St Anthonys is just starting to hit its straps in the Gisborne and District Cricket Association B-grade competition.
Sitting in the top three all season and having played some great cricket, Saints skipper Cam Clayton said the team is only just starting to put everything together.
“We’ve batted well all year,” he said.
“The last four games we’ve been hitting our straps with our bowling and fielding.
“We need to keep doing what we’re doing.”
The Saints look on track for another victory after day one of their match against Macedon.
Clayton was happy with the position they find themselves in.
“They won the toss and they elected to bowl,” he said. “They were 4-25 before a bit of a partnership got them to about 115. I thought maybe at that point they had made the right decision to bat.
“We then ran through the tail.”
Macedon was all out for 168, with the Saints sharing the wickets around. Jason Orr got three wickets, while three other players took two apiece.
The Saints took total control of the game and will resume at 1-73 after scoring at more than a run a ball.
Clayton said the aim was to ensure they didn’t lose multiple wickets.
“The way we looked at it, we just had to keep doing the basics,” he said.
“Keep batting the way we have been batting and look for the six points. We lost Justin Siedlecki in the first over and then had a good partnership between Nathan Dantonio and Simon Blanks.”
A win against Macedon will help the Saints seal top spot. The Saints sit 1.30 points ahead of second-placed Wallan and Clayton is hoping they can extend that at the weekend with a big win against Macedon.
He said the feeling around the club was really good – all top four sides are in the top four of their divisions, while the fifth side is fifth.
In other B-grade matches, Eynesbury continues to keep the pressure on the top four. Bowled out for 163 against Gisborne, the Eagles bowlers fought back to have the Dragons 8-102 after day one.
Hayden Castle had a good day for the Eagles, making 73 before taking 4-33.
In the McIntyre Cup, the stunning form of Madushanka Ekanayaka continued.
Coming off 11 and 10 wickets in the Bulls past two two-day matches, Ekanayaka claimed seven wickets on Saturday as Bacchus Marsh ran through Riddell in the top of the table clash.
The Bulls bowled the Bombers out for 130. The Bulls were 0-32 at stumps.
Diggers Rest Bulla is locked in an interesting match with Lancefield, with both sides trying to avoid relegation. The Tigers made 127, with the Burras 3-48 in reply.
