NESTLES may be sitting in the top four and has just knocked off the former top team, but captain Kyle Humphrys isn’t too concerned about ladder positions just yet.
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With only one more round of one-day matches remaining, the in-form all-rounder predicted there could be some significant movement once the two-day games start.
“I’m not really concerned with where we are on the ladder at the moment because it’s really going to change very rapidly,” he said.
“We’re looking good, but … we’ve got some stuff that we need to improve on.”
Nestles showed its strength with bat and ball against the previously undefeated Russells Creek on Saturday.
Relentless pressure from its bowling attack made life difficult for Creek, which was bowled out for 140 – well below what Humphrys considers par at Jetty Flat.
“(I think) 140 down there is not enough – I reckon it’s a 210-220 par down there,” he said.
“Our opening bowling spell was pretty good with Sam Carver and Jake Hetherington. They bowled really tight. They didn’t bowl many loose shots.
“We had them under pressure all day.”
Hetherington finished with 2-26 and Carver 2-33 after they had each bowled nine overs.
Humphrys took an economical 1-15 off nine, including five maidens, and led the charge as the Factory chased down the target with seven wickets in hand and nearly 12 overs to spare.
He made 76 runs, with good support from Geoff Williams (26 runs) and Caleb Bidmade (25 not out), but was still not completely satisfied with his own performance.
“I’m not happy with 76, to be fair – I would’ve liked to get 100 and be there at the end,” he said.
“But from a team aspect, I’m really happy.”
The Nestles leader said there were still some areas for his team to work on, but they would be reasonably happy with their form after toppling Russells Creek.
It followed on from a big win over Nirranda, and launched them back into the thick of top-four contention after a shaky start to the one-dayers.
“We were full strength on the weekend – we haven’t had a full team for a month,” Humphrys said.
“(But) it’s really pleasing some of the juniors that have stepped up in the side.”
Meanwhile, Allansford’s Ben Boyd has again been named Victorian Country Cricket League captain.
The VCCL team will contest the 2017 Australian Country Cricket Championships in Woolongong from January 2-12.
Susie Giese
Susie Giese is a sports reporter at The Standard in Warrnambool
Susie Giese is a sports reporter at The Standard in Warrnambool
