By RUSSELL BENNETT
A SENSATIONAL hat-trick from Pakenham’s Russell Lehman has put the West Gippsland Warriors’ Country Week campaign back on track after a topsy-turvy start to the tournament.
The Warriors got off to a fantastic start on the first day, amassing 5/265 and cruising past Wangaratta’s 208. Pakenham star Russell Lehman continued where he left off in Lions colours on Saturday, recording a memorable 100 not out. He opened the batting with Tooradin gun Tom Hussey (83) and put on 140 for the first wicket, setting up the win.
“Batting second on that deck, it dried out and got a lot flatter but they’re two batsmen in form coming off a lot of runs for their clubs on the weekend and we were pretty confident – especially on a small ground,” Warriors veteran Clinton Marsh said of the conditions at Balwyn Park on day one.
“They (Lehman and Hussey) know each other well, which is the best thing.
“They put on a really good partnership and they complement each other really well; Huss plays his shots and Russ builds into his innings.”
Hussey fell just shy of his second century in three days (after a sensational 137 for Tooradin against Emerald in WGCA Premier action on Saturday) but he’d caused more than enough damage to the Wangaratta attack by the time he was dismissed.
“That’s the best start we’ve had in three or four years and it gave the group a lot of confidence for the rest of the day,” Marsh said.
Spinner Dylan Cuthbertson was brilliant in his senior Country Week debut, taking 4/48 from his 10 overs.
But day two provided a drastic change in conditions – with a pitch that could best be described as a ‘damp minefield’.
The Warriors lost the fateful toss and were sent in to bat by Central Gippsland. They were in massive trouble early, with the ball taking chunks out of the wicket, but a Cuthbertson half-century saw them recover to reach 161. Yet as the day wore on, the baking heat dried – and defused – the pitch, with Central Gippsland passing the Warriors’ score eight wickets down in the 47th over.
Luckily for the boys from the WGCA, other scores in their VCCL division went their way – leaving plenty left to play for on Wednesday (yesterday). As the paper went to print, the Warriors had rolled Goulburn Murray for 219 and were 1/55 in reply, off 10 overs at Frankston’s Jubilee Park. Lehman had Goulburn Murray’s Shannon O’Brien caught behind, to complete his hat-trick and finish with figures of 3/47.
