Geelong pair Tim Ludeman and Hayden Butterworth star in win over Fitzroy Doncaster
Tim Ludeman played himself back into Big Bash League contention after dismantling Fitzroy Doncaster’s bowling attack
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Big Bash League thrasher Tim Ludeman and star all-rounder Hayden Butterworth dismantled Fitzroy Doncaster’s typically tight bowling unit on Saturday to help Geelong cruise to a seven-wicket win at Schramms Reserve on Saturday.
Ludeman and Butterworth made light work of the host’s total of 9-201, both hammering half centuries as the Cats chased down the target with more than 11 overs to spare.
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Ludeman, squeezed out of the Melbourne Renegades’ side by young gloveman Sam Harper, crunched 93 from 104 deliveries, finding the boundary on 12 occasions, while Butterworth struck 75 from 99, hitting 7 fours, sharing a 140-run partnership for the third wicket.
Ludeman played the first three matches for the ‘Gades in the BBL but only managed a high score of 10 and ultimately lost his place in the line-up after averaging 6.7 from his three knocks.
Andrew Perrin (0-36 off five overs), Chris Moore (0-35 off three) and Sam Elliott (0-33 off five) each felt the brunt of the hard-hitting pair, with reigning Ryder medallist Trent Lawford grabbing the respectable figures of 2-33 from eight overs to finish as the obvious pick of the bowlers.
Fitzroy Doncaster captain Ejaaz Alavi said the Lions were unable to build any pressure with the ball.
“They batted well but we gave them a lot of chances as well so we probably didn’t bowl well enough and field well enough to be in the game at any time,” Alavi said.
“We gave them a lot of scoring balls and they batted really well, they put away all the bad balls and waited on those bad balls but we probably gave them too many and just couldn’t bowl as tight as we usually do bowling in partnerships.
“I think if we bowled one good over the next would go for a few too many.”
Winning the toss and electing to bat, Jack Rudd and Noah Korkolis had the home side on track for a big total with an 85-run stand for the second wicket after opener Liam Banthorpe departed for 24.
Rudd struck his fifth half-century of the season with a hand of 59 but both he and Korkolis, who logged his second consecutive score of 42, fell in quick succession to bring two new batsmen to the crease.
Sam Elliott (14), Peter Dickson (15) and Lawford (13) each made starts but wickets came at a constant as Jake Reed (3-45 off 10 overs), Dom McGlinchey (1-33 off 10) and Brenton McDonald (2-34 off 10) applied the brakes.
Despite the loss, Fitzroy Doncaster remains at the top of the ladder but will face Carlton in a top-of-the-table clash in a one-day fixture at Princes Park on Saturday.
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