Hoppers coach Simon Lambert outlines plan to beat ‘local rivals’ Werribee and finish season on high
Hoppers Crossing have sorted a plan to defeat reigning premiers Werribee while they hope a return to form with the bat will avoid a past situation from happening again.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Hoppers Crossing will look to maintain its return to form with the bat against reigning premiers Werribee after the club bounced back from a batting collapse of 8-20 against second placed Box Hill in the final game before Christmas.
Since then, Hoppers have produced two big performances with the bat, chasing down Balwyn’s 101, one wicket down and then then following it up with the biggest run chase of the season when they conquered Williamstown’s 295 last weekend.
Hoppers captain-coach Simon Lambert was pleased with the response since the mid-season break.
“We have won both games since Christmas which was really important after a pretty disappointing loss before Christmas where we lost 8-20 after being 2-130,” he said.
“So to bounce back with two really big wins is crucial because overall the competition is really even.
“From one to nine there is only a game separating so if you go a couple of games without a result, all of a sudden you can slip out of that top six.”
Asked if his side are one of the top contenders, being one win away from being on top of the ladder, Lambert agreed.
“I think from what I have seen so far, we are one of the best sides in the competition,” he said.
“It’s just a case of putting it all together on game day and if we can do that I think we will be pretty hard to beat.
“Especially our batting line up, it’s a strong deep batting line up.
“A win on the weekend gives everyone a bit of confidence that we can chase down whatever score the opposition get going into the later part of the season.
“So on our day I think we will be a pretty tough side to beat.”
Hoppers will take on Werribee in round 12 who are their neighbour club and the competition reigning premiers.
Lambert, who is the third highest run scorer in the competition this season with 395 runs, said it was going to be a challenging match.
“Local rivals, they have found a bit of form,” he said.
“I think they are more of a two day side as well.
“They will be tough to beat, they are the reigning premiers over the last two years so they are are good side.
“You don’t win premierships if you are not a good side so it’s going to be tough at their ground.
“But hopefully if we put our best foot forward again, we can be really competitive and get the wood over them.”
Asked how he plans to beat them, Lambert said it was more of a case of waiting and seeing.
“We will go more on vibe and just play the situation,” he said.
“Hopefully we can put a big score on the board or restrict to as less as possible and then get the job done second innings.
“But we will just play the conditions and hopefully the conditions are favourable and we can have a good contest and let the best team win.”
‘Everyone played a role’: Hoppers Crossing chase Williamstown’s 295 in Subbies run feast
Subbies west club Hoppers Crossing have pulled off a stunning victory against Williamstown to land a top four spot on the ladder.
Hoppers were tasked with the biggest first innings total of the Subbies east-west season when Williamstown posted 5-295 runs from 80 overs on a scorching hot 36-degree day at the Williamstown Cricket Ground.
Following the remarkable run chase on Saturday, Hoppers captain-coach Simon Lambert was stoked with the win away from home.
“A terrific win for us,” Lambert said.
“It gives us momentum going into the back half of the season.
“I think the most pleasing thing for me is we didn’t rely on one individual.
“It was a real team performance where everyone chipped in and got the job done.”
Hoppers middle order batsman Sanka Abeyruwan top scored with an unbeaten 71 at number five while Henro Dias set the tone with a 69 opening the batting.
Brett Smith (47) and Shijit Chandran (36) also contributed with handy runs in the top four.
It came before all-rounder Jeremy Swan hit a vital 25 runs off 20 balls coming in at number seven and wicketkeeper Justin Goegan hit a match winning 21 runs off 24 balls in his 100th game for the club.
Batting at number nine, Goegan passed Williamstown's 295 with eight balls to spare in the match.
Lambert was pleased with the contributions including the late runs of Goegan in his milestone match.
“It wasn’t just one individual, everyone from one down to number nine played a role,” he said.
“Sanka in the middle played a great role and he was not out, he anchored the ship and saw it through.
“And then Justin Goegan and Jeremy Swan, both in the back end, hit 25 at a run-a-ball which really got us on top in the game.
“It was really pleasing to see the lower order play some vital knocks which, at times this season, probably hasn’t been the case.
“The overall fight and will to win was great to see.
“We found a way to win when a lot of people probably thought we couldn’t win.”
Lambert also complimented Henro Dias for his performance after a challenging start to the season.
“Henro batted really well,” he said.
“He hasn’t had much opportunities with bat this season.
“Up to the two-day cricket, that suits his game.
“He is very solid defensively and he is a hard man to get out.
“So it was really pleasing to see him knuckle down and get some runs on the board and play a really important role in getting the side home.
“Because like I say he has had a bit of a tough season, he hasn’t had a whole heap of opportunities which has frustrated him.
“It’s really good to see him take the opportunity at the top of the order and hopefully he can kick on in the back half of the season.”
In the first innings, Williamstown’s Jack Craig top scored with 81 while James Cook made an unbeaten 80.
Teammate Fraser Hay also had a solid overall performance, making 67 opening the batting before taking 3-57 from 17.4 overs with the ball.
Lambert said he remained confident with his players after the first innings despite Williamstown posting the biggest score of the east-west Subbies season.
“I was pretty happy (after the first innings),” he said.
“I always said to the boys, anything around the 280 total, we would be pretty pleased with given it was 36 degrees and the pitch was as flat as a pancake.
“I said if we can keep them under 300, we are right in the game because I thought all along, they probably came up short of what they should have got.
“They should have got another 50 to 100 runs if they had pushed a little bit sooner.
“Fortunately for us they didn’t and I thought if we batted well, we were always going to be in the game if the pitch was the same and the outfield was fast.
“I was always really confident, that was the message to the group.
“If we bat to the best of our ability, then we will win the game.
“Fortunately, that paid dividends.”
Fourth placed Hoppers will take on reigning premiers Werribee next week who sit fifth on the ladder.
Premier Cricket: Men’s and women’s Team of the Week
Young guns lit up Victorian Premier Cricket in men’s and women’s sections. We’ve named our teams of the week. SEE THEM
Star leg-spinner ‘should be starting to be looked at’
Carlton all-rounder Connor Rutland has tipped praise on the Blues’ star leg-spinner, saying Saturday’s match winning spell was further proof he has what it takes at a higher level.