By Tara Murray
Greenvale Kangaroos produced their highest score since 2015 as they batted out the day to record a draw against Prahran in Victorian Premier Cricket.
Chasing the massive 5-366 Prahran set on day one, the Kangaroos were always on the back foot.
While a win always seemed unlikely, the Kangaroos took the challenge head on.
Kangaroos captain-coach Matthew Love said that while a win would have been nice, batting out the day was a massive achievement for the side.
“The total of 366 was always a tough ask to chase down,” he said.
“We thought if we could get through the first hour, the pitch would flatten out.
“We needed to create partnerships, which we were able to do up until tea.
“It was a matter of batting out the day and if we got the opportunity to have a crack at the runs we would take it.”
Love said that while Prahran wasn’t too happy about his side aiming to bat out the whole 97 overs, for his side that sort of determination was something it had been lacking in the past few years.
The star of the show for the Kangaroos was Sunam Gautam, who scored his first Premier XI century.
He made 106 from 113 balls.
Love said it was the sort performance he thought Gautam could produce.
“Sunny works hard on his game,” Love said. “I said to him at the start of the season that if we’re to be a competitive team, he has to be one of the premier batsmen in the competition.
“I said it to him again on Saturday. He thrives on confidence. He was able to bat like no one else on Saturday.
“He gave us an opportunity to have a crack at the total and I’m rapt for him.”
Luke Sandy also had a good day with the bat, scoring 54, his first 50 in the top grade.
The draw is the Kangaroos’ best performance this season, having lost all their previous matches.
Love said he hoped the performance would build some confidence and hopefully lead to more wins.
“Hopefully, we are able to put together both the batting and bowling,” he said.
“If we set targets of 300-odd, with our attack we can squeeze sides.
“There’s a lot of positives and hopefully we’ve now got the nucleus.”
MORE PREMIER CRICKET NEWS
www.starweekly.com.au/sports/rough-justice-for-footscrays-russ/
