MULGRAVE BATS FIND FORM
PREMIERSHIP favourites Mulgrave have convincingly defeated Barron, with skipper Marcus McGregor-Cassady finding some much-needed form on a slow wicket at Griffiths Park on Saturday.
Mulgrave reached United’s total with six wickets in hand in the two-day match, with Justin Reid and Neville Philp providing solid top-order contributions.
But a much-need half century from McGregor-Cassady off 123 balls was the highlight of the second day for Mulgrave. Mulgrave’s Jacob Stanton said the luxury of chasing a low total gave several top-order players the chance to bat themselves in.
“Reidy (44 runs) got us off to a really good start, which was probably the difference between the two teams,” Stan- ton said.
“We weren’t in any rush and (knew we) could control the pace of the innings.
“Neville and Marcus got some good time in the middle too.
“As far as the ladder goes, we’re well placed, but we’re certainly not playing our best cricket. We’ve got plenty of room for improvement.”
United skipper Cameron Davis said quality bowling from the likes of all-rounder Linden March went unrewarded on the day.
“We just couldn’t get wickets,” Davis said.
“Reidy threw caution to the wind and got some runs early. He hit a lot of balls in the air and got away with it a little bit.
“We were able to put the brakes on but didn’t get there.
“It was definitely a bowlerfriendly wicket. I think that was because of the rain that’s been around, which made the outfield quite slow as well.”
Davis said Mulgrave were still the team to beat this season.
“They have a great culture and have a lot of players who’ve won before,” he said.
“Any time they’ve struggled in the past, they’ve found a way to get out of it.
“I’ve watched them over the last few years and they’re still the benchmark.
“Their batsmen probably aren’t in great form but they’re still winning. Roachy (Jake Roach) is probably the best player in the competition.”
Mulgrave will take on Barron next week without Roach’s services due to North Queensland representative duties.
“They’ll be good, they gave Norths a good game at the weekend,” Stanton said of his upcoming opponents. We’ll be missing a few key players, so it should be a really good game.”
I’VE WATCHED THEM OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS AND THEY’RE STILL THE BENCHMARK
............................................... 0 .......................................... 1 ........................................ 31 ........................... 2 ................... 8 6 Overs:55.1 113 B Edwards24-1-3-34, B Newman9-4-0-25, L Ford3.021500, T Lever17.1-3-4-34,, J Chadwick20-1-6 .......... 0 ..... 19 .... 2 ........................ 0 .......................................... 47 ....................... 18