Tara Murray
Craigieburn has lifted itself off the bottom of the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division ladder, with a stunning outright win against Sunshine United.
The Eagles entered the clash without a win, but it meant little as the Eagles were able to come out on both day one and day two.
After claiming first innings points, the Eagles declared on their day one score of 8-83, which gave them a lead of 19.
The Tigers started their batting innings well before crumbling to be all out for 143.
The Eagles middle order was able to get the job done to claim all 10 points, finishing 5-128.
For Eagles coach Nathan Pappin there was a sense of relief to not only get the club’s first win of the season, but his first win as coach.
He said they had been close during other games but this time were able to show composure in the key moments.
“It’s a good feeling to get a win on the board and then we went from there,” he said. “Certainly at training during the week there was a lot more positivity from everyone.
“It was about backing it up on Saturday and we did, it was fantastic.”
Pappin said they made the call to declare on their day one score to give themselves as many overs as possible to try and get an outright win.
He said they weren’t concerned about losing the match outright, as they already had six points on the board.
At 1-78 it seemed like the Eagles were looking at a long day in the field.
“They got off to a good start,” Pappin said. “It was a lot better pitch than last week.
“They were 1-70 odd off not too many overs. We were able to pick up wickets and restrict them to under 150 which was really good.
Skipper Josh Eaton was the pick of the bowlers with 4-46 off 12 overs with Pappin saying it was a real team effort.
After losing a wicket early, the Eagles were able to share the runs as they headed towards the full 10 points.
Manpreet Singh Mahla top scored with 33 as five batters all got starts including Pappin who hit the winning runs.
The win moves the Eagles above the Druids on the ladder after nine rounds.
Pappin said the aim for the rest of the season was to ensure they stay out of the relegation zone.
“We definitely don’t want to go down,” he said. “We need to get at least one more win.
“Hopefully we can win the next couple of games and it gives us the best chance of staying up in senior division.”
The Eagles face Keilor this week and having beaten them the last couple of games, take plenty of confidence into the match.
The Blues beat Westmeadows on Saturday. The Warriors made 191 in reply to the Blues 8-223.
