Tara Murray
The growth continues for Donnybrook Cricket Club.
Once a small club, the club now has more than 20 sides across its junior and senior programs.
President Noel Seipolt said even five years ago they wouldn’t have believed the club would be where it is now in terms of the pure size.
“It is getting big,” he said. “We now have 21 or 22 sides this year.
“It just keeps getting bigger and bigger and it’s gone through starting at the juniors and through to the seniors.
“It is a pretty hard job at the moment but we are getting there. It’s now seven days a week organising it all.”
The club’s top side is in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association Russell Pollock Shield competition for a third straight season.
Seipolt said the top side continued to develop each year in that competition and were a lot better than when they started.
“We have a few new players in the ones,” he said. “We have a new captain and few other new ones.”
On Saturday, Donnybrook started its two-day match with Barkly St Uniting.
Two of the first three days of play of the season had been washed out and there hadn’t been any results in the division 5 competition.
Donnybrook made 194 before being bowled out in the 70th over.
Tharik Alam top scored with 51.
Donnybrook was able to take an early wicket and the Dragons will resume at 1-7.
Vikram Mandhotra is the wicket taker.
Having made finals for the first time last season, Seipolt said there was definitely some motivation to go even better this season.
“There is more motivation,” he said. “To lose a final like that, it was so close.
“Hopefully this year we can go better. We want to go up a few divisions in the next few years.”
In other games, it was a tough day for Craigieburn in the senior division against Yarraville Club.
The Eagles were bowled out for just 111 in 49 overs.
Kevin Spaull top scored with 39, with just three players reaching double figures.
The Clubbers finished day one at 6-96.
Joshua Rasu had four wickets for the Eagles.
Westmeadows had a solid day against Airport West St Christophers.
The Warriors made 233 as they were bowled out in the 68th over.
Suresh De Silva top scored with 69.
Airport West faced nine overs at the end of day one and will resume at 1-16.
In the McNamara Shield, Tullamarine is 2-26 in reply to Newport-Digman’s 20, while in the Evans-Clark Shield Roxburgh Park made 149.
St Andrew’s Footscray is 1-12 in reply.
