Tara Murray
Footscray made the most of the chance to give some batters some time in the middle in its win against Richmond in Victorian Premier Cricket.
After a few nervous moments early on Saturday with rain around the area, the Bulldogs top order were again dominant.
Chasing 162, the Bulldogs got the job done easily, finishing 2-168 in 62.4 overs.
Bulldogs coach Dale McDonald said they were a bit worried early on with the weather, but in the end there was never any doubt of getting on.
The Bulldogs resumed at 0-14.
“We were in a pretty good position,” he said.
“Sats [Daniel Sartori] and Dylan [Brasher] got off to a good start. Richmond has some really good premier bowlers.
“Mitch Perry is a state player and he gave us a bit of working over, which was a good opportunity and challenge for us.
“Brash made 60 and Sats got another start and then Mitch [Jamieson] and Dean [Russ] got some time in the middle.”
Russ chipped in with 54 not out, as all four batters got some time in the middle.
With the top order firing in recent weeks, the likes of Russ and Jamieson have had little time in the middle.
Captain Travis Dean, who normally bats at three, promoted Jamieson up the order to number three.
McDonald said Dean was big on trying to give all the batters some time in the middle and that he was happy to sacrifice his game to give Jamieson a bat.
“We’ve been lucky enough there hasn’t been a lot of wickets over the last few weeks,” he said.
“Neither had batted in premier cricket since the Kingston game.
“Russ made 50 odd which is nice for him, he’s batting well.
“Mitch made only 19 runs, but he faced 90 balls. He faced a fair bit of pressure after the break and he handled it well.”
Despite the rain, all but one premier game got a result.
The Bulldogs now sit second having won their last seven games. They sit four points behind Carlton, which they beat recently.
McDonald said the focus for them doesn’t change.
“There were a couple of big results,” he said. “Casey is still kept in the hunt and we play them this week.
“We then face St Kilda. It’s one week at a time, I know that sounds cliché. We’re in some really good form at the moment, but there’s always areas that we can improve.”
The Bulldogs second XI remains in the hunt for a top four position despite a loss on the weekend.
The Bulldogs were bowled out for just 166 in reply to Richmond’s 4-256.
Nathan Caulfield top scored with 77 and Aiman Nadeem made 46 in his second XI debut.
McDonald, while it was disappointing to lose, it was good to see some good individual results.
The Bulldogs sit in sixth, as does the third XI which was washed out on Saturday.
