Harper Sercombe
Craigieburn has finally broken through, claiming first innings points against Sunshine United in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division on Saturday.
The Eagles made the most of bowler friendly conditions at Victor Foster Reserve on Saturday, running through Sunshine United in 37 overs for only 64 runs.
The Eagles then chased the score down and will resume at 8-83 on Saturday with just a 19 run lead, with plenty to still play out in the match.
“The toss landed our way for a change, it’s not very often that we get those conditions to bowl in so it was good,” coach Nathan Pappin said.
“The guys bowled very tight lines and made them play at a lot of balls which was fantastic to play.
“It was definitely good to get the better of the batting conditions on Saturday.
“We’ve been in quite a few games this year and we’ve let ourselves down at times in critical moments which has cost us a few games. So to push through a complete innings bowling wise was fantastic.
“We’ve been close but to finally get that win, we will take a lot of confidence out of it and hopefully we can push through and pick up another one or two.”
The pick of the Eagles’ bowlers was Chameera Perera who took 5-14, making the most of the conditions.
“He bowled exceptionally well, got a lot of turn, bowled with good pace and variety, just made them play,” Pappin said.
“He’s been putting in a fair bit of work for training so to see him get the reward is fantastic.”
While it wasn’t easy batting conditions for the Eagles either, Kevin Spaull was able to get some runs on the board and score 41 to help his side claim first innings points.
“For Kevin to score 41 and be the stand out batter of the day was really good,” Pappin said.
Pappin said next week the goal is to claim an outright victory.
“Hopefully we can bat on for a little bit and put a bit of a lead in front of them and attack it as a one-dayer, with a bit of a head start, and hopefully we can come away with a full 10 points,” he said.
