Tara Murray
The class continues to rise to the top for Footscray in Victorian Premier Cricket.
The Bulldogs have now won eight matches in a row and are putting together some really good form with both the bat and ball.
On Saturday, they finished the job against Casey-South Melbourne. Casey had made 245 on day one of the match.
The Bulldogs made the runs in the 64.3 overs, finishing, 4-246.
Bulldogs coach Dale McDonald was pleased with the result.
“It was a nice win against a good Casey outfit,” he said.
“We were pretty happy to keep them to 250, given the average score on that ground is 270-280.
“In the second week you never know what you’re going to get with the wicket.”
There was a bit in the wicket with the Bulldogs finding themselves at 3-71.
Dylan Brasher and Travis Dean had both got starts. With the top order having dominated in recent weeks it was a good chance for the middle order to stand up.
“[Dean] Russy [Russ] and Dylan Kight put on a record fourth wicket partnership,” McDonald said.
“We’ve got great confidence in the batting line up and Russy and Dylan were able to spend some time in the middle.”
Russ finished 108 not out scoring his first century of the season. Despite limited opportunities this season, he is averaging 73.
McDonald said that was just his class showing through. Kight made 77.
While the batting line up has been getting a lot of the plaudits, McDonald was quick to reap praise on the bowling group.
“Our bowlers are working really hard as well,” he said. “We were able to keep them to under 250.
“We’ve been getting teams out for under that this year with the exception of Carlton, which we were able to bowl out.
“The bowling group is relentless with their pressure.”
There’s plenty of depth in the Bulldogs bowling attack too, with several players with first XI experience in that side.
McDonald said he had been impressed by the performance of Angus Price on the weekend, who took four wickets.
The first XI remains in second spot ahead of a clash with St Kilda.
In good signs for the Bulldogs, Dean was again in Victoria’s first XI which is playing this week.
Brasher was named in the second XI squad for the first time, rewarding his strong form this season.
