By Oliver Lees
Sunbury Cricket Club president Brendan Doyle remains confident his side can turn it around despite a slow start in division 3 of the Victorian Turf Cricket Association.
After round five, Sunbury sit in eighth position on the ladder with one win, one draw and two losses.
Doyle said the team was yet to hit its stride with several players unavailable for selection.
“Don’t get me wrong, we want a few more wins, but it’s not panic stations yet,” he said.
“I think the comp is quite close. There’s only been quite a small margin of error, and unfortunately we’ve been on the wrong side.
“Our bowling has led the way, but we’ve got some things to work on with the bat.”
Sunbury played a double-header on the weekend to make up for the loss of round one.
Doyle’s side fell in both contests, with no Sunbury batsmen able to make more than 26.
In its first contest against Point Cook, Sunbury posted 102 runs, with opponents Point Cook bowling taking all 10 wickets in 32 overs.
Justin Nelson and Paul Webber managed an opening partnership of 45, but that promise would prove to be short lived, as Point Cook tore through Sunbury’s middle order in quick fashion.
The next day Sunbury came out strong after losing the toss, limiting Williamstown to 110 from 36 overs.
On a grim day for Point Cook’s top order, Nrip Parmar was able to salvage some respectability on the scorecard, making 50 from just 54 coming in at number eight.
Last season’s division 4 VTCA best and fairest winner Jason McGann led Sunbury’s attack with five wickets from his eight overs.
But it was a similar story to the day prior for Sunbury with bat in hand. The opening partnership was quickly severed when Paul Webber was bowled without scoring on his fourth delivery.
Scott Phillips proved to be the match winner for Williamstown. Phillips took four wickets and allowed just nine runs in his six over spell.
Doyle said Sunbury was without batsmen Michael Fox, who had dislocated his shoulder.
“It’s been a bit of a perfect storm, there’s no question we’d like to be in a better position,” he said.
“We still feel we have the right personnel, it’s just about getting some unity and some games under the belt.”
Since moving from the Gisborne District Cricket Association (GDCA) to division 5 of the VTCA two years ago, Sunbury has been promoted twice following back-to-back premiership wins.
Doyle said the team was looking forward to playing some two-day matches, which he believes better suits their style of play.
