Melton enjoyed a day out with the bat on Saturday in Victorian Sub-district Cricket Association’s north-west competition.
Coming off their first loss of the season, the Lions hit back in a big way against Preston on day one of their clash.
The Lions had little trouble on their way to 3-329.
Lions’ coach Nathan Geisler said his side had batted well and with a lot of patience as the rain clouds circled around the ground.
“We got off to a slowish start making seven runs off the first 10 overs,” he said.
“The guys … made the most of the conditions with a fast outfield.
“Ben MacRae batted all day and [David] Kirky batted really well too. Butch [Anthony Gale] batted for a while and made 30 at the top of the order.
“It was one of the those days we wanted the rain to stay away.”
MacRae finished 155 not out, while Kirk made 123 in the highest score this season for both players.
Geisler said they had focused on their batting and making sure they were able to not only make runs, but bat time when needed.
“Our top-five batsmen have all made contributions at some point,” he said.
“Ben had been out a couple of times off really good catches. It’s been about trying to make the most of the opportunities.”
Geisler knows they will need to bowl well on day two if they are to get their fourth win of the season. It will help keep the Lions in a strong position and in the top six as they get closer to the Christmas break.
Geisler said the previous round loss to undefeated Brunswick gave them an indication of where they sit this season.
“Looking back at day one we dropped seven catches and ended up getting done by 50 runs,” he said.
“It tells us if we had held our catches they wouldn’t have made 250. Nathan Taylor made a century, but if one of our top order made a 30 or 40 it would have been the difference in the game.”
The Lions seconds kept Preston to 7-215.
Meanwhile, the Lions’ lost the opening round of the Women’s Victorian Premier Cricket seconds T20 competition. The Lions made 5-86 from their overs against Essendon Maribyrnong Park. The Bombers made the runs with 16 balls and seven wickets in hand.
