Cat back with a bang

BRENTON McDonald wasted no time settling back into Premier cricket, snaring four wickets as Geelong banked its fourth-straight win.

McDonald, who returned after a four-week absence, bamboozled the Melbourne University line-up with his signature flipper to finish with 4-28 from 10 overs.

The Ryder medallist’s spell restricted Melbourne Uni to 196 from its 50 overs before Geelong reached the total with five wickets in hand and 10 overs to spare on the back of another brilliant knock from skipper Eamonn Vines.

Vines made 83 and partnered with Angus Boyd for a 174-run third-wicket stand to get the Cats over the line.

But it was McDonald’s wizardry with the ball that set up Geelong’s confidence-boosting win. “He’s just a proven pro and you can’t replace those players,” Cats coach Andre Borovec said of McDonald’s triumphant return.

“It was a flat wicket and he was able to use flight and changes of pace really cleverly to get his four wickets.

“A big reason for those wickets was the dot-ball pressure that he was able to build and he cashed in. “He’s got the ability to hit pads and bowl the flipper, which is a dangerous ball, and he got wickets with the ball that slides on.”

McDonald ripped the guts out of Melbourne Uni’s top order, removing set batsmen Andrew Young (26), Daniel Hutton (52) and James McNeil (33) before netting the prized scalp of Wes Agar for a golden duck.

“And Agar’s had a good few innings in the 50-over block where he’s come in and scored quickly to take Uni up to competitive scores.

“We identified that as a critical moment, getting him first ball, because they were pinning their hopes on him getting 20 or 30 quickly at the end.”

The Cats are brimming with self belief in recent weeks, having turned a winless start into a berth inside the top-eight at the end of the 50-over format.

“The confidence is building,” Borovec said.

“In the first three rounds we weren’t far off, and it’s easy to say that, but after sitting down with the group we’d made really big improvements with the bat. It was more execute with the ball and winning those crucial moments and in the last three weeks we’ve been able to do that. “We just had to believe that we were good enough.’’