A SLOW start left Oakleigh needing a committed bowling performance during the second day of its Victorian Sub District Cricket Association qualifying final against Preston at Warrawee Park yesterday.
The Oaks finished the first day with 212, falling short of their pre-game target of 250, said Oaks captain Jarrod Travaglia.
"We were probably 30 to 40 short of where we wanted to be," he said.
"If we bowl and field well it's definitely a defendable total."
Despite finishing first on the table, Oakleigh was left reeling at 4-30 after disappointing outputs from top order batsmen Brendan McGuinnes (3), Jarrad Dowling (13), Samuel Jones (8) and Travaglia (5).
However, a middle order partnership between Brett Warren (52) and Ben Pinwill (41) led the home side to a respectable 4-95 at tea.
The pair continued on after the break, and were instrumental in leading their side to a respectable finish.
Travaglia was particularly pleased with Pinwill and Warren, but also reserved praise for two other middle order batsmen.
"We had a great contribution from Michael Splatt (40), Brent Warren (52), Ben Pinwill (41) and Andrew Splatt (29)," Travaglia said.
After turning the innings around, Oakleigh forfeited its last four wickets for nine runs, and Travaglia was upset not to have closed out the day better.
"We were a bit disappointed to have been bowled out in the end," he said.
"We wanted to bat out the overs."
"With a lot of our top order batsmen getting out we were hoping for 150 at the time. So 212 is a very good score from the position we were in."
Matthew Grose (4-14) was the pick of the bowlers for Preston, with Alastair Boughton (3-35) also strongly contributing.
■ Mt Waverley Uniting confirmed its position at the top of the Menzies Shield is no aberration as it defeated reigning premiers Cavaliers on the first day of their qualifying final on Saturday.
Cavaliers batted first and managed only 111, a score which Mt Waverley Uniting passed while losing six wickets. Benny Dix for Uniting set the Cavaliers' collapse in motion, capturing the first four wickets and returning figures of 4-30.
The Cavs will now play the winner of the Toorak-Prahran-Glen Waverley clash, while Uniting goes straight into the grand final.
Toorak-Prahran batted all day in the competition's other premier grade match to score 233, which is a respectable score considering the slowness of the ground.
Glen Waverley was batting to keep its season alive yesterday.
Check out our update and full scores on Tuesday.