Bulls no bother for Roos
Openers lead charge
BARRABOOL 101
ANGLESEA 4-198
BARRABOOL’S horror start to the season has continued, with reigning premier Anglesea sending the Bulls crashing to the bottom of the ladder.
The Roos romped to a healthy 97-run win at Ceres Recreation Reserve to climb to the top of the ladder while compounding Barrabool’s winless start to the season.
Anglesea opted to bat first after winning the toss, with Tyron Norman backing up his half-century last weekend with another fine knock of 83 at the top of the innings.
His opening partner, Ned Cooper, also cashed in on the dispirited Bulls bowling attack, with a patient 64 in an opening stand of 139, which was finally broken with a run out.
The pair combined for 20 boundaries in their respective innings on the slow Barrabool ground, clearing the rope four times.
For the second week in succession, James Jirik was the only Bulls bowler to take a wicket, finishing with 3-36 from seven tidy overs to back up an impressive 5-23 in his last outing.
Some late-order scurry saw the Roos close out their 40over innings at 4-198, leaving Barrabool with a mammoth task for an out of sorts batting group.
Anglesea’s tearaway opening bowler Dale Kerr was restricted to a short run up after a minor leg injury while batting and Jack Purcell (16) and Kane Pickering (14) took advantage to build a solid base for the Bulls’ reply.
But when both players fell with the score at 33, the fragile middle order was exposed and Joseph Lynch (3-36) and Brett Harding (2-26) quickly cut through to have the home team reeling at 7-101.
Brett Venables (2-0) and Dylan Taylor (1-0) then entered the attack to snuff out the challenge in the space of 10 balls without further addition to the score.
Back in its familiar position at the top of the table, Anglesea will next take on the plucky Inverleigh on its home deck, while it will be a soul-searching week for Barrabool which now faces a must-win trip to take on a young, enthusiastic Queenscliff outfit full of self-belief after successive wins over more fancied opposition.
Another loss with almost certainly put Barrabool out of contention.