Winning the toss and bowling has proven to be a recipe for defeat for both Endeavour Hills and Noble Park on the opening day of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association (VSDCA) season.
Endeavour Hills skipper Tyrell Panditharatne called correctly at Sydney Pargeter Reserve and sent the visiting Altona into bat; with two early breakthroughs giving the home side some hope.
Tallha Ahmed (2/50) made the early impact, having Altona 2/8 at one stage before two solid partnerships changed the course of the match.
The Eagles had no answer to the class of opener Connor Brown (69) and number-four Adam Yates (95), who stacked on 143 runs for the third wicket.
Blaize Bainbridge (2/49) broke the expansive partnership, but Altona skipper James Grubb (45 not out) made the most of his 24 balls at the crease.
Grubb hit six fours and two maximums, dominating a 66-run partnership with Yates that took the visitors to 4/231 from their 45 overs.
The Eagles made a good fist of things in reply, with Zac Perryman (54), Adish Bhavsar (54) and Ashwanth Nagendra (30) making valuable contributions…but the task was always too great.
The Eagles finished at 8/202, 30 runs short of their target, with Yates taking 3/37 for Altona to complete a brilliant all-round display.
Noble Park captain Janaka Liyanabadalge also decided that bowling first was the best option against Balwyn at Balwyn.
Two early wickets to Yehan Gunasingha (3/26) had Liyanabadalge looking like a genius, but Balwyn’s top-to-middle order then dominated the session prior to tea.
Scott Edwards (93), Pierre Jacod (52) and Adi Narayana (48) had Noble chasing leather all innings, while late runs to Toby Booth (20), Jackson Ellingworth (20) and Lachlan Fitzpatrick (15) pushed the total to an impressive 8/290 from Balwyn’s allotted overs.
An asking rate of almost 6.5 per over was always going to prove difficult for Noble and the fall of early wickets made the task nigh on impossible.
Champion left-hander Sahan Perera (60) was the only player to challenge, with Nikual Sharma (26) providing the one and only sign of support.
Ellingworth took 4/39 for Balwyn; rolling Noble for 166 and guiding his team to a 124-run victory.
Noble Park host bottom-placed Williamstown on day one of a two-day clash this Saturday, while Endeavour Hills heads to round-one loser Donvale.
VSDCA RESULTS R1: Balwyn 8/290 def Noble Park 166, Donvale 8/157 def by Taylors Lakes 3/163, Endeavour Hills 8/202 def by Altona 4/231, Mt Waverley 2/161 def Box Hill 157, Hoppers Crossing 5/185 def Yarraville 182, Spotswood 6/199 def Croydon 9/198, Werribee 140 def by Melton 7/142, Williamstown 9/137 def by Bayswater 0/140.
LADDER: Mt Waverley 6, Taylors Lakes 6, Altona 6, Balwyn 6, Hoppers Crossing 6, Spotswood 6, Melton 6, Bayswater 6, Werribee 0, Croydon 0, Yarraville 0, Noble Park 0, Endeavour Hills 0, Donvale 0, Box Hill 0, Williamstown 0.
FIXTURE – R2 (Two-Day: 18-25 October): Box Hill (15) v Balwyn (4), Croydon (10) v Bayswater (8), Donvale (14) v Endeavour Hills (13), Noble Park (12) v Williamstown (16), Altona (3) v Werribee (9), Hoppers Crossing (5) v Spotswood (6), Melton (7) v Taylors Lakes (2), Yarraville (11) v Mt Waverley (1).
