By Tara Murray
A mid-innings batting masterclass secured Eynesbury Eagles’ victory against Aintree in the Gisborne and District Cricket Association Jensen Shield on the weekend.
For most of the game, the result looked like it would go down to the wire, before Justin Siedlecki and Scott Porter took the game away from Aintree.
The Eagles then cruised to victory and cemented their spot in the top four.
Eagles captain-coach Tristan Francis was thrilled with the victory that in the end they did with ease. Aintree made 211 batting first to set up a good run chase.
“I thought 180 was about par,” he said.
“The ground was slow, but Mount Carberry is a small ground and you can score runs quickly.
“We knew we needed one of the top five to score a big score. Justin made 85 and Scott in his third game for the season is averaging nearly 200. He made 74.
“They put on 103 off about 10 overs and broke Aintree’s back. After 20 overs we were looking at six runs an over.
“The last six overs we only needed three runs an over and I don’t think we hit a boundary after that. We did it quite comfortably.”
Francis said the performance of 15-year-old Josh Oldfield on Saturday was really pleasing.
Coming back after playing in the twos, he contributed with both the ball and bat.
“I thought he was the pick of the bowlers, with five overs one for 10 with a couple of maidens up front.
PHOTO GALLERY: Eynesbury vs Aintree
“He did well with the ball and then he opened the batting. I threw him in the deep end and he made 24.”
The win cements the Eagles’ spot in the top four, which is a long way from last season when they won just one game.
Francis said making finals would be a good achievement. They have three rounds remaining after a bye this weekend.
“St Anthony’s haven’t set the world on fire and Kyneton are below us and we haven’t played them yet,” Francis said.
“Sunbury sits above us.
“If we can get the next two games we can secure finals. We can’t relax or things could go pear shaped.”
Aintree, in its first season, sits percentage outside the top four, with a battle for finals spots over the coming weeks.
In the McIntyre Cup, Bacchus Marsh and Diggers Rest Bulla are both in great positions after day one of their matches.
The Bulls have already secured first innings points against St Anthony’s.
The Saints were bowled out for 101 with skipper Cameron Clayton top scoring with 30.
Ian Spiteri took 4-20 for the Bulls. The Bulls made a quick fire 1-123 to secure first innings points.
Kasun Suriaratchie made 69 not out. The Saints will resume at 1-34 in their second innings.
Diggers Rest Bulla is closing in on first innings points against Woodend. The Burras bowled Woodend out for just 132, with Lindon Dowsett taking 4-12.
The Burras will resume at 3-80 on day two.
