A WORKMANLIKE batting performance got Yarrawonga-Mulwala over the line against Rovers United in a low-scoring affair on Saturday.
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After Matt Knight’s bowlers tore through the Rovers’ line-up for a paltry 83, with the only resistance coming from Joshua Schonafinger (18) and Simon Godfrey (15no), the Lakers were forced to work hard for the points.
Yarrawonga-Mulwala did enough to reach 7-112 and secure a valuable early victory.
“Sometimes those low totals are a bit tricky,” Knight said.
“And we sort of moseyed our way there — there were no real highlights in the way we batted but we just got the job done.
“There were certainly a lot more positives than negatives, but it was something we discussed, we talked about the fact that if we want to be successful we need to make sure we set a standard.
“If you get a start you need to go on with it, and our top five all had a reasonable start but didn’t go on — but everything else was really positive.”
Knight topscored with 22 in his team’s scratchy first-up performance after Ben Doyle picked up from last year to take 4-15.
“He’s a consistent bowler and took 7-9 in the grand final last year,” Knight said.
Another handful was Gus McMillan, 16, who gave nothing away to finish with 1-4 off seven overs.
Knight said the Lakers were shaping up well, having only lost Daniel Athanitis from last year’s premiership team.
“We feel like we’ve got a pretty good list,” Knight said.
“It’s just a matter of making sure we play consistent cricket.
“We’re pretty even with five or six medium pacers and a good young spinner, and we bat right down — it’s just a matter of putting it together on a Saturday.”
Those early points are all the more valuable with Yarrawonga-Mulwala having just one bye for finishing in the top four, with other clubs having two byes and receiving maximum points.
“We’ve already started behind the eight-ball because we finished in the top four,” Knight said.
“These early wins are always like double points before Christmas — we can only concentrate on getting our bit done.
“We need to win the games we should win and don’t drop too many and hopefully we’ll be thereabouts at the business end of the season.”