Tim’s in the mix

Chance for ‘Gades call-up

GEELONG opener Tim Ludeman has batted his way back into calculations for a Melbourne Renegades recall with a stirring 93 in Victorian Premier Cricket on Saturday.

Ludeman played the first three matches for the ’Gades in the BBL but only managed a high score of 10 and ultimately lost his place in the line-up after averaging 6.7 from his three knocks.

But his innings on Saturday against Fitzroy-Doncaster would have been exactly the type of display that Melbourne coach Andrew McDonald would have been after from the dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman, which was enough to guide the Cats to a comfortable seven-wicket victory.

Geelong coach Liam Buchanan said it was pleasing for Ludeman to find form after a lean patch with the bat.

“It was really good and it was a tough wicket to bat on, so for someone like Tim to come out and score quite quickly, it broke the game open in the second half,” Buchanan said.

“He hit the ball very cleanly and while it was quite hard for most people to score all day, Tim scored really fast in the first 10 overs and really set-up the platform for us to coast to an easy win.

“He did some really hard work at the top of the order and that would have to help him. Obviously Tim wasn’t in the greatest form with the bat in the first couple of games (in the BBL), which was disappointing, but it is good for him to make runs if there is a spot available.

“If someone is not scoring runs then Andrew McDonald knows that Tim is hitting the ball well now and any form is good form when you are mak- ing runs, so it definitely keeps Tim fresh in Andrew’s mind.”

Ludeman was well supported by Hayden Butterworth in the run chase, with his unbeaten 75 coming from just 99 balls.

Paceman Jake Reed produced his best spell of bowling since November, claiming 3-45, and Buchanan said the Geelong attack had read the conditions perfectly.

“Jake bowled really well, but the bowlers were all really good,” Buchanan said. “Jake and Dom McGlinchey (1-33) summed up the wicket really well and banged away back of a length. It was very difficult for the batsmen to score so they both did really well.”

Geelong hosts bottomplaced Kingston-Hawthorn on Saturday.