Tara Murray
An outright win for Bundoora against Bundoora Park has put the side in the box seat to finish in the Diamond Valley Cricket Association Money Shield top two.
Having already claimed first innings points on day one of the match, the Bulls were focused on getting the full 10 points on Saturday.
The Thunderbolts resumed at 1-21 in their second innings, trailing the Bulls by 26 runs.
It didn’t take long for the wickets to start falling, with the Thunderbolts all out for 76. Shupinder Taggar took three wickets for the Bulls.
The Bulls made the runs needed to get an outright win within 12 overs, finishing 1-32.
Bulls coach Wayne Wunhym said the result was exactly what they were after when they took to the field for day two.
“It is really good,” he said. “It’s definitely what we were aiming for.
“The guys were fantastic. We needed early wickets straight away. Stuart Adams got two early ones and it flowed on from there.
“Hopefully we’ve now secured a top two spot.”
Wunhym said there had been a real renewed sense of energy since the Christmas break, which had shown in the performances.
He said everyone at the club was on the same wavelength, which was really helping.
“They’re all playing together as a team,” he said.
“We have really done that since the Christmas break. The guys themselves have worked really hard since the Christmas break.
“They come back and made sure they’ve hit the front foot and they want to go harder again.”
The win cements the Bulls spot at the top of the ladder, now four points clear of Eltham.
Wunhym said they need to continue the same momentum they’ve got now throughout the rest of the season.
“It could have gone either way on Saturday, but the boys were up for the fight,” he said.
“We spoke about keeping the momentum going, we can’t afford to slow down.
“We have a big game this week against Bundoora United, it’s another big test.”
Bundoora United is also coming off a big win, beating Montmorency.
The Bulldogs made 4-291 in reply to Montmorency’s 8-290.
Joel Thompson went big for the Bulldogs, making 151.
The Bulldogs sit in fifth spot, a point outside the top four.
Lalor Stars got a vital win in the relegation battle, beating Lower Eltham.
Lower Eltham was bowled out for 112, with the Stars finishing 3-114.
Eltham had a big win against Laurimar. The Power made 9-122 in reply to Eltham’s 9-209.
Mernda finished 9-200 in reply to Plenty’s 7-274.
In the Barclay Shield, Epping beat Rosanna in the top of the table clash.
Defending 9-180, the Pingers were able to bowl Rosanna out for 143.
The win has the Pingers on top of the ladder now, percentage ahead of Rosanna.
