It was a mixed bag of results at the weekend for defending champion Footscray Edgewater in Victorian Premier Cricket.
The Bulldogs had to be content to split their cracking doubleheader of one-day games with a win and a loss.
First up, the Dogs made it three wins to start the season by staving off a gallant Northcote in a thriller by 11 runs at the Merv Hughes Oval on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours later, the good vibes were wiped out by a fired-up Essendon, which exacted revenge in a grand final rematch at Windy Hill with a 36-run win in the Sunday match of the day.
So the Bulldogs’ six-game winning streak, dating back to last season’s finals series, came to an end.
Bulldogs slay Dragons
Footscray Edgewater could not have asked for a better start against Northcote with openers James Crosthwaite (108) and Dean Russ (79) combining for a 185-run stand.
Crosthwaite revealed to
Star Weekly during the week his desire to form an unbreakable left hand-right hand combination with Russ.
They certainly got the chemistry right on this occasion.
In the Bulldogs’ haste to get quick runs before the end of their 50 overs, they lost a succession of wickets late but still got to a competitive 8-243, with Anthony Barton (20 not out) and Ben Green (14) providing cameos.
The Bulldogs defended their score by 11 runs, restricting Northcote to 5-232 from its allotted 50 overs.
Containment was the key to the Dogs’ win, with new-ball operators Jake Haberfield (1-43 off 10) and Hamish Winter-Irving (1-38 off 8.5) setting the tone.
Dogs suffer first loss
The two best sides in the competition in the past 12 months locked horns at Windy Hill, with champion side Footscray Edgewater keen to stand its ground and Essendon eager to prove a point after last year’s grand final loss.
The Bombers made their presence felt with an impressive 5-265 from their 50 overs, with boom recruit Aidan Blizzard leading the way with 79 not out, his third half-century in as many digs since joining the Dons.
For the second day in a row, the Bulldogs didn’t have a multiple wicket-taker. Spinner Kelly was pick of the bunch with 1-35 off 10. The inability of the Bulldogs to eat into
the lower order saw them chasing the heavy total.
Their response was positive early, with Crosthwaite (51) and Russ (34) producing an 85-run first-wicket stand before in-form Travis Dean fired with 62 not out.
With the exception of Hamish Winter-Irving, who provided 56 in the middle order, the rest of the side crumbled around Dean. The innings’ stop-start nature had the Dogs falling short by 36 runs: 8-239 from their 50 overs.
The Bulldogs will play the last of five one-day matches, against Carlton at Merv Hughes Oval, on Saturday.
