Batting practice required for Emu Valley clubs

By Luke West
Updated November 7 2012 - 6:39am, first published November 2 2011 - 11:10am
Batting practice required for Emu Valley clubs
Batting practice required for Emu Valley clubs

DID the Emu Valley Cricket Association replace its cricket balls with hand grenades in division one last Saturday?Looking through the scores from last weekend’s start to round three, you could have been forgiven for thinking that the bowlers were – to use some cricketing slang – bowling “hand grenades”.In all five division one games, the team batting first failed to survive its allotted 75 overs.In fact, none of the five teams that batted first lasted more than 53 overs.Sedgwick lasted 52.2 overs in compiling 110; Mandurang batted 52 overs in making 143; Spring Gully 51 overs in scoring 127; West Bendigo 43.3 overs in amassing the day’s top score of 150; and Emu Creek just 34.1 overs in its 114.However, the teams batting second didn’t fair much better – Golden Gully is 6-65 against Spring Gully; Axe Creek 3-37 against West Bendigo; Maiden Gully 4-40 against Sedgwick; and Marong 7-35 against Mandurang; while United’s 5-101 is only 14 runs away from beating Emu Creek.Across the five games, a total of 75 wickets fell for 922 runs in 362 overs. On average, that’s one wicket every 12.9 runs and 4.8 overs.It certainly was a good day to be a bowler. Just ask Golden Gully’s Shaun O’Shea (6-25), Axe Creek’s Travis Nolan (4-15) and Ben Hunter (3-17, including hat-trick) and United’s Alex Collins (5-62), who all cashed in.qqqqIT’S still only early in the Bendigo District Cricket Association season, but Bendigo United’s Jean-Miguel “Miggy” Podosky is putting his hand up to carry the tag as the most improved batsman in the competition.Before this season, runs had been scarce for Podosky in the first XI, having made just nine from 10 innings, with a highest score of four not out.Those who were at White Hills late on the first day of the 2009-10 grand final between Bendigo United and Strathdale-Maristians will remember Podosky’s fist pump when he got off the mark first ball he faced with a single to backward square leg.That was Podosky’s first run for the season, before he added another three in a game that was ultimately decided by just one run.However, Podosky has now gone from a player who fist-pumps when he scores a run to a batsman who currently has the Redbacks’ third best batting average this season.The 22-year-old has batted twice this season for scores of 13 (including three boundaries) against Strathdale-Maristians and 20 not out last Saturday against White Hills when he made the most of an elevation up the order to No.10.Podosky shared in an unbroken stand of 34 for the 10th with Marcus Smalley, who in his 38th first XI innings made his top score of 16 not out. Podosky’s batting average of 33.0 is only bettered at Bendigo United by opener Mark Di Fede (47.3) and From the Outer’s favourite subject, Nick Crawford (44.5).From the Outer is told Podosky works as hard as any Bendigo United player on his batting in the nets. If he keeps going the way he is, we might be soon talking about him as one of the BDCA’s next genuine all-rounders.

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