On the cusp of glory

Another resilient batting performance gave the ladder leaders the upper hand at stumps on day one of their final round clash with Western Australia, with Ejaaz Alavi continuing his brilliant carnival with 49 vital runs and two late wickets to leave the Sandgropers reeling at 2-1.

With just nine minutes remaining in the day’s play, having been dismissed earlier for 236, captain Pat McKenna wanted to ensure three overs were bowled before stumps.

“I wanted to make sure we got a third over, so Ejazz was the obvious choice,” McKenna said.

“He put the ball in a great area and I guess it was lucky that it paid off with two wickets.”

Earlier, McKenna top-scored with a hard fought 56 from 174 balls, allowing Victoria to post a competitive total in overcast conditions at Lindisfarne.

“I guess it’s always good when you do well personally, but I’m just happy the team set a good total, and we are on top heading into today,’ McKenna said.

The day got off to another fantastic start, with Matt Short and Liam Banthorpe enjoying a 52-run stand for the opening wicket.

However, with the loss of both of the openers, McKenna and Jack Blain were charged with the recovery.

The dismissal of Blain (19) set off a middle order collapse, which reduced Victoria to 6-118, threatening its title hopes.

A partnership between McKenna and Alavi moved the score past 160 before Matt Bullen (32) and Jack Baker (four not out) pushed the total to 236.

Moving into today, Victoria has one hand on the trophy, with a win to guarantee its status as this year’s champions.

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To see full results from Under-17 National Championships, click here.