By Lachlan Onions
A STRONG performance with the ball from the South Gambier Demons on Saturday has put them in the box seat for their two-day Barber Shield clash against the North Sportsman’s Tigers.
In overcast conditions, the Demons won the toss and elected to bowl first at Marist Park, a decision which payed dividends from the outset.
Elwood Geary dismissed Matthew Robinson for a duck in the fifth over which kick-started a top-order collapse for the Tigers.
By the 13th over, North was five wickets down after Jakob Opie made his presence felt with three scalps in the first six overs of his spell.
At 5/20, the pressure was on the Tigers’ middle and lower order to try and salvage something from the game after the top five batters scored 18 runs between them.
Thomas Madigan and Tim Young dug deep and withstood the barrage from Opie, Robbie Drenthen and Camron Jorgensen for 11 overs, before the latter dismissed Madigan for 18 runs.
Thomas Cull was the next in and with the score 6/50, the pressure was on but there was still an opportunity for the Tigers to post a defendable total.
Cull added 11 runs to the total before he was bowled by Jorgensen to make it 7/72.
Drenthen then grabbed his second wicket when he bowled Luke Richards before Nicholas Mark came to the crease and scored 24.
Mark’s late push included two 4’s and the only maximum of the innings.
The hosts were eventually bowled out for 110 runs with the top score coming from Young, who added 26 off 58 balls.
It was a strong performance all-round from the Demons’ bowling cartel as Jorgensen, Drenthen and Opie all took three wickets, while Geary ended his six overs with figures of 1/8 at 1.33 runs per over.
The visitors then went out to bat for five overs where Daniel Loupos and Drenthen were tasked with surviving amidst the unideal batting conditions.
The pair made it through the five overs from Isaac Mulraney and Young to reach stumps at 0/23.
Drenthen continued his solid form with the bat and picked up 14 runs off just 12 deliveries, while Loupos scored seven off 18.
These two will return to the middle this Saturday, with 88 runs needed to claim a first-innings victory.
