A five-wicket haul by speedster Andrew McCammond wasn’t enough to lift Altona over the line in its opening-round Sub-District cricket match against Hoppers Crossing on Saturday.
After batting first on day one – the new AFL grand final public holiday – the A’s were bowled out for 167, with only two batsmen able to get themselves in against the Cats’ attack.
Captain Shane Jones smashed 85, while tailender Stefan Sidari came to the rescue with a vital 41 to ensure Altona reached a competitive total.
Play resumed at Frank Kirk Oval on Saturday, and again the bowlers had the ascendancy.
Hoppers Crossing’s top five batsmen all reached double figures, but only William Partington-Gardner was able to go on with the job, making 73 to guide his side to 6-131. The Cats required one more fighting effort with the bat if they were to chase down the target and it came in the form of 21 from Justin Goegan.
The wicketkeeper combined for small partnerships with Tawalampolage Darshanapriya, Brett Smith and Mitchell Ellis to secure the win for the loss of eight wickets.
Although his side came up short with the ball, McCammond was outstanding for Altona, removing three of Hoppers Crossing’s top six to claim 5-54.
Also impressive for the bowling side was James Grubb (3-38).
Saturday’s win is the perfect start to the season for Hoppers Crossing, which crossed over from Victorian Turf to Sub-District in the off-season.
Altona will look to get onto the winners’ list when it takes on Malvern this weekend, while Hoppers Crossing will enjoy its first home Sub- District match against Yarraville.
Meanwhile, it was a third grade disaster for Altona, with the A’s bowled out for just 37 and Hoppers Crossing chasing down the required runs in 12 overs.
Elsewhere in Sub-District, Werribee’s powerful batting line-up carried it to a dominant win over Yarraville.
The Tigers were always in the box seat after smashing 3-306 on day one. Brothers Matthew and Shaun Dean were the stars, making 132 and 91 respectively.
With so many runs on the board, the Tigers bowlers were in all-out attack mode for day two on Saturday.
It was the perfect start for first year captain- coach Mitchell Johnstone, who took 5-32 from 19 overs.
Aangan Parbhakar was the other multiple wicket taker, claiming 2-32.
Yarraville was eventually bowled out for 122, giving Werribee a win by 184 runs.
In other round one results, Ormond smashed Sunshine, Williamstown went down to Oakleigh, and Moorabbin defeated Melton.
