Greenvale Kangaroos know they have a lot of work to do if they are to lift the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division premiership title.
But they know their situation could be a lot worse.
The Kangaroos conceded first-innings points after the first weekend of the grand final against Yarraville Club, but will enter the second half of the match full of confidence.
The Kangaroos were on the back foot early after losing the toss and being sent in.
Kangaroos captain-coach Jon Kent said he would have bowled, too, given a choice.
“The conditions did play a big part,” he said. “I feel we did have the worst of the conditions. The third or the fourth ball of the day rolled along the ground.”
The Kangaroo batsmen were struggling at 4-23 – all four of those batsmen were back in the sheds without reaching double figures.
Up stepped Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Sameen Kandanearachchi and Peter Manser to rescue the innings. Jayasinghe was the key, making 74 to help the Kangaroos to 150.
The Clubbers seemed well and truly on their way to first-innings points at 3-120 at stumps on Saturday.
Despite conceding first innings points early on day two, the Kangaroos didn’t let up with the bowlers restricting the Clubbers to 228. Peter Manser taking six wickets for the Kangaroos.
“The wicket was flat, but we bowled in good areas,” Kent said “We didn’t give up without a fight. Peter took six wickets and everyone else chipped in with one wicket.”
Trailing by 78 runs on the first innings, the Kangaroos had 35 overs to face on day two.
The Kangaroos were 2-79 at stumps, giving them a one-run lead.
Kent said there were mixed feelings after each of the first two days.
“I didn’t think we would score 150, so it was good to score that much,” he said of the Kangaroo’s first inning. “We’re still in the game.”
Kent knows they will need to bat well in the coming weekend to have any chance of setting the Clubbers a decent target.
“We batted out 35 overs and only lost two wickets despite a brand new ball,” he said.
“I thought it was a really good effort. Get to Saturday we want to bat on Saturday and then look at bowling them out.
“We need to set a target. They need to decide whether they’ll chase it down or bat out the overs.”
