By ROY WARD and BRAD MCGRATH
AS the lofted shot went into the air, taking with it the chance at the match-winning wicket late on Saturday, Coomoora playing-coach Paul Hill admits he wasn’t sure if teammate Rob Johnston would get around and take the catch.
But the Coomoora star did just that at deep mid-off to seal a win in the Roos’ first match since rising to Dandenong District Cricket Association’s Turf 1 competition.
Hill said the Roos celebrated the win as Johnston pulled in the catch and confirmed a six-run win over Buckley Ridges.
“He had a fair bit of ground to make up to catch it,” Hill said. “I was a little worried as he ran around but he told me later on that there was never any doubt he would catch it.” Hill said the win set up the whole season for the Roos.
“Absolutely we were pretty excited about it,” he said. “To get a win against a good side who will play finals, it was awesome. “We wanted to make sure we enjoyed it but not go over the top.”
Starting the day needing to take all 10 wickets, the Roos put on a disciplined display of bowling with opening bowler Oliver Ashford (2-40) leading the way followed by change bowlers Luke Vincent (3-22), Johnston (3-27) and Jake D’Atri (2-30).
Tom Rowe (48) and Daniel Watson (48) were equal topscorers for Buckley Ridges.
“We needed to stick to our plans then tie them down and take our chances,” Hill said. “The wicket actually came up better than I expected it to and all the bowlers bowled well and took our chances.”
After the ninth wicket fell, Ridges still needed 22 runs to win and a few shots over the infield from No. 11 Jonny Lash took the required runs to six before he was caught.
“We were thinking about where those last runs would come from, their No. 11 did hit a few lucky shots over the field but I always thought they wouldn’t get the runs,” Hill said.
With a win under their belt and some “winnable” games to come, the Roos have been set the task of achieving some more wins before the Christmas break to solidify their place in Turf 1. “We think we deserve to be in the top grade, we have a few winnable games coming up,” Hill said.
“We want to get out there and be competitive with every side, every week.”
■ The Victorian Sub District Cricket Association’s Twenty20 competition begins on Tuesday night.
Noble Park will host Mt Waverley at Pat Wright Senior Oval at 5.15pm while Endeavour Hills will host Oakleigh at Sydney Pargeter Reserve 1, also at 5.15pm.
