Cats out of flag race
Aussie star Maxwell powers Lions to 76-run win
A GUTTED Geelong bowed out of the premiership race yesterday, suffering a 76-run loss to reigning champions Fitzroy Doncaster.
With Australian Test and one-day star Glenn Maxwell brought into the Lions’ side at the halfway mark of the game, Geelong suffered a stunning collapse to be all out for 110 in chase of 185 at Schramms Reserve.
Maxwell claimed one of those wickets — trapping Corey Ogle LBW — as the Cats fell from 3-44 overnight to be routed shortly after lunch on day two.
After addressing his players post match, Geelong coach Andre Borovec admitted his side would rue missed opportunities, having restricting the powerful Lions’ line-up to 5-81 the previous day.
“When your performance is 100 per cent clean, you’ve got nothing to think about, but it just wasn’t our day,” Borovec said.
“We won two sessions yesterday (Saturday) and we were extremely close to winning the third session, or at least squaring it.
“We just lost one extra wicket overnight, which I thought was critical. There’s that tinge of regret looking back, knowing our performance wasn’t quite good enough.”
That wicket was the prized scalp of skipper Eamonn Vines, who was adjudged caught behind close to stumps when the ball clipped his pad.
With Tim Ludeman and Angus Boyd in charge of the rescue mission, Lions’ seamer Matt Frith cut through the middle order to leave Geelong’s chase in tatters at 6-72.
Luke Inglis (17), Dom McGlinchey (19) and Brody Couch (15) offered some resistance, but ultimately the task was too much for Geelong.
Fitzroy’s win wasn’t without its problems, with a Brenton McDonald five-wicket haul leaving the home side in despite trouble on the first afternoon.
But like good sides do, the Lions found a way to a competitive total.
“They’ve got good batting depth and we thought it was an opportunity for us because they haven’t needed that batting depth in recent weeks,” Borovec said.
“They hadn’t been tested and we certainly tested them, but they passed it.
“They got 185, and on that ground, it felt a hell of a lot more than that so it was always going to be a tough chase.”
Borovec admitted the class of Fitzroy — a side gunning for a three-peat — was the difference.
“The wicket balls in big moments (were the difference),” he said.
“I thought our approach was good, but they kept delivering. When you look at their attack, they managed to produce wicket-taking balls at the time.
“I don’t think there was anything around our game plan that went wrong, other than denying them those moments.
“Unfortunately there were a few balls that had our names on it. They just did it more regularly than us.”
Borovec said it was difficult to judge how much of an influence Maxwell had in a limited period of the game, but conceded it was a major morale boost for the opposition.
“It’s a hard one,” Borovec said.
“The challenge was always going to be the seam bowling, because they showed the night before what they could do with the ball both in the air and off the pitch. So if we had wickets in hand we were going to attack the spin a bit more, but the tide of the game had changed by the time he came on.
“He struck, so he had an impact. He certainly didn’t hurt their chances.” AT SCHRAMMS RESERVE