Westmeadows returned to the winners’ list and the Victorian Turf Cricket Association north-west A1 top two, with a solid win against Glenroy on Saturday.
With both teams expected to be in the top four at season’s end, the match was a preview of what could come later in the season.
The two teams entered the match second and third, with one loss between them in the opening five matches.
Glenroy batted first and made 161, bowled out with an over remaining.
Sathpath Kamburugamuwa took four wickets, while Ryan Blair chipped in with three.
Westmeadows captain-coach Tarek Moughanie said it was good to see Kamburugamuwa be rewarded with wickets.
The Warriors then shared the runs around on the way to 8-176 from 40 overs.
Moughanie said it was an even batting performance.
“No one in particular stood out and no one made a 50,” he said.
“Glen Lambeth made 40-odd, as did Clayton Campbell. CJ [Chinthaka Jayasinghe] made 35-odd, in a real solid, even contribution.
“Aaron Evans made 20-odd and Steve McKay finished the job with a six off Steve Goodwin.”
Moughanie said the only disappointing element was that the game was shortened to a one-dayer after day one was washed out.
“It can be 50-50 in one-dayers and it would have been nice to play in a full two-day game and test ourselves against them,” he said.
“They [Glenroy] are the benchmark, along with St Francis de Sales. …
The win moved the Warriors back into second spot, ahead of Glenroy.
Moughanie said they were slowly starting to get the right mix and hoped to step it up another level after the Christmas break.
The Warriors play second bottom Footscray United in a one-dayer to finish the year.
“We’ve settled on our batting, but our bowling still isn’t settled,” he said. “There’s still quite a bit of improvement left in us.
“Another solid win will hopefully cement our spot in the top two.”
In senior division, Greenvale Kangaroos and Tullamarine both suffered losses against Strathmore and Seddon respectively.
Strathmore made 8-197 against the Kangaroos, before bowling them out for 94.
Seddon made 8-164 against the Demons. The Demons were bowled out for 117.
In the north-west division, Craigieburn lost to Airport West St Christophers. Airport West St Christophers made 7-125, Craigieburn fell just short, all out for 113.
In north A1, Jacana defeated Mowonee Valley, Roxburgh Park forfeited against Flemington.
