Swifts-Great Western claimed its second win over Youth Club and its sixth for the season to stamp its authority as the overwhelming Grampians Cricket Association A Grade premiership favourite.
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The game was moved to the synthetic pitch at Great Western Recreation Reserve after the rain made Central Park’s turf wicket unplayable.
After an hour delay due to rain, Youth Club opted to bat first in the soggy conditions.
An strong all round performance from the Combine’s bowlers kept Youth Club to a total of just 120.
As the day progressed the ground dried up, making for much easier batting.
The Combine made the most of the change in conditions, with their middle order standing up to claim the win inside 20 overs.
Damian Joiner led the way for the Combine, notching 63 runs to steer his side to victory.
Swifts-Great Western captain Sam Cocks said his team won the game with cotnributions from the whole team.
“From a bowling point of view everyone chimed in with a few wickets,” he said.
“We had a mini collapse at the top of the order but our middle order was able to steady the ship a bit. Damian (Joiner) did a great job with the bat.”
Youth Club captain Cam Kimber said his players didn’t bring play to their full capacity.
“We certainly didn’t play our best and Swifts took advantage of that,” he said.
“Our bowling let us down a bit – we weren’t consistent enough and they were able to make runs from that.”
Despite notching a total of just 120 from 34.2 overs Kimber said he thought the target set was defendable.
“It was a bit tricky because when we batted the conditions were pretty wet and tough to score on,” he said.
“120 wasn’t too bad considering the conditions, it was just a shame it dried up when we had to bowl.”
The win sees Swifts-Great Western overtake Youth Club and claim top spot with one game in hand from the rest of the top four.
With only three A Grade games remaining, it is set to be a tight finish, with just nine points separating top spot from fifth.
Kimber said his side understands how important the remaining games are.
“We need another win on the board to stay in the hunt for finals,” he said.
Cocks shared the sentiments of Kimber.
“It was a really good win considering what it means to our standing on the ladder,” he said.
“It is all about getting momentum going into the finals.
“It is simple for us – we just have to keep winning.”