Demons get first win | Northern

Tara Murray

Tullamarine scored a much-needed confidence-boosting victory in Division 1 of the Victorian Turf Cricket Association on Saturday.

The Demons were winless in their first six games and started the Christmas break with fewer wins.

However, on Saturday, despite some nervous moments, the Demons kept their nerve to beat Sunshine.

President and first XI player Justin Shield said they hoped the win would boost their season.

“We were 0-6 so it’s really good to win against a top four side like Sunshine,” he said.

“Our Captain David [Scott] said last week we’ve been in every single game but have had 10 overs miss out where we’ve been out.

“That was the most complete 80 overs we’ve played this season. Hopefully we can take some momentum with us into next year.”

Sunshine won Saturday’s draw and opted for the bat. The Crows quickly went from 0-37 to 4-39. Wickets continued to flow throughout the innings as they were restricted to 9-140.

Shield said that was a figure they were quite happy with.

“With Sunshine they have it [Kaushal] Lokuarachchi at the head of the order, which was the key,” he said.

“Gian [Kankanamge] got the first ball with a caught and bowled ball. We knew we were in for a great opportunity after that.

“We bowled well and the other opener took 23 or 24 balls to hit the bull’s eye. There were about 180-190 on this deck, so they were missing 40-50 runs

Kankanamge ended with three wickets for the Demons.

Shield said they were fairly confident of being able to pull off those runs, even when game coach Danny Law, who was in fine form, retired early.

At 4-118, the Demons looked set to win, but there was another twist in the rear.

Shield said there were some nerves.

“Our middle order stood up and showed some composure to get close to the goal,” he said.

“We have this habit of collapsing in back-to-back overs and losing quick wickets, we need to work on that.

“We just managed to win and hope that we can build some momentum.”

Scott played a Captain’s Knock and didn’t finish 44 as the Demons finished 8-141.

The Demons remain bottom of the table, but the gap to the top 4 is now 15 points. The Demons have played a game fewer than most teams.

They will play this catch-up game against West Coburg on January 8 after playing against Sydenham-Hillside the day before.

Shield said they took a lot of confidence from those two games, knowing it could set up their season.

In the senior class, Craigieburn is third at half-time after beating Keilor on Saturday.

The Blues were bowled out for 166 with Zac Orr and Waduwidanalage Rangika taking three wickets each.

The Eagles got the job and finished 6-170 with Sammy Laffan not out at 50.

Westmeadows has work to do in the second half of the season and is sitting bottom.

The Warriors, who were deprived of points for their win over Keilor, lost to St Albans on Saturday.

The Warriors went 5-218 before St Albans went 3-224 in response.