Northcote learns new ball lesson, bounces back with win over Prahran

Humbled in Round 1, Northcote showed it’s a quick learner, producing a new-ball blitz with bat and ball to claim a comfortable win over Prahran.

Mark Phelan in action for Northcote. Picture: Stuart Milligan

A new-ball blitz ensured Northcote claimed a comfortable five-wicket win over Premier Cricket rival Prahran on Saturday.

The Dragons fired early with ball and bat to set up victory at Toorak Park with only a short rain delay halting the march to victory.

It was a strong response after a humbling loss to Ringwood in Round 1, with the first 10 overs proving match-defining in both matches.

“It was massive, we identified the new ball battle and Jonty (Rushton) and Nick (Biscontin) set the tone early and we had three wickets in the first 10 overs,” Northcote coach Steve Taylor said after the game.

“Then our batters came out and played the way they did, I think we were 0-70 after the first 10, and that’s probably the game there.

Mark Phelan hits out for Northcote. Picture: Stuart Milligan

“I think the turnaround was fantastic, we sort of did to Prahran what Ringwood did to us last week, winning the game in the first 10.

“It’s a vital part of the game and something that we’ve been working on.”

Returning from injury Rushton (4-38) and Biscontin (2-21) ripped through the True Blues top order, reducing the hosts to 4-45 at one stage.

Lachlan Bangs (58) and Pranav Menon (42) got Prahran back on track and some late hitting from skipper Matt Wilcox (33) got Prahran to 199.

However, that total looked in immediate danger as Northcote openers Solomon Mire and Mark Phelan launched a blistering assault.

The pair reached 0-77 before Mire (44) was out in the 11th over and Phelan (54) went on to score his first half-century in almost 12 months.

The Dragons needed 37 runs when the rain arrived and the equation narrowed to five runs in eight overs.

It took the visitors just three balls to complete the job as captain Blayde Baker knocked in the winning runs.

Jonty Rushton in action for Northcote. Picture: Hamish Blair

Northcote captain Blayde Baker. Picture: Rob Leeson

“Ideally, we would have got them three down but the way it turned out it was still comfortable,” Taylor said.

“(Jonty’s) someone you can rely on every week and to have his experience and quality back showed today.

“We put a lot of pressure on their bowlers, Soli and Phelo are pretty good foils for each other, and whether we batted first or second they go about it the same way.”

After Rushton missed Round 1 after taking a ball to the neck at training, the Dragons were without spearhead Mikey Edwards after he suffered a side strain.

Daniel Lalor and Jake Walker made their First XI debuts, making it four first-gamers in the opening two rounds of the season.

“On the back of a three-week pre-season we’re not the only club struggling with fast bowlers,” Taylor said.

“It’s something Cricket Victoria need to look at and something we foreshadowed but it is what it is.

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“It was great to see the Lalor boys play together, Jack’s a great talent and to come in and bowl nine overs for what he did was really important and something we missed last week.

“Jakey Walker played a really important role as well and got a run out.

“It’s nice to see we’ve got the depth to cover injuries.”

Northcote will look to make it back-to-back wins against Fitzroy-Doncaster this weekend, while Prahran travels to Camberwell.