Tara Murray
Sunbury is hoping to turn it around quickly in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association division 3 competition.
The Roar is without a win after the first three rounds, which includes a washout, despite having strengthened its squad during the off season.
Roar president Brendan Doyle said it had been a disappointing start for the side.
“It’s a little bit surprising,” he said. “We went into the season with confidence in the recruits we had got in.
“We can’t blame lack of training [due to the weather] as every club has had that. We’ve had a few players unavailable the last couple of weeks, so the team hasn’t been 100 per cent.”
While it was the bowling that let the side down in round one, it was the batting that was the issue on Saturday in Glenroy.
In difficult bowling conditions, the Roar restricted Glenroy to 7-144 from its 40 overs. Michael and Stephen Treweek, and Jason McGann took two wickets each for the Roar.
The Roar was in trouble at 3-5 and the wickets continued to fall as it was bowled out for 110 in the 36th over.
Doyle said they thought they could have chased those runs down.
“We have signed three recruits Kev [Barker], Jace [Carton] and Sajith [Kalumpriya] who scored seven runs collectively, which will always have an impact on the end score.
“We look to have our premier batters getting scores. Yesterday was not one of those days.”
Doyle said they would have liked to have been off to a better start, but have a number of one-day matches in the lead up to Christmas where they can get their season back on track.
While the first XI had a tough day, it was a pretty special day for the club as the second XI played at Clarke Oval, the first match on the new turf wicket.
Doyle said it was a pretty emotional day for him and the club after years of waiting for this moment.
“It has been a long process,” he said. “Mid-2018 Steve McNamara came to and asked if we wanted to join the VTCA.
“It’s been frustrating with COVID, weather, funding and delays. It’s been a long journey so to see the first ball bowled was quite emotional and really rewarding for everyone at the club who has put into this.”
The first XI, which was meant to play at the ground the previous week before it was washed out, is set to face Pascoe Vale Hadfield on Saturday.
Doyle said it would hopefully be a good match with the pitch having something in it for both the bowlers and the batters.
