A devastating spell of bowling from Jacana turned a match in the balance into a good win against Aberfeldie Park in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association north A1.
Aberfeldie Park was looking on track to chase down Jacana’s 197-run total, but with Aberfeldie at 3-117 the game turned on its head.
The Jaguars took 7-25 to bowl Aberfeldie Park out for 142 and seal the win.
Jaguars captain-coach Luke Macumber said they had battled hard in the worst of the conditions on day one to set up the win.
“The pitch was sticky and the outfield was slow with clippings still on the ground when we batted,” he said.
“This week the pitch was flat and easier to bat on. We thought if the conditions were the same we had more than enough on the board, but when we looked at the pitch on day two we thought the score was probably just on par.”
The Jaguars started well with the ball, taking 3-32, before a 90-odd run partnership turned the game in Aberfeldie Park’s favour.
But after tea it was all the Jaguars.
Sameera Vithana took 6-28 to go with his 87 on day one of the match.
The win is the Jaguars’ fifth of the season.
With one round remaining, they sit sixth on the ladder, but finals are already out of the equation.
Macumber said in the pre-season the team had hoped it could make finals with both its top sides but it didn’t happen.
“We struggled to get our regular team on the park every week. We had a changing side every week … with our top side we would have been pushing for top four easily.
“It is a little disappointing as we had good numbers at the start of the season and were looking at finals.
“There was a few players unavailable and a few disappeared after Christmas.”
Macumber said there were plenty of positives to come out of the season, with several second XI players getting shots in the top side.
In other results, Greenvale Kangaroos got their second win of the senior division season, defeating Keilor, while Tullamarine was defeated by Strathmore.
After conceding first innings points on day one, Craigieburn batted well on day two to avoid an outright result against Altona North in the north-west division.
In north-west A1, Westmeadows got its third outright win of the season to cement its spot on top.
In north-west C3, Roxburgh Park defeated St Andrews Pascoe Vale. The win is the Falcons third in five games and a reversal of fortune after the club dropped games due to a lack of numbers earlier in the season.
