Bowler reveals batting skills at right time
NUMBER 11 batsman Josh Bourke was the late hero for Geelong West as he helped the Rams seal a thrilling onewicket win over Modewarre at West Oval.
With three runs required and star bat Sam Loftus still at the crease, a Geelong West victory seemed assured.
But Loftus’s dismissal for 108 left Sam Kelly and Burke to take up the slack.
Nine nervy balls later, No.11 Bourke flayed Alex Bowd (2-39 off 7.5 overs) through cover for three to net a famous victory.
“I’ve never seen him play that shot before in my life,” a joking Geelong West skipper Chris Martin said.
“He just blitzed it through cover and got the job done. As long as Sam (Loftus) was in I was pretty confident, but when he went I was nervy. Thankfully, the two boys could do it.”
Loftus was the only Geelong West batsman to pass 17.
He was particularly aggressive on anything short, bringing up his ton off 116 balls.
Martin, while praising Loftus’s innings, rejected suggestions his team would be left short if their star bat did fail.
“I think if he does miss out, we’ve definitely got batsman who can score runs,” he said.
“A couple more probably do need to capitalise a bit more for us, but I’m still very confident.”
Earlier, the Rams bowled Modewarre out for 186 with opener Jack Hosking crashing 82 off 94 balls.
Kelly claimed Hosking’s wicket and went on to finish with 4-29 off 8.1 overs.
Martin believed 186 was a competitive total, and when his side was 3-38, those feelings were accentuated
“I rate their bowling attack, they’re going to be one of the contenders,” he said.
“If you bat first and make that score you’re going to be happy with it. It was in the balance. We were lucky (Kelly and Bourke) did the job for us.”