By Tara Murray
Darley finally produced the performance it had been after with the bat in the Ballarat Cricket Association.
The Lions batting has been up and down this season, without reaching its full potential with several star batters in their line up.
That was until Saturday on day one of its clash with Mt Clear.
After being sent in, the Lions made 342 as they were bowled out in the third last over.
Playing coach Nathan Yates was thrilled with the performance against the top side.
“It was really good and that was the performance we have been hoping to have all year,” he said.
“We have a talented list that has the ability, but hasn’t clicked all year. As great as it was, it should have happened earlier in the year.”
Four of the top five batters had half centuries. Dilan Chandima top scored with 89, while Yates made 76, Sajith Dissanayaka made 72 and Rockey Hoey made 56.
Yates said they had been working towards this performance.
While the Lions didn’t bat their overs out, Yates said they weren’t disappointed in that.
“The last five to 10 overs we tried to go pretty hard to pile on the score,” he said. “When you do that, it’s always a chance that [losing wickets] will happen.”
The match is an important one in the context of the Lions season. They currently sit in seventh spot, eight points behind second placed Wendouree.
“We went into this match like it was a mini semi final,” Yates said. “We can not afford to drop this one or we drop away from the pack.
“We win this, it gets us back into calculations. At the end of the day, if we can get into the top four, we can win from anywhere.
“We want to make sure we’re in that group and work towards that.”
Meanwhile, Bacchus Marsh will have to have a solid day with the bat to beat Golden Point in its match.
Golden Point made 240 and was bowled out in the 77th over after winning the toss. Shanin Silva took four wickets for the Bulls.
The Bulls currently sit in fourth spot, percentage behind second.
The Bulls and Golden Point will also be in action against each other on Tuesday night in the semi finals of the T20 competition.
Mt Clear faces Ballarat Redan in the other semi final, with the final to be held on Australia Day.
