Tara Murray
Footscray coach Dale McDonald has not seen many wins better than his side’s victory against Carlton in Victorian Premier Cricket on the weekend.
Facing one of the competition’s pace setters of the last few years, the Bulldogs showed their class with the bat on Sunday.
For McDonald, the match was one where his side lifted the bar to come away with the win.
“It was an outstanding win,” he said. “It was amazing, I haven’t seen too many better games than that.
“They have been a benchmark in the competition for a number of years, we had to grind away.”
Carlton finished day one with 271 on the board. It decided to bat on the next day, batting an extra six overs and reducing the amount of time the Bulldogs had to chase down the runs.
Carlton finally declared at 9-310.
Jake Reed took three wickets for the Bulldogs.
McDonald said it wasn’t the easiest day in the field for the side.
“They batted on for an extra six overs which they are allowed to do in two-day cricket,” he said.
“Our bowlers worked really hard and they had to grind away.
“The boys worked pretty hard and were buggered after 96 overs in the field.”
The Bulldogs were left with 81 overs to get the runs, with Carlton having a strong bowling attack.
The Bulldogs would need just 73.2 overs as Dylan Brasher and Travis Dean put on a show.
The pair put on 216 for the second wicket. The Bulldogs would finish 3-331.
McDonald said it was amazing to watch.
Brasher finished with 148 backing up his performance the round before when he just fell short of making 100.
McDonald said this was a performance they knew that Brasher could play.
“He has turned a corner,” he said. “He has just over 500 runs in eight games this year, his form of late has been outstanding.
“He’s showing a lot of maturity. He was getting lower scores and now he’s turning them into big totals.
“To get 148 is outstanding.”
Dean finished with 116 off just 128 balls. McDonald said the Victorian batter showed his class and experience.
“It was great leadership by Travis. It was really good to sit and watch them bat.
“He guided Dylan through his innings which was outstanding. The partnership was one short of a club record.”
The runs continue a good season with the bat for the Bulldogs, with four players averaging more than 40 runs a game.
The win and other results move the Bulldogs to second on the ladder. McDonald said they need to keep raising the bar.
This week they face Richmond.
It will be a big day for Daniel Sartori who plays his 250th game. It will be against his old side.
McDonald said from a club perspective things were tracking along really well, with four wins and a tie on the weekend.
Their fourth XI has moved up to 16th on the ladder, with McDonald saying they were thrilled with how the development side was going.
The club also had four players part of Victorian teams at the recent under-17 national titles. All four will be back in the club’s Dowling Shield side this week.
