One good partnership is all that stands between Darley and a guaranteed place in the Ballarat Cricket Association finals series.
The Lions are locked in a tight tussle with Mt Clear after day one of their match on Saturday.
Chasing Mt Clear’s total of 124, Darley requires 65 more to win with five wickets in hand.
Lions’ captain-coach Heath Pritchard said making the most of the bad balls would be the message to his remaining batsmen.
“We just need to get some partnerships together,” he said. “We’ll need to work pretty hard and if the ball is in your zone you certainly have to hit it.
“At 5-60, they need five more wickets and we need 65 more runs so it’s pretty square.”
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Mt Clear was in all sorts of trouble early thanks to a Darley triple strike.
Opening bowlers Bradley Barnes and Pritchard blasted through the Lions’ top order to have Mt Clear 3-0.
But just when it looked like a low score would be on the cards, middle-order duo Nathan Yates (25) and Daniel Hopkinson (64) rescued the innings by adding 64 for the fourth wicket.
When that partnership was broken, Mt Clear fought for every run, right down to its final pairing.
At 9-96, Grant Trevenen and Tim Griffith added a vital 28 to drag the score to 124.
“I thought we bowled pretty well,” Pritchard said.
“We dropped one really tough chance but, apart from that, we were good in the field.
“We let them get away a fraction at the end but when you have a side 3-0 there are always going to be partnerships.
“They put on a good partnership and then the last pair chanced their arm a bit and got away with it, which was pretty valuable for them.”
Following the early damage from the quick bowlers, spinner Sajith Rupasingha then stepped up for the Lions to finish off the innings with 4-14.
The Darley run chase got off to a great start with the Lions moving to 0-28.
But the loss of 5-32 before stumps has the match back on an even keel.
Harry Killoran is not-out on 11, while Zac Ticehurst will resume with him in the middle on three.
The danger man with the ball will be Mt Clear spinner Steven Nicholson, who already has three wickets.
