Diggers Rest Bulla is hoping a return to form is on the way in the Gisborne and District Cricket Association Johnstone Shield.
The Burras have dropped their first two games before Christmas, but are still in second spot after a strong first part of the season.
Diggers Rest Bulla captain-coach Evan Long said they hadn’t resumed the season in the way they would have liked but they’ve done the hard work to still be in a good spot.
“Two losses on the bounce is not ideal,” he said. “After Christmas we’ve been slow out of the blocks.
“I’m not sure how to put a finger on it.
“Hopefully from this week onwards we can improve on the last two weeks.”
The Burras are in the middle of their match against Eynesbury which is looking for its second win of the season.
The Eagles had a good day with the bat making 6-227.
Brandon Shearson top scored with 68 for the Eagles.
Long said the Eagles batted well but they did let themselves down in the field at times.
“You bat your overs out and you can make a good score,” he said.
“Credit to them for making that score. It wasn’t through lack of effort on our side.”
With the hot conditions, the Burras used 10 bowlers.
Evan Long and Stephen Morris took two wickets each.
“I’ve played in hotter conditions than that,” Long said. “But bowling 23 overs was not in the plans.
“Charlie Hammond-Collins was back this week and got hit with a ball to the eye and had to go off after bowling just five overs.
“We were down a bowler for the rest of the day.
“I’ve always said that with our line up, we bat deep and bowl deep. We didn’t go in with those plans, but you want to give opportunities to blokes as well so come crunch time you can rely on them.”
Long said they would have to ensure they face 80 overs on day two to ensure they get the job done.
Still sitting in the top two, Long said they wanted to ensure they stayed in a strong position ahead of finals.
With the other two sides in the top three, Eastern Hill and Kilmore playing each other, the result against the Eagles is vital.
Elsewhere In the Johnstone Shield, Lancefield is on top against Harkness.
The Tigers were bowled out for 183 in the 61st over with Harvey Lehner making 81.
Ricky Dhawan and Simarjeet Singh took three wickets each for Harkness.
Harkness had to face 10 overs at the end of the day.
It was tough going as its first three batters all went out for ducks.
Harkness will resume at 3-6.
The Sunbury Kangaroos put on a solid total in the local derby against East Sunbury.
The Kangaroos made 193 before being bowled out in the 75th over.
Corey Woolley top scored with 54.
Nathan Dent took 3-51 for the Thunder.
