Dominant Vikings send warning to competition
AT VIKINGS 8-274 CORIO 161
ALEXANDER Thomson sent an ominous warning to the competition with a dominant 113-run victory over Corio.
Winning the toss and batting, Jack Clapham blasted 81 not out from No. 7 to help the Vikings along to a powerful 274 in their one-day clash at Highton Reserve.
The total was never in Corio’s grasp as the Devils were bowled out in the 43rd over for 161 after the Vikings ripped through the lower order.
“Our start with Jake (Mundy) and Bailey (Forssman) got us off to a good start at 1-72,” Alexander Thomson captain Jay Dunstan said.
“It really set us up at the end to let Jack do what he does.
“Our batting was very, very good. Our depth in the order was very strong with ‘Clappo’ coming in at seven and ‘Bucky’ (Luke Buckland) at the top of the order with Jake and Bailey.
“It made a really good performance by the lads.”
Mundy (38) and Forssman (40) set the foundations, before Buckland crafted 43 with two sixes in his first game in Vikings colours. Clapham then exploded at the back-end of the innings, smashing eight boundaries and five sixes in a stunning finish.
Corio’s Matt De’vries was the pick of the bowlers with 4-51 off his 10 overs.
“It was very clean hitting, even his fours,” Dunstan said of the Clapham innings.
“There was no stopping them, even on our ground. He stays down the order but he is a bit of a floater.
“If we need quick runs he’ll go up, but we’ve got batsmen in the top order who are very capable of hitting big balls too.”
In reply, Corio captaincoach Anthony Grace played a lone hand, making 64 from 57 deliveries to again underline his ability as one of the division’s best batsmen.
But Buckland (3-31 off 10 overs) and James Mewett (3-48 off nine) shared six wickets between them to ensure the Vikings would start their season off on the right note.