By Tara Murray
There was relief on Saturday as Bundoora kept its finals hopes alive in the Diamond Valley Cricket Association Barclay Shield.
A loss to Plenty would have all but ended the Bulls’ hopes, but they now sit just three points outside the top four heading into the final round.
That means the Bulls must a win and hope one of three teams three points ahead of them lose.
For Bulls captain Jason Kaminski, it was relief to still be in the mix.
“It’s a good feeling,” he said. “We need to win and hopefully another team losses so we can sneak into finals.”
Kaminski said his players delivered a strong performance with the ball on Saturday against Plenty.
The Bulls were defending 8-199.
“They had a couple of partnerships, which we had to knock over pretty quickly,” he said.
“We started to bowl a bit wider to them, as they were looking to hit the ball through cover, and we had a couple of caught at gully.”
The Bulls bowled Plenty out for 136 in the 59th over.
Shupinder Taggar was the star with the ball, taking 6-32.
Kaminski said it was a return to form.
“His first spell especially was really good,” Kaminski said.
“He hasn’t bowled like that for a while and he got a bit of a reward. He’s been sore the last couple of weeks … it’s always a good sign when he is getting wickets.”
Kaminski also praised the efforts of Narinder Sharma, whose 2-10 off 16 overs included 11 maidens.
The Bulls will face top side Diamond Creek in the final round.
Kaminski said that while the Bulls had work to do with the bat, he was confident they can get the job done.
Epping needs a win in the final round to assure itself of a spot in the top four and a return to finals after a loss to Rosanna on Saturday.
Epping made 6-162 from its overs, skipper Andrew Bennett top-scoring with 32.
Rosanna reached the target in the second last over, finishing 6-163.
The loss leaves Epping sitting in second and one of three teams on 39 points. Fifth-placed Bundoora is three points behind.
In the Money Shield, Lalor Stars and Bundoora United are among the teams fighting for a finals spot.
Just seven points separates first and sixth heading into the final round, so wins will be vital for all contenders.
Stars enter the final round on the back of a loss to Banyule, while United comes off a win against Lower Plenty.
