Footscray Edgewater coach Steve Chapman has thrown his support behind the Bush Bash concept.
Premier Cricket clubs hit the road at the weekend to play two Twenty20 matches each at country venues including Ballarat, Cobram, Moe, Morwell, Port Fairy, Swan Hill and Warrnambool.
The Bulldogs featured in matches against Essendon and Prahran at Avery’s Paddock in Port Fairy on Saturday before moving on to nearby Warrnambool to host a cricket clinic on Sunday.
“It’s always nice when you can get on different grounds and experience different wickets and different sort of cultures,” Chapman said.
He said it was good to see Port Fairy’s younger players enjoying the opportunity.
“Their young players were up and about,” he said. “There were a couple of lads today playing who are high-profile cricketers and everybody who was approached had time to chat. It’s a good initiative.”
The impact on the overall standings was not as significant this season. Last year, the Bush Bash attracted four points for a win, but clubs felt that was too much of a premium for the shorter format when only six points are up for grabs for a first-innings result in a two-day game.
Still, the Bulldogs managed to claim victories in both of their T20 games and leapt up a place in the standings.
“It’s enough to see us go second,” Chapman said. “Significantly, it’s the euphoria of another win in the dressing room – we’ve had two wins today, so doubly so.”
Bush Bash
Game 1
Footscray Edgewater 8-124 d Essendon 7-116
Footscray Edgewater scored at a rate better than a run-a-ball after being sent in to bat. Michael Hill (33) and Travis Dean (32) led the way for the Bulldogs, with Hill clearing the rope on two occasions. Essendon lost wickets far too regularly in its run chase, eventually falling short by eight runs. Sri Lankan import Shanuka Dissanayake took 2-15 off four overs for the Bulldogs. “He’s settling in quite nicely,” Bulldogs coach Steve Chapman said.
Game 2
Footscray Edgewater 3-138 d Prahran 8-133
The Bulldogs scoring rate of a tick under seven runs an over was never going to produce an easy run chase for Prahran. Dylan Kight (50) scored the only half century for the day on a testing pitch for the batting sides. “He was classy, Chapman said. “The wicket suited how he played, sweeping and sitting back and cutting, all the horizontal shots he played nicely.” Prahran put up a mighty effort before falling short by five runs. Travis Dean, who made 35 not out to go with 32 in game one, took 2-29 in an impressive showing.
