Tarek Moughanie’s ton ensures Westmeadows claim win over Aberfeldie
Westmeadows captain-coach Tarek Moughanie scored his first VTCA Senior Division century since 2013 to help the Warriors edge Aberfeldie.
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Westmeadows captain Tarek Moughanie’s first VTCA Senior Division century since 2013 propelled his club to a thrilling 10-run win over Aberfeldie on Saturday.
Moughanie’s unbeaten 109 came off just 86 balls and included 10 sixes.
It was his fifth ton for the Warriors and first in the competition’s top tier since he blazed 114 for Greenvale Kangaroos against Spotswood.
Chinthaka Jayasinghe knocked up 59 – his fourth and third straight half-century of the season – as Westmeadows finished 2-187.
“There were only a couple of overs left and I was really focused on getting us to 180-plus, so the hundred was almost a distraction,” Moughanie said.
“If I was a 23-year-old kid I’d savour the moment but I was just focused on getting a few more boundaries at the end.
“CJ is leading the comp now in run-scoring, he’s kept us in a lot of games and helped us win a couple.
“He doesn’t play second fiddle too often but we cash our egos in at the door and it’s great when you’ve got someone like CJ at the other end, it takes a lot of pressure off you.”
The match was reduced to 27 overs a side after Friday’s rain soaked the Willowbrook Reserve pitch.
Abers made a strong start in pursuit and looked on target at 1-138 with coach Kieran Gray (42) and Tallan Wright (70) at the crease.
However, the pair fell in quick succession and the visitors finished on 5-177.
“Tallan took a liking to me, he took 22 off the over I bowled, and the over before hit Aaron Evans for three sixes,” Moughanie said.
“They needed 130 off 12 overs and Tallan pretty much hit 40 off two overs himself and went from 30 to 70 really quickly.
“Then they needed 80 off the last 10 – eight an over with a short boundary the pressure was right on us – but once we got Tallan the game was basically over.”
Rhys Gleisner was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 3-15, while Jayasinghe was almost unplayable with 1-7 from six overs.
The victory keeps Westmeadows in finals contention in its maiden Senior Division campaign.
The Warriors sit sixth, equal with Yarraville Club, Haig Fawkner and Druids on 18 points, two games outside the top four.
The club travels to Haig on Saturday and Moughanie is confident the club can launch at finals.
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“It’s a good launching pad … we’re 3-4 and two games out, so we probably need to win five of the last seven,” he said.
“It’s not beyond us but we’re still working on adapting to one-day cricket with the ball, trying to execute our plans.
“If we can improve that by 15 to 20 per cent then our batting will win us enough games, our bowling just needs to come to the table.”
Haig Fawkner are coming off a three-wicket win over Keilor where Viraj Lakshitha was man of the match with 84 runs and 2-18.
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