By Jonty Ralphsmith
One player missing from Heinz Southern Districts’ line-up in its 10-wicket loss to Beaconsfield was skipper Craig Hookey.
After a lean run with the bat, Hookey dropped himself down to the twos to find some form.
Prior to the weekend he had 14 runs from five hits with a high score of just six.
Bowling first in the twos, Hookey got a trundle and was effective with his tweakers, finishing with 4/15 off eight overs as Beaconsfield was bowled out for 100.
He then spent more than 20 overs in the middle, facing 60 balls for his 22 in HSD’s six-wicket win.
“It had to happen eventually,” Hookey said.
“It’s no secret that I need two-day cricket to have an impact on the game and have opportunities.
“It just hasn’t gone my way a little bit, I don’t put it down to too much.”
Hookey said he would return to the First XI for its clash against Lyndale this week.
A decision has not been made on whether he will return to the top of the order alongside Brent Patterson where he has batted thrice this season, or he will slot into the middle order.
Jett Kearney replaced him up top on the weekend but was dismissed for a duck.
Triyan De Silva, viewed as a more aggressive skipper than Hookey, captained the side in its bad defeat.
“From all reports, Beacy had a really good day and we had a really bad day,” Hookey said.
“The boys will try and park it to one side – being that young, there will be days we get absolutely smashed.
“We’ve been shown the standard, so hopefully we can match the standard.”
