Ocean Grove’s Shaun Fankhauser scores century in win against Jan Juc

Another century from Shaun Fankhauser lifted Ocean Grove to a victory against Jan Juc in the first game on the club’s new pitch.

Ocean Grove celebrates the wicket of Jan Juc bat Luke Edwards. Picture: Mark Wilson

The runs keep coming for Shaun Fankhauser after he belted another century to lift Ocean Grove over Jan Juc on the new pitch at Ray Menzies Oval.

The opening batter belted 106 off 121 deliveries, setting up the innings and helping the Grubbers to 6-188 off their 40 overs.

Fankhauser, whose ton was the second of his season so far, said the pitch played “beautifully”.

It was the first time Ocean Grove had hosted a game at Ray Menzies Oval since laying a new hard wicket in December.

Shaun Fankhauser calls out as he runs Picture: Mark Wilson

There were concerns about the ground’s suitability to host the game after New Year’s Eve fireworks damaged the pitch, but there were no concerns surrounding the safety of the wicket.

“We had a centre wicket practice on Thursday, and it seemed a bit two-paced then, so we thought it was going to be tough to bat on,” he said.

“But it played beautifully, it felt great to play on and it was really consistent with its pace and bounce, which made batting easier.

“I think our batters did a great job to really put a price on their wickets and make some runs.”

Shaun Fankhauser made 106 not out Picture: Mark Wilson

Jan Juc coach Nick Hyden said the 2021-22 team-of-the-year batter was “too good” for his bowling outfit.

“Shauny had a great day, he was super aggressive at the top and batted really smart all the way through, then there were guys who had good partnerships all the way through their innings,” he said.

“That was the difference between our innings and theirs, they were able to really solidify and build partnerships with Shaun at one end, and we didn’t have anyone make that 70 or 80 to really challenge.

“I thought we bowled well in patches, but our fielding was a bit average, we dropped a few catches that we should’ve taken, and that can really hurt a team’s chances.”

Hyden said he was disappointed his side could not chase down the total Ocean Grove had set, instead being dismissed for 133 in the 38th over.

“We were confident we could get the score, it’s a big ground but it was pretty quick,” he said.

“There was a lot of room to score, so we were confident of chasing it, but we’ve failed in the last three games with the bat and we were disappointing again.”

Originally published as Ocean Grove’s Shaun Fankhauser scores century in win against Jan Juc