Country and Metro day three report

The 80-over games began at 10am in Barooga, with only three hours to be played in the day and the remainder to be a rest day.

DAY 3

The 80-over games began at 10am in Barooga, with only three hours to be played in the day and the remainder to be a rest day.

UNDER-19

Country won the “toss” which really means the coaches decided they would bowl first.

Ouija Board, Wijayakumara and Ash Armstrong faced up under overcast skies, ready to face an angry Adam McMaster who had the breeze at his back.

Country began well, bowling nice areas and swinging the ball nicely and when McMaster had Wijayakumara trapped in front for three, Metro was 1-5 and Country finally had a strong start.

Country continued to beat the bat of Armstrong and now Allen, holding Metro to 1-25 after the first 10 overs.

Allen continued his swashbuckling form from the one-dayer yesterday, looking the goods carving balls through the off side and speed to 23 off just 31 balls.

When Country skipper Luke Ford bought himself on, the Lolly-bag (Allen’s….) had well and truly got on top of the Country attack, and had 42 of the 62 Metro runs on the board.

But Ford was able to slide one through the Bag’s defence and he departed leaving Metro 2-62 after 17 overs.

Meanwhile, the silent assassin Ash Armstrong, started to get a roll on, with classy cover drives and glorious on drives.

After 30 overs, Anthony ‘Broccoli’ Brolic and the Assassin had got Metro to 2-92, but Country’s performance was much improved, looking up for the fight today.

When Broccoli slashed one over backward point off the bowling of McMaster, Metro had reached their 100, two down in the 33rd, and the Broccoli/Assassin partnership was building steadily towards the day’s end.

Armstrong 50* and Brolic 34* negotiated the final few nervy overs, from Wood and Ford to finish the day at 2-137 , with Metro with their noses in front after and even day’s play.

METRO BATTING: Armstrong 50*, Allen 42, Brolic 34*
COUNTRY BOWLING: McMaster 1 wicket, Ford 1 wicket.

UNDER-17

Metro had won a legitimate toss and elected to bat in the baby Barooga 80-over classic.

Thaveesh Attanayake and Ben Roughsedge started off the innings for the city slickers and waited patiently for Xavier Crone, fresh from yesterday’s three-wicket haul, to run in with an absolute Brendan Gale at his back.

Some clean hitting from Attanayake had Metro coach Thilan Samaraweera feeling comfortable that he would have a good day against his counterpart Bryan Harper.

When the bog boy Attanayake was caught behind off the bowling of Symons for 35, including two sixes and two fours, Metro were 1-44 in the 12th over.

Chris Wiggle Diggle set out to meet Roughsedge in the middle and build on their strong base.

Cameron Brown was bowling with good pace and bounce, when Kyle Beinfeldt, entered the attack.

And boy oh boy did he enter.

In one over, Beinfelt sent down a no-ball, followed that by trapping the diggy-dig LBW, then a no-ball, then trapped Damon Egan LBW, then another no-ball and then sent Lewis English packing, by you guessed it, leg before wicket.

When a run out was effected just two overs later along with a Brown wicket, Metro had gone from 1-44 to 6-57 in the space of four overs.

It was at this stage that Outer East Eagles, Mark Butler and Josh Hudson were set with the task of resurrecting the Metro innings, but that man again Beinfeldt the Destroyer, bowled Hudson for 1, leaving Metro 7-70.

Country coach Bryan Harper was more than confident that his charges could do the complete whitewash, when drinks rolled around as a sodden Metro camp seemed to have nothing left.

But Butler and now Blake Parsons showed some rear-guard action and dragged Metro to 7-86 after 28 overs.

Angus Boyd was economical with 0-16 from his nine overs.

The tail-wag was able to make it all the way to stumps, as Parsons and Butler gave Metro slim hope heading into day two, with 7-112 the end total.

After a ravaging spell of 4-9 (6) from The Destroyer, that score is a lot more than it seems.

METRO BATTING: Attanayake 35, Butler 27*, Parsons 28*
COUNTRY BOWLING: Symonds 1-17(6), Brown 1-15(6), Boyd 0-16(9) and Beinfelt 4-9(6)

INVITATIONAL XI

Over at Bank Street, ACT were batting of a flat strip.

Izzard and Dummer went out to face the musical stylings of Jackson Koop and the smoothest mover, Silky Josh Bartlett.

A solid partnership of 26 was broken by Bartlett, who took two wickets in three overs to have figures of 2-13 and also have ACT 2-39 in the 12th over.

Medium pacers Kade Burns and Paddy Turner kept up the pressure and the latter struck again to have ACT 3-45.

Solid play from Dimarhos and Henry, kept ACT rolling at a nice rate, until the Tanner ‘ The Spanner’ Stanton got involved and claimed the key wickets of Dimarhos (36), Henry (40) and Vane-Tempest(4) in the space of four overs of well bowled leg-spin.

At 6-151 in the 41st over, ACT looked odds on to cruise to an overnight total that had some respectability and then push on tomorrow.

However, whilst their minds drifted off too dinner, Ringwood Ram and Outer East Eagle, Tyson ‘Keith’ Freeman got out his parachute, and coasted in too take the final three wickets to finish with figures of 3-6 off three overs.

ACT finished at all out 167, which was well below par on a good batting deck, and coach McCaskill is hoping Koop and Co. can give them the all-important six points.

VIC BOWLING: Bartlett 3-23 (9), Freeman 3-6 (3), Stanton 3-43 (9)