FOOTSCRAY Edgewater toiled hard in the field to no avail, losing to Melbourne by five wickets in Victorian Premier Cricket at Merv Hughes Oval on Saturday.
The Bulldogs set about defending a modest total of 242, but their hopes were snuffed out by a fine performance from Demons opening batsman Mathew Begbie (99) and cameos from Michael Hill (47) and Brenton McDonald (43).
Travis Dean was the stand-out with the ball for the Bulldogs, taking 2-28 off a marathon 20 overs. Ben Green snared the wicket of Begbie, one short of what would have been his maiden first XI century at the level.
The Bulldogs, now 12th on the table, will be hoping to turn their form around at the annual Bush Bash on Saturday. They will be rocking the regional city of Horsham for two Twenty20s against Geelong (2pm) and Essendon (7pm).
Premier Cricket
Firsts: Footscray Edgewater 242 (D Kight 81 M Kelliher 78) lt Melbourne 5-244 (T Dean 2-28).
Seconds: Melbourne 5-330 (T Wright 2-81) d Footscray Edgewater 328 (G Walker 103 J Freeman 59 G Sheehan 53 S Hollins 41no).
Thirds: Footscray Edgewater 107 and 172 (S Douglas 52 A Beniwal 30) lt Melbourne 4-115dec (M Tomkinson 45no B Huf 45).
Fourths: Melbourne 5-264 (M Kip 2-51) d Footscray Edgewater 6-260dec (R Clements 83 R Allada 34 A Korsak 31).
