PATIENCE was the key as Yarrawonga-Mulwala’s bowlers did the job over City Colts at Stan Hargreaves Oval on Saturday.
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Defending a challenging 9-217, the Lakers were under pressure early as Colts’ openers Isaac Willett (36) and Brenton Whale (25) posting a 51-run partnership.
But Yarrawonga-Mulwala president Dwain Duxson said the second session belonged to his bowlers as they restricting the visitors to 9-168.
“We bowled a lot of overs for not many runs, which changed the game,” he said.
“That’s our mantra, to build pressure and bowl as many dot balls as possible.
“And we have bowlers who can bowl those areas and they do it well, week in week out.
“This week they did it again and did it on a good batting wicket.”
Duxson said it came down to experienced bowlers and accuracy.
“We were probably a bit below par with the runs on that pitch,” he said.
“But our bowling is probably our strength at this point in time.
“There were no short balls, they managed to bowl on the spot and suffocate teams over a four-hour period.
“We’ve got experienced bowlers who have been around a few years and are at the peak of their powers at the moment.”
Coupled with experience was tenacious youth, with 16-year-old left-armer Angus McMillan claiming 3-13 from 12 overs.
“He’s got good pace and he’s accurate,” Duxson said.
“He’s going to be a star of the future, he’s an outstanding prospect for us.
“His maturity and accuracy is beyond his years.
“The Colts had quality players in Kent Braden and Greg Daniel batting at six and seven when McMillan was bowling — he did a fantastic job, he’s a star.”
Another 16-year-old, Matt Casey, also excelled in the field with two catches at gully.
And captain Matthew Knight wasn’t done either, taking 4-28, including Braden with a sharp caught and bowled, to back up last week’s 68.
“Knight is a big, burly lad and it was a brilliant caught and bowled,” he said.
“The fielding all day was as good as you’d see in country cricket.”
Duxson was pleased with the win.
“It’s one of our better performances,” he said.
“We’re improving — we’ve been very good with ball and we’re getting better with the bat.”
Rovers United produced a stunning comeback to edge Greta by three runs in a thriller.
The Blues resumed at 4-59 in pursuit of just 77, but crashed all out for 73.