Round review – Day two
Longmuir Shield
With a very competitive 276 on the board, the boys still knew they needed to bowl well against an imposing East Sandy batting line-up. In his debut for the club, Jason McNally got an early breakthrough by sending the stumps cartwheeling. However, the hosts steadied from that point and slowly but surely kept the scoreboard ticking over. Young-gun quick Liam Manakis was a handful for the Zebras, regularly troubling their batsman. But it will be his second wicket of the day that he and the Uniting faithful won't forget, clean bowling former Australian batsman Brad Hodge for just seven runs. In the end, East Sandy were too good, but plenty of positives will be taken from a very encouraging performance.
Quiney Shield
After a tough day one, the boys did well to restrict Le Page Park to just 176, with Daniel Ewart (3/23) Mike Paxman (2/19) and Robbie Aitken (2/23) all leading the way. In a much better performance in their second innings, the 'twos' showed some pride to double their first innings score to finish on 7/135 and deny the hosts an outright victory. Harry Zaia (27) and Paul Dissent (42 n.o) leading the resistance.
Thirds
When you look up 'captain's knock' in the dictionary, you'll now see a picture of a determined Dave Bregazzi eyeballing you right back. His side was teetering precariously at 5/57 at stumps on day one, with a confident Le Page Park eyeing a quick kill and outright. However, the dogged skipper, along with fellow veteran Nick Timms, had other ideas, with the club legends quickly making the opposition aware their day wasn't going to go to plan. If Dave wasn't dispatching a ball to the boundary, Timmsy was thrashing the bowling over it. In the end, the dynamic duo was undefeated, with Dave finishing on a brilliant 100 and Timmsy compiling a classy 71.
Fourths
Chasing 212 away to East Southside Caulfield, Mick Britt's men started slowly, losing Jimmy Bruce and young gun Rohan Wilson before the score had reached 50. But like in the thirds, a couple of wily veterans combined to put the hosts on the back foot and give their side the ascendency. The two men in question, Gil Thorne and Raj Lal, were electric from the onset, whipping the opposition attack to all parts of the field. With 16 fours to his name, Gil finished on unbeaten 102, while Raj gave great support with a brutal but stylish knock of 65 (nine 4s and a 6).
Fifths
With a nice blend of experience and youth, Guy Aloi's All Stars had the job ahead of them chasing 205, but they quickly proved they were up to the challenge. The skipper was joined at the top of the order by fellow veteran Greg Brisbane, and the pair constantly ticked the scoreboard over until Guy departed for 30. Not to be deterred, Brissy, still receiving counselling from his beloved Demons' finals capitulation, continued dominate Clayton District's attack. But within reach of a famous ton, Brissy was heartbreakingly dismissed just five runs short. Dougy Clowes and Al Ernst steadied the ship late and saw the boys home with six wickets in the shed.
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