On a perfect Saturday afternoon for cricket we ventured out to Dobson Park to face the Knox-Boronia Churches in a crucial top of the ladder clash. I wont the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. We started poorly as I was dismissed for a duck. Jay batted at 3 and he and Rhys put on 76 before Rhys hauled out for 70 leaving us at 2/88. Spencer came in and looked good but went out the ball after drinks for 14 which left us off to a quick start with 107 on the board but already 3 down. This was compounded when Josh Wylde (1) was dismissed and all of a sudden the Burras were on top. Thommo was next in and he got 22 hard hitting runs before hauling out to a boundary rider. Ben batted at 7 and looked to be there at tea. He did this, however he was caught behind for 13 not long after tea. Jay was the next to fall with the score on 209 for a very well made 68, having been there for 197 runs and seeing 5 wickets fall at the other end in a performance that will keep the selectors watching and the batsmen in the twos on their toes.

From here we looked to have the tail wag and it did with Reidy (30), Nibyy (15), Nixon (15) and King (15*) contributing 75 runs from number 8 down in an impressive performance. This left us bowled all out in 74.3 overs for 285. I felt that while the runs ticked over very nicely we were at times a bit loose with out stroke play and didn’t grind well enough which is why we were bowled all out. This is something we will be working on as the season progresses and batting out our 80 overs.

We came back day two knowing we would have to bowl well and grind hard to win the game. We started with off spinner Nixon Adcock and fast bowling Anthony Jongen who were hard to get away early. Nibby broke through with the 2^nd last ball of his first spell, which was then followed by 3 wickets to the King to leave the Burra 4/96. We continued to push hard through the overs and bowled 48 to tea with them on 143 having lost 6 wickets. After tea it was a procession as they were bowled all out for 166 having only 10 players. Nibby finished with career best figures of 15 overs 5/36 including 4 bowled. Nixon toiled away all day having a rest for only 4 overs at his end to finish with 24 overs 1/60 and was very unlucky not to take a bag of wickets. King bowled 13 overs 3/40 and was very hard to get away and turned the ball a long way. No doubt this performance will see him keep his name up for selection in the twos. Reidy delivered 4 overs of medium pace netting 0/13 in a tidy spell leading up to tea.

Overall we fielded pretty well and had a good intensity. We only missed one chance which happens and we will continue to work on our fielding in the coming weeks. We bowled them out in 56 overs which was a fantastic effort but are well aware we will need to keep this up for 80 overs at times this season.

Next week we have St. Johns – Tecoma at home who are coming off an outright win and sit 2^nd, just two points behind us. They are a good side and we will need to play well to beat them and maintain our position at the top of the ladder. It is also a good opportunity for either side to get a body blow in prior to a possible meeting in March.