By Jonty Ralphsmith
Merinda Park coach Matt Campbell expressed pride in his side’s grinding bowling performance to restrict Devon Meadows to 247 on Saturday.
The Cobras discipline, and willingness to adhere to plan, allowed them to claim frustrated star-batter Lucas Ligt and claim his prized wicket for 13.
Only Nathan Worsteling’s 48 bettered Ligt’s output for Devon Meadows among the top seven, but its tail was able to wag significantly and keep them in the contest.
“That’s probably our most consistent bowling performance in my time at the club,” Campbell said.
“At one stage we had an 8-1 field for a couple of overs but it’s something the club has never thought of doing.
“There were some tough questions asked a few weeks ago and writing on the wall to see who was up to it.
“On Thursday night, we had a plan for where we wanted to bowl to Lucas Ligt and we executed the plan to perfection.
“He got frustrated early, we tied up the bloke at the other end and Ligt was trying to be the aggressor.
“We wanted him to have to go over the top and make the play which isn’t what he would want to be doing.
“We starved both of the openers for runs and got the rewards with the wickets.
“We stayed patient enough throughout the day.”
Swashbuckler Chris Cleef scored 61 at better than a run a ball, before Riley Worsteling and Coby Podd struck it crisply in a 59-run 10th wicket partnership.
It continued a trend for Merinda Park, which has put itself in positions to command authority this season without capitalising.
The Cobras reduced Upper Beaconsfield to 4/10 and 5/24 in round two.
They were 3/99 chasing 186 on a spacious ground against Cardinia.
They scored 409 against Kooweerup.
They had Pakenham 6/72 chasing 147.
Yet they remain winless on the bottom of the ladder.
“The wheels are slowly turning,” Campbell said.
“We just need to change the culture where we learn how to win.
“We asked some hard questions a couple of weeks ago and we’re learning a bit about ourselves.”
One player who has risen when challenged is youngster Tyson Bertrand.
Bertrand is captaining the club in the Kookaburra Cup and bowled a 15-over spell uninterrupted on Saturday, finishing with 1/55 off 22 overs.
“I put it to Tyson that I needed a bit more consistency and patience from him,” Campbell said.
“I needed some maturity around how he goes about his cricket.
“His leaderships is something which has been a big positive for us this year.
“He’s reserved in his nature but he’s come out of his shell.
“He speaks well and his message is great.
“I think that was a coming of age performance, he’s making that shift mentally and his performance couldn’t be faulted.”
