Sport
17 October, 2019
Geary century leads Terang to victory
A BLAZING century from Liam Geary helped Terang start its South West Cricket season in style last Saturday.
A BLAZING century from Liam Geary helped Terang start its South West Cricket season in style last Saturday.
The Goats opened their account with a 97 run victory over Heytesbury Rebels at Timboon, with Geary’s knock of 141 helping the side post 4/298, their highest score since the 2012/13 season.
Liam Balcombe (51) and Jake Flynn (56 not out) also chipped in with handy contributions before Jesse Unthank (4/23) ripped through the Rebels’ batting line-up as the Goats restricted them to 7/201 from their 50 overs.
Skipper Sam Munro was delighted with the result in his first game at the helm.
“It was huge for the club and a great boost in confidence for the boys to know we’ve got the ability to turn those narrow losses we had last year into wins,” he said.
“I was really pleased with the way we batted, we didn’t lose wickets in clumps, we were two down for 30 runs (early) and we were still only two down in the 43rd over.
“We were very fortunate to have the ideal innings from Laz (Geary) and Balcy (Balcombe).”
Munro praised Geary for his innings and said “it was special to watch”, before adding he had a handy mainstay in Balcombe for most of the innings.
“He hit a six early on over point and you could tell he was in for a big day,” he said.
“He doesn’t normally hit sixes so he reckons he might have doubled his tally of career sixes in the innings.
“He hit six fours and seven sixes but the rest was ones and twos with Liam which is one of the biggest things we’ve been working on.
“Together they just worked on building a partnership and playing smart cricket.”
Munro said he was also pleased with the efforts of his bowlers, who kept it tight despite the Rebels’ attacking display.
Terang is now setting itself for an early season test this weekend, with a clash against SWC heavyweight Mortlake awaiting them.
Munro said the Cats would be the ideal measuring stick for his side to determine where it lies within the competition and wants his side to produce a competitive performance.
The Goats and Cats played out a draw in their respective fixture this time last year and while Munro said his side highly respected Mortlake, he wants to turn the tables this time around.
“It’ll be a very tough game but I think it will give us a measure of where we are at,” he said.
“They have some very handy players and all play well together so it’s going to be very tough.”
In the lower grades, Terang’s division three match with Simpson was washed out, with the side to begin its season against Pomborneit (Terang No.2 Oval) this weekend.