Hawks flying high, on top of City Colts

A WICKET late in the day’s play has seen Rovers United Bruck claim the ascendancy in their final round battle with City Colts at Bill O’Callaghan Oval. After being rolled for 189 by the Colts, and with two overs left before stumps, Brady Bartlett managed to catch the edge of Mitch Giggins’ bat, dismissed off the second last ball of the day. After winning the toss and sending the Hawks in to bat, the Colts were on top of the game early. The dangerous Charith Perera lasted just nine deliveries before he holed out to Tyler Nanson at mid on from the bowling of Jed Marek, gone for four, while his opening partner Ryan Collier was skittled by Kent Braden for two runs. Reeling at 2/8, the Hawks needed to build a partnership, with Paddy McNamara joining Reid McNamara in the middle. Together, the pair would build a handy partnership of 46 runs before Reid was clean bowled by Tyler Nanson for 20. Jeremy Wilson and Paddy would continue to lock in, rotating the strike well and punishing the bad deliveries when they came. McNamara would be the aggressor, bringing up his 50 and motoring on, reaching 75 off 107 balls before top edging one from Jed Marek, caught and bowled. Wilson would continue to keep the scoreboard ticking over, reaching 37 from 96, while Jacob Schonafinger would chime in with 20 off 34. Jed Marek was impressive, the young pace bower picking up three crucial wickers for just 34 runs, while the experience of Kent Braden (3/48 off 19 overs) shone through. Tyler Nanson (2/39 off 17 overs), Matt Lister (1/34 off 14) and Max Marek (1/2 off 0.2) also found themselves in the wickets. RUB captain Paddy McNamara said while it was a strong score, he felt they left a few runs out there. “It was a different type of Colts ground, the wicket had a little bit in it, and the infield was pretty damp so it was probably a good toss to lose,” he said. “They started really well, they opened with spin and there was a bit of turn from the far end, and Tyler Nanson bowled a really good spell to start off with, so it was really tricky early. “Once we got in and we built that partnership with me and ‘Jerry’ [Wilson], it was good. “We were in a really good spot at tea and at that stage we were looking at 250+. "We just collapsed a bit after tea, we didn’t capitalise on our start. “I would’ve liked another 30 or 40 more, but we were able to get the big wicket of Mitch [Giggins] at the end.” McNamara said a shift in his intent led to his more positive innings. “In the last couple of games I probably haven’t been very positive with the bat, just trying to survive, so I went out with a bit of intent and got a few away early which is nice,” he said. “When you’re building those partnerships it’s a lot easier. “Me and Reid started well, Reid was looking really good, then Jerry came in and got himself in, and instead of losing wickets in clumps and putting pressure on each other, we were able to be really solid in the middle order.” The bowling attack will be under pressure when the Colts resume at 1/2 on day two. “While it’s not as big a score as we’d like, there’ll be a bit of pressure on us with the likes of Dan Jones, Brady [Bartlett], Charlie Lugg and Cormac [McNamara] to get some overs under their belts,” McNamara said. “Colts aren’t going to roll over easy, they’ve still got some good batters to come with both the Nansons, Kent [Braden] and Josh Newton. “It’s going to be a really good opportunity for those guys to bowl under a bit of pressure leading into the finals."

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