SWANS ON SONG

SOUTH Barwon holds the upper hand in its contest with Grovedale after demolishing the Tigers for just 111, and now needs just 65 more runs with seven wickets in hand.

A devastating early spell from Swans pair Joel Davies and Lewis Sharp had the Tigers reeling at 6-22 before all-rounder Gareth Yelland and skipper Barry Tsitas set about resurrecting the innings with an aggressive approach with the willow.

“Joel set the tone early, moved the ball around and it was followed up by ‘Sharpy’ who kept it tight and built pressure,” Swans captain Terry Hill said.

“I think at that time of the game it was pretty difficult to bat and we played our role pretty well, and also supported our bowlers pretty well.”

Yelland struck a six and three boundaries in a 26-ball 21 as he sought to counter the impact of the swinging and seaming ball, while Tsitas threw his weight behind the Tigers’ counterpunch with a 31-ball 27. Grovedale clawed its way to 9-70, before the leading innings of the day from second-game player Lachlan Hornibrook.

With the movement of the ball through the air reduced, Hornibrook, in conjunction with Tsitas, and more significantly Dylan Taylor ( 9 not out), extended the Tigers’ innings by and hour and stretched the score to a far more presentable 111.

“I was really impressed with him (Hornibrook),” Hill said.

“His temperament was good when he came out.

“They could have collapsed for 70, really so I thought for a 16-year-old to come in and get them up to a competitive total would’ve been pleasing for them.”

Davies and Sharp used the atmospheric conditions to their advantage as the visitors to South Barwon Reserve persisted in going hard at the ball with Davies claiming 5-47 and the Englishman 4-50.

With 30 overs to see out the rainaffected day, South’s response began in a flurry of action. Chris Young (2-15) removed Davies without a score on the board, while the illnesshampered Phil Lang seized on anything within reach as he sought to make his brief time at the crease count.

Lang raced to 20 in 18 balls before becoming Young’s second victim thanks to the safe hands of Tsitas at slip.

With South’s early hopes of a week one result dashed by the loss of its two best batsmen, Jordan Rossi and Luke Brown set about putting up the shutters before the latter’s unfortunate demise after 31 minutes at the crease.

Dropping a Dylan Taylor delivery at his feet, Brown’s frantic attempt to prevent the ball from rolling back onto his stumps saw him contact the woodwork and dislodge a bail, dismissed for 11.

That saw Jack Spence (10 not out) join Rossi (6 not out) for a gritty final hour through to stumps.

“That was a good indication of their mental strength and how they’ve improved over time,” Hill said.

“It was a hard day’s cricket and I’m really proud of all the boys and how they went about it.”