Could the last session of Saturday’s play be the stimulus that ignites St Andrews-Footscray’s season in the VTCA west A1?
The Saints, who headed into the third round without a win, were seemingly at sea without a life jacket when they stumbled to a troubling 7-52 against growing rival Werribee Centrals on the road at Galvin Park.
An unwanted 0-3 record flashed before the eyes of all the Saints players as wickets fell at an alarming rate.
Then came the captain of the ship, Mark Rhodes.
Rhodes batted superbly with the tail for an innings saving 54 to push the Saints to a defendable 126.
Rhodes raised the bat on a half century after getting valuable assistance from veteran Tony Conti (16) and Malaysian import Hassan Muhammad (13).
“It was a captain’s knock,” Saints player-coach Phil Crea told Star Weekly.
“He stood up and knew how important this game was for us.
“It was a top innings, probably one of the best I’ve seen Rhodesy play since I’ve been at the club.”
What is troubling for St Andrews is the form of its top order.
For the third game in succession, the Saints seemed brittle at the top.
There is definitely scope for improvement in the Saints top order.
Their star player of last summer, Gihan Kankanamge, has made only three runs in two digs.
Kankanamge was a revelation last campaign with over 800 runs at 50 in all forms.
Where Kankanamge missed out with the bat, he made up for later in the day with the ball.
Werribee Centrals had 24 overs to face before stumps and they finished the day on 4-42 after losing 4-1 at one stage, sparked by Kankanamge (2-13) and Muhammad (2-12).
Crea was thrilled with the Saints fightback late in the day.
“Things haven’t gone our way but I don’t think it’s far away from our side turning the tide,” he said.
“We’ve just got to keep on believing and things will change.
“I said to our bowlers before we went out there, we bowl in the same channels as Centrals do, we’re confident we can keep them under 126.”
Elsewhere in west A1, Altona Roosters claimed first innings points over Sunshine Heights on a day when 23 wickets fell, but it was the only other action in the division with the rest of the games called off due to the morning rain. In senior division, Yarraville Club and Beaumaris was called off due to the weather.
The action was limited in the north-west division with Spotswood’s bout with Keilor Park and Altona North’s trip to PEGS reverting to a one-day affair next week.
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