The Eagles entered day two of their clash with Harkness on Saturday with an enormous total of 9-483 on the board, the bulk of which came from the blade of Nathan Fowler who belted 183 from 135 balls on day one, including a remarkable 11 fours and 12 sixes, while Benjamin Bryant (58), Oscar Newell (52) and Michael Brown (64) all made half-centuries.
With plenty of wriggle room, Eastern Hill’s bowlers got to work at Arnold’s Creek Recreation Reserve on Saturday as they looked to bowl the home side out cheaply, and they showed no signs of having lost any momentum from day one as Bryant snared the first scalp early to leave Harkness down 1-5.
Relentless pressure continued to be applied as the Eagles searched for a second, which again came via Bryant five overs later, with Harkness 2-11 and scoring at barely one run per over.
The maidens continued to pile up as Daniel O’Sullivan joined the party in the 20th over, removing the third Harkness batter with the home side only having 23 runs on the board.
While the next wicket took 15 overs for Eastern Hill to find, the stifling pressure never eased, with the Eagles leaking only 18 runs by the time O’Sullivan snared his second to leave the home side 4-41.
It was a bloodbath as the fifth wicket — claimed by Tim Rudd-Schmidt — fell, with Harkness having made less than 50 runs, and while a small resistance for the sixth wicket yielded a 30-run partnership, the Eagles quickly broke that up too, with Newell striking to reduce the home side to 6-78.
Fowler and Bryant tidied up the final four wickets with ease, including the final three without a run being scored, as the Eagles bowled Harkness out for 135 to romp to a ridiculous 348-run first innings victory.
Bryant led the way with team-best figures of 4-10 in a stunning performance, while O’Sullivan (2-14) and Fowler (2-23) each claimed multiple wickets, with Rudd-Schmidt (1-28) and Newell (1-54) snaring one.
The Eagles batted on in their second innings to reach 6-158, with Newell adding the top score of 47, closely followed by Billy Cox, who made 42, as they added bonus points to extend the already sizeable advantage they hold atop the ladder.
Eastern Hill will enter the final two-day contest of the season this Saturday at Kings Park against third-placed side East Sunbury, before hosting Eynesbury in a one-day contest to round out the regular season on March 7, as the Eagles prepare for a huge finals series that they enter as firm favourites for the flag.
Bryant flies Eagles flag at Country Week
Eastern Hill’s Ben Bryant traded his Eagles shirt for that of the Gisborne and District Cricket Association uniform last week, with the all-rounder selected in the GDCA representative side to compete at the Victorian Country Cricket League’s Country Week in Melbourne.
Competing in division two, Bryant endured a frustrating start to the tournament as the GDCA went down to Warrnambool Moyne on Monday in the opening game at Malvern Cricket Ground, before following up with a loss on Tuesday to Latrobe Valley at J.K Grant Reserve in Altona, with the Eastern Hill spearhead contributing eight runs with the bat and claiming no wickets across the two matches.
However, his fortunes changed in the third game against Bellarine Peninsula, held at Aberfeldie Park, with Bryant smacking 52 at a run a ball amid a 132-run partnership for the fifth wicket, while snaring 1-36 with the ball, as the GDCA earned a maiden win by 64 runs.
The GDCA also claimed a win in its final contest, smacking the South West Cricket side by 184 runs at Port Melbourne Cricket Ground, although Bryant managed only three runs with the bat and didn’t bowl in the victory.
The two early losses proved costly for the GDCA, who missed finals by one position, finishing fifth.
