Pressure builds on Bell Park bats to turn starts into big scores

BELL Park coach Mick Lymer concedes he has put the acid on his batsmen to perform after a “scratchy” start to the season.

As the Dragons prepare for a top-four clash against Highton, the side they downed in Tuesday night’s Geelong Ad- vertiser T20 Cup, Lymer warned that his top six were on notice.

“We just can’t get that one, big innings,” Lymer lamented.

“We’ve been getting lots of 30s. On the weekend against Marshall we’re chasing 220 and five guys got starts, but noone went on and we know we need to be better than that.

“That’s on the top six to say ‘30 isn’t good enough’. It’s got to be 80 or 100 because we’ve not going to chase any total with blokes making 30s.”

“Bowling is not a concern at the moment, we’ve got plenty of options, but it’s more the batting.”

Sitting third on the ladder, 11 points behind top side Torquay, Lymer admits his side has been inconsistent for much of the first half of the season.

“We’ve dropped a couple that we shouldn’t have and we’ve been scratchy, to be honest,” Lymer said.

“We had a couple of tight games, and to be sitting where we are, especially if we come away with a win against Highton, it’s not a bad result.

“I don’t think we’re playing our best cricket, but we’re getting the points, which is what’s counting at the moment.”

Bell Park and Highton will meet for the third time this season at Hamlyn Park on Saturday, with the clubs having shared the spoils already this season. The Dragons collected a 36-run win on Tuesday night, but the Heat reigned supreme back in Round 5 with a fourwicket win.

“They put us to the sword a couple of weeks ago,” Lymer said. “They’re just a good, allround team and we weren’t at our best on that day and we didn’t come away with the points.

“We’ll be looking to go into Christmas with a win, especially with how tight things are at the top. There’s five or six teams — and St Peter’s are pushing their way up the ladder — that are vying for that top four, so to grab a win in that one-dayer before Christmas would be spot on.”