James Murphy
EAST GAMBIER 7-d/79 v MIL LEL 10/67
IT was not a day for big scores out at Allan Scott Park on Saturday afternoon.
East Gambier hosted Mil Lel for Day 1 of their Round 10 Barber Shield clash, with the pitch once again favouring the bowlers.
The Bulldogs won the toss and sent Mil Lel in to bat first, a task which did not take long.
The guests lasted just 42 overs and finished up all out for a meagre 67 runs.
The top score came from Will Rowland from the middle order with 29, while Jarrod Sanders’ 18 runs was the only other double-figure score from Mil Lel.
Openers Darren Whitehorn and Nick Walters had trouble finding the early runs and the former was dismissed for four.
Walters faced 23 balls but was sent back to the bench for a duck, unable to find a way through East’s tough attack.
Both were caught off Alex Hentschke deliveries, with the Bulldogs’ captain finishing the innings with a five-wicket haul, including six maiden overs while only conceding 26 runs to the opposition.
Sanders made his 18 off 69 balls, finding the boundary three times with a six and two fours.
Jack Miller (two runs) and Archer Virtanen (four) were next to the crease, followed by Rowland.
Rowland faced 77 balls and hit three fours on his way to 29, which was ultimately the top score for the day.
Harry Hicks was out for a four-ball duck and Craig Hicks also faced four balls, but found the boundary once before he was stumped.
A duck to Ty Dinnison and a golden duck to Brad Hann rounded out the tail order and Mil Lel was all out midway through the afternoon.
Hentschke’s five wickets were the biggest return, while Marc Roberts’ 2/5 most impressive.
Emerson Marks also had a good day and finished with 3/21.
The Bulldogs padded up to see out the day and it was clear from the get-go the runs would not come freely for them either.
It was not until the fourth over East made its first run, scored by Dion Stratford to have them 1/1 after Rajat Pandey’s early dismissal.
The next score did not come until the start of the seventh over, with Stratford scoring a two.
Stratford went onto top score for East on the day, facing 59 balls for 25 runs.
Alex Hill made two runs during his time at the crease, while Aaron Schultz was out for a five-ball duck.
Marks had a decent time at the crease and faced 43 balls on his way to 15 runs, while Connor Little was out for a three-ball duck.
Hentschke was the most efficient runmaker for the day and he finished unbeaten on 20 off 13 alongside Roberts (two off nine) when East declared at 7/79 in the 31st over.
Miller had a big day and also had five wickets, conceding 30 runs during his 15 overs.
Harry and Craig Hicks also had wickets with one each.
East will now chase a possible outright victory next weekend when they resume the contest for Day 2.
