Roxburgh Park Broadmeadows is on track to keep its brilliant Craig Shield record intact after four rounds.
Having made the finals of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association competition in 10 of the past 11 years, the Falcons have won their opening three matches in the west group.
They had to settle for a draw in the fourth round when Sunday’s match with Yarraville was called off because of a wet wicket.
Coach Mitchell Streiff said the under-15 side was again looking to make finals of the competition formerly known as the Hatch Shield.
“It’s been a really good start to the competition,” Streiff said after the third win.
“I didn’t think the side was as strong as last year’s team [which made the semi-finals]. We only have one player from last year’s squad who’s come back. We know we have a good batting side, but I’ve been surprised with the performance of a couple of our bowlers.”
Spin twins Connor Marum and Devin Ratnasinghe have taken 15 wickets between them.
“They’ve been very handy,” Streiff said. “Connor, who’s come from Caroline Springs, was a late addition to the squad.”
The batsmen haven’t been outshone either as the side dominated two of its three matches so far.
Ethan McShang scored 74 not out against Werribee after making 39 in the opening game against Sunshine.
Corey Barker made 53 in the first match and backed it up with 47 in the game against Williamstown. Wicketkeeper Ravi Paligaru has also been among the runs.
Streiff had expected the game with Yarraville to be a tough one, deciding who makes the finals.
The match being declared a draw could mean west group’s finals berth comes down to percentage.
“It’s out of us and Yarraville,” Streiff said. “We play Altona and Melton in our last two matches and we should be able to beat them.”
In north group, Plenty Valley got its first win on Sunday against Kew.
After a round-one bye, the Bats lost their second-round match to Coburg before the third round was washed out.
Batting first on Sunday, the Bats made 6-145 with captain Jesse King top scoring with 47.
The Bats restricted Kew to 6-103 in reply.
