Teenage debutants give Preston positives after back-to-back VSDCA defeats
Preston came away winless from the VSDCA double-header but a pair of teenage debutants - Gurnaz Khatra, 16, and Althaf Nizam, 19 - provided some good news for the Bullants.
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A pair of teenage debutants shone on a tough weekend for Preston.
The Bullants dropped both games of a daunting VSDCA double-header against 2018-19 premiers Plenty Valley and Oakleigh.
On Saturday, Preston was one ball away from upsetting the Bats but the Oaks proved a class above as they cruised to a six-wicket win on Sunday.
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Bullants skipper Michael Hayes praised the performances of his two debutants — 16-year-old Gurnaz Khatra and 19-year-old Althaf Nizam.
“The first-gamer Gurnaz looked comfortable at the level on Sunday,” Hayes said.
“He only scored 20 but he didn’t look out of place for a 16-year-old and he’s one that got us to 108.
“Althaf made his debut on Saturday and he bowled well both days.
“Those are the positives I take out of it, two fresh players into the ones and they both looked good.”
Nizam made his First XI debut against Plenty Valley, the young spinner claiming 3-30 before backing up with 0-23 against Oakleigh.
Khatra debuted against Oakleigh and proved himself a tough wicket to take, his knock of 20 coming off a team-high 76 balls in 103 minutes.
The youngster also claimed 1-14 with the ball.
In the opening game of the double-header Preston made a solid 7-195 against a strong Plenty Valley attack as Gayan De Silva top scored with 49.
However, it couldn’t hold on at the death as Michael Rogneda hit a final-ball boundary to seal a three-wicket win for the Bats (7-197).
In the second match, Oakleigh steamrolled the Bullants for 108, No.9 Musaddiq Ali leading the way with 25.
The Oaks reached their target with 24 balls to spare, finishing 4-112.
“The two premiers from last year, it doesn’t come much harder than that,” Hayes said.
“The scores don’t show it but we weren’t that far away from Oakleigh – they’re the team to beat – Plenty Valley was just frustrating.”
Preston will look to get back on the winners’ list when it travels to St Bernard’s for a one-day fixture on Saturday.