Northcote claim Premier Cricket outright victory over Monash Tigers
While the Bill Lawry Oval wicket had settled down, Northcote still had to work hard to claim a critical outright win over Monash Tigers to cement its place in the Premier Cricket top eight.
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Northcote got an early Christmas present in the form of an outright win over Monash Tigers on Saturday.
The four-wicket victory at Bill Lawry Oval moves the Dragons up to fourth on the Premier Cricket ladder heading into the Christmas break.
“I’ve been at the club a long time and I think we’ve only had one outright in that time,” Northcote captain Blayde Baker said.
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“It’s great leading into the (Christmas) break, it sets us up pretty well.”
The win was set up on day one of the two-day clash when an astonishing 26 wickets fell.
Northcote claimed a 16-run first-innings lead before Monash went to stumps 6-121 and a lead of 105.
Some lusty hitting from Adam Amin (70 not out) got the Tigers to 208 all out and set up a tricky 193-run chase for victory for the home team.
Josh Sundberg (60) and Mark Phelan (38) set the platform with a 62-run second-wicket partnership.
However, when Sundberg was clean bowled by Monash captain Dom Matarazzo (2-43), the Dragons were tettering at 5-118.
“They started the day really well, (Amin and Jake Fraser McGurk) had a great partnership, and put us under a bit of pressure.
“The wicket was a lot better to bat on. We had a hot week, so a lot of the green grass and moisture dried out of it.
“Still, there was a lot there for the bowlers, especially spin – there was quite a bit of turn.
“(Mark and Josh) have been our benchmark this season, so no surprises they got together and put on a partnership and steadied the ship for us.”
After Sundberg’s exit, Sam Harbinson joined Baker in the middle for what would prove a matchwinning 70-run partnership.
Looking to finish the match in style, Harbinson (36) was out five runs from victory, but Baker (36 not out) and Jonty Ruston (4 not out) finished the job.
“He’s a really good batsman, Harbo, he’s a luxury to have at No.7,” Baker said.
“It was pretty boring, we were just counting down 10 runs at a time.
“We knew if we could knock off 30 to 40 runs, the opposition would start to drop off.”
The 10 points moves Northcote to 5-3 on the season with one washout, equal on points with Melbourne in third and just four points back of ladder-leader Melbourne University.
The Dragons return to action on January 11 in a one-day clash against Camberwell at Bill Lawry Oval.