Tara Murray
Melton will go back to basics after a disappointing performance with the bat on Saturday in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association east-west.
Facing Donvale, the Lions produced their worst batting performance of the season as they were bowled out for under 100.
Coach Mitch Stephens said it was a bit of a disappointing performance.
“A few of the guys got themselves out,” he said.
“It’s being able to get support for Ben [MacRae] and JJ [Jason Hibbert] and getting the rest of the top six some time in the middle at the moment.
“We’ll take a few things away from that and work really hard on the training track the next few weeks and get back to basics. Batting our overs out first and then putting a score on the board.”
On Saturday, Donvale won the toss and decided to bat, going on to make 8-182 from its overs.
Stephens said they need to build some more consistency with their bowling.
“Our bowling has been strong at times, but we’re still giving away a boundary ball per over at some stages which is really disappointing,” he said.
“Our spinners were able to control the run rate through the middle of the innings. Stephen Wiig bowled at the death, one of our overseas players, and did really well.”
Stephens said Wiig was starting to find his feet as part of the Lions side having come out from America.
He said the younger players had really played a role in that.
With a solid run chase ahead of them the Lions failed to fire a shot, bowled out for just 90.
Stephens said they had been changing around their batting line up a little bit to try and find the right combinations.
“Conrad Farrugia has given us some energy at the top of the order and helped get him into the season,” he said.
“We’re not looking to play around too much, we’re just fiddling with a couple of combinations that could work.”
The Lions sit in 14th spot after seven rounds with one win.
Stephens said the vibe of the group remains high despite a couple of tough weeks.
“We have a spark about this group and believe there is a lot of talent in the group,” he said.
“It’s about improving on what we need to work on and focusing on ourselves rather than overall points.
“That’s what stage of our development we’re in.”
The Lions this week face Mt Waverley at home.
