Rd 10 Day 2 Review
A well-crafted century-plus third wicket stand between nightwatchman Tom Menzies (76) and ‘keeper batsman Dhruv Kant (67) propelled Darwin to a six-wicket victory over Tracy Village in the game played at Tracy Village Oval.
Darwin began the day at 1-35 and were chasing the Village first innings of 232 but medium pacer Sam Bammant dealt with regular opener Anthony Adlam early in proceedings when he edged one to the keeper. However, little other wicket taking success followed because Kant, playing his first game of the season, together with Menzies who elegantly displayed his all-round capabilities essentially delivered a knockout blow to Tracy’s aspirations of winning the match.
Home side skipper Max Hatzoglou rotated through nine bowlers looking for the best combinations to take back control and although off-spinner Toby Gray (2/58, 22 overs) and Bammant (2/34, seven overs) were valiant, the batting duo found their rhythm and were in the main untroubled during the match winning partnership. Daniel Kerber (32 not out) and Matt Calder (35 not out) were at the crease when stumps were drawn at 4/235 after 56.2 overs.
Nightcliff bounced back into the winner’s circle after an emphatic 99 run victory over a red-hot Southern Districts at Gerry Wood Oval. Chasing a moderate 210 with all wickets in hand, the home side was bundled out for a paltry 111 in 49.1 overs. In a seven, Corey Kelly (41 not out) was a standout with the bat, but the day belonged to the Tiger bowling collective that was too disciplined for the star-studded Districts batting array missing only middle order mainstay Tim Garner.
Once Caelan Maladay (2/42) and Joshua Brown (2/26) pretty much got rid of the top order between them, fast man Hanno Jacobs (2/20) and dependable medium pacer Jai Allman (3/17) feasted on the rest.
And despite PINT bowlers knocking over the Palmerston openers, including last round century maker Harshtik Bimbral with relative ease, the Maroon middle order finally displayed a hard edge and together they chased down the required 255 for victory in 65.1 overs. In batting order, beginning with Jack Freeman (49) at three - Keegan Oates (64), Tom McGann (31) and Alex Bleakley (53) were all serious contributors in the solid victory. The heavy PINT reliance on Mitch Doolan to shoulder the bulk of the bowling was again on display and his return was a creditable 3/64 from 21.1 overs.
Round 11 Day 1 Preview
Darwin and Southern Districts square-off at Kahlin Oval and while the home side will be brimming with confidence, not so Districts who barely displayed a competitive glimpse with the bat against Nightcliff. Missing only Tim Garner, the Croc batting which had been riding on the crest of a wave merely disintegrated and while it may be argued it was an aberration, a repeat against the steady Eagle bowling array will raise some serious questions about an over-confident approach to the task of making runs.
On the other hand, Darwin got it mostly right in all areas last round but high on the positive side was the ability of Tom Menzies to make early break throughs with the ball and his half-century with the bat as nightwatchman only further highlighted his ability with the willow – the question remains will the Darwin hierarchy persist and again trial him higher in the batting order perhaps in the normal six or seven where it is expected the all-rounder would be placed?
Nightcliff will be rightly buoyed by its performance last round where the Tiger bowlers simply trounced the opposition batters and the sharing of wickets which has been a characteristic of the team will further please coach Michael Hancock.
Life without star off-spinner Param Uppal shifts the tweak responsibilities to the shoulders of Charlie Smith and although young, he is capable of making his presence felt with ball in hand.
Tiger opponents PINT are displaying gradual improvement, but a more collective performance is required to become a serious threat to top teams. Runs are beginning to flow from the Greens, but they rely too heavily of Mitch Doolan the be the main man with the ball and against a batting line that includes Joshua Brown, Douwtjie Hoogenboezem, James Doherty, Michael Kudra and Caelan Maladay, multiple bowling options is an essential ingredient.
Coming off the bye, Waratah will be looking to consolidate the team make up and its match against a disappointing Tracy Village at Gardens Oval may just be the start of a red cap finals push.
The Villagers were well beaten last round but an inability to find a batsman capable of scoring match winning runs is one essential component to turning its fortunes – too often, batters get starts but don’t finish because of loose discipline. The bowling is steady with plenty of options but again, no one stands up and leads the way with disciplined area bowling and that will be a key to holding Tahs to a gettable score because they have an abundance of players capable of scoring ‘big’ runs.
Not so with the bowling where Waratah has trouble making early inroads and that is an area the Villagers can attempt to use as an advantage.
Rd 11 Fixture Saturday 8 and 15 July
Nightcliff v PINT at Nightcliff Oval (12.30pm)
Waratah v Tracy Village at Gardens Oval (12.30pm)
Darwin v Southern Districts at Kahlin Oval (12.30pm)
Bye: Palmerston