By Tara Murray
Sunbury fought hard to put itself in a solid position heading into the final day of play before the Christmas break in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association Steve McNamara Shield.
After a tough couple of weeks, the Roar showed plenty of fight against Grand United on day one on Saturday.
The Roar’s Marty Kelders said it was a real positive day of cricket after a tough start to the day.
He said it was a really good day of cricket to watch.
“We had them under pressure for most of the day and were going quite well,” he said. “We lost Kyle Concaron, one of our main bowlers early.
“He was going for a catch and cut his knee and had to go to hospital. We spent most of the day a person down and he is one of our main bowlers.
“It could have been a bit better, but it’s fairly even between the two teams. I thought they batted well towards the end when the wicket flattened out a bit.”
Grand United was bowled out for 209 in the 71st over.
Jason McGann took four wickets for the Roar, while Ashan Ranaweera took three wickets.
Kelders said that Virosh Wijesinghe was one that keeps showing some really good signs.
“He bowled really well and took some key wickets early in the day.”
The Roar then had to face six overs at the end of the day.
Despite its troubles with the bat this season, the Roar managed to get through unscathed and will resume at 0-9.
Among those opening is 17-year-old Sandil Wijesooriya, who Kelders said was showing some really bright signs for the future
“We want to give the younger player the opportunity,’ he said. “That is where we are at and want to give them that experience.”
Kelders said he thought the match was evenly poised heading into day two.
He said if they bat well they were confident they could get the win on the board.
“I can’t see any reason why we can’t get the runs with the bowlers that we have got,” he said. “Hopefully it can kick start things. We have a few more home games after Christmas.”
Roar’s second side, which is on top of the ladder, is in trouble against Grand United.
The Roar was bowled out for 6, with the Gorillas to resume at 0-23.
Kelders said the pitch wasn’t where they wanted it to be and it was hard to make runs.
Meanwhile in the T20 competition, Sunbury was no match for St Albans on Tuesday night.
The Saints made 3-189 with John Moon top scoring with 59.
The Roar finished 7-90 in reply. Jack McGann top scored with 33. Akila Isanka and Daniel Blatherwick took three wickets each.
The Roar has a 2-1 record and will play the rest of its games in the new year.
