.

“We crammed a lot into our three or four weeks (of pre-season), were pretty happy with our preparation considering and thought that might be something that works in our favour.”

Epping started solidly after being sent in to bat on its home turf before Bailey Neilson completed a run out which “changed the whole context of the game”.

Fielding at point, Neilson completed a direct hit to end Shaun Barker’s stay at the crease for 13.

Having advanced to 1-31, the Pingers’ usually formidable batting line-up crumbled with John Lever (24) top-scoring.

Michael Hannan (3-22), Nick Murray (2-26), Brent O’Connor Snr (2-26) and Jeremy Hannan (2-30) did the damage.

Banyule slipped to 2-8 in reply before Tyler (37) and O’Connor Snr (52) combined for a decisive 94-run stand.

They each lost their wicket with the score on 102, with Murray (17 not out) and Neilson (12 not out) finishing the job and earning Tyler’s praise.

O’Connor Snr, who hit 457 runs at 45.7 and grabbed 20 wickets at 7.45 apiece in Money Shield last summer, showed he can perform in the top grade.

“(Coming in at 2-8) he didn’t do what you probably would normally do in two-day cricket, which is try and rebuild. He just stuck to his guns,” Tyler said.

“We were never behind the run rate – we were kind of always a step ahead of the game because he just knows and trusts himself so well.

“It was a great learning point for the kids in our team … you don’t necessarily have to change your game (under pressure). You can believe in yourself.”

Justin Whitcher on his way to 79 for Heidelberg. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Elsewhere, Heidelberg (6-187) defeated Riverside (7-186) by a solitary run on the back of a fine knock of 79 from captain-coach Justin Whitcher, while Diamond Creek (9-125) won a close battle with Lower Eltham (122).

Rosanna (2-146) swept aside Macleod (9-145) with ease, with skipper Sam Sheehan hammering 80.

North Eltham Wanderers (2-119) smashed Plenty (116) by eight wickets.

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