By Ewen McRae
The Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division season is off to the perfect start for Yarraville Club, as they cashed in late in the day against Strathmore.
After being surprisingly sent in to bat, the Clubbers openers did the hard work early and kept wickets in hand, allowing the middle order to attack late in the day as they got to stumps at 5-325.
While star batsman Will Sheridan hit 104 at close to a run-a-ball, it was the hard work of openers Aaron Cheesley (64) and James Damjanovski (52) that laid the platform for the big total.
Captain Trent Lawford said he was hoping to bat, and praised the work of his top order.
“It was almost the perfect day,” Lawford said.
“I was surprised they sent us in. I looked at the pitch and had planned to bat, so when Strathmore said they’d bowl I felt like I’d won the toss anyway.
“Young Aaron, just 21-years-old, made his first 50 in first XI cricket, and with Damjanovski they put on 120 for the first wicket, so they did the hard work early.
PHOTO GALLERY: Yarraville Club vs Strathmore
“Strathmore bowled really well, but we left wickets in hand and then cashed in at the end of the day. We wouldn’t have been able to get that score if the boys didn’t do the hard yards early on.”
While both Cheesley and Damjanovski fell close together, Sheridan showed his years of experience to combine with Andrew Cullen (29), Lawford (31) and Jaspreet Bhatti (39) through the rest of the day to keep the scoreboard ticking over rapidly.
Sheridan raised the bat late in the day, remaining unbeaten at the close of play as the Clubbers showed they would once again be among the contenders this summer.
Lawford said the mix of experience and youth in the side this year would stand them in good stead, with five players making their first XI debuts for the club at the weekend.
“We’ve obviously got some senior guys, but we’ve also got some young guys pushing up from the twos and some new guys coming to the club as well,” he said.
“Aaron Cheesley has been at the club for a while but is making a mark now, young Connor Poulton the keeper is just 16, Jaspreet [Bhatti] has moved from New Zealand and is straight into the ones, so there’s some new faces to get used to and liven up the group.
“It’s a different look team, but we’ve put in a lot of work and the rewards are there to see so far.
“There’s still a long way to go, even in this game, but with runs on the board now we can attack for a lot longer in the field, and we know that we’re going to have to be patient and take our chances.
“It’s a very successful club, and we do expect success, but all we can do is turn up each week and make sure we compete and hopefully that’s good enough each game.”
