Katandra product Daniel Sartori continued his scintillating start to the Melbourne Premier Cricket season on Saturday, striking an unbeaten 103 in Footscray’s nine-wicket win over Prahran.
His second century of the 2022-23 campaign, the opener was clinical from the first ball as he proved the catalyst for the Bulldogs’ successful pursuit of 177.
Sartori found the boundary on 14 occasions and cleared it once, as he brought up the three figures at a near run-a-ball pace.
Earlier in the day his Footscray teammates were excellent in the field, as they restricted Prahran to 9-177 from its 45 overs to help set up the dominant victory.
The win was the Bulldogs’ third of the season and they pushed up into ninth spot on the ladder.
Elsewhere, it was heartbreak for Karramomus product Josh McDonald and his Geelong teammates, as they fell to Camberwell Magpies by three wickets in a final-ball thriller.
Geelong recorded a monstrous first innings total of 9-307 with McDonald providing a handy run-a-ball 36 from number three.
But it was not enough in the finish, as the Magpies romped their way to the victory target on the back of 91 from skipper Liam Fitzpatrick.
While it was a dismal day for Tatura’s Michael Archer and Central Park-St Brendan’s product Connor Hayes, as their Greenvale outfit fell to Carlton by eight wickets.
Neither Goulburn Valley export managed to have an impact with the bat, as Hayes departed for a duck and Archer only managed a single run.
The Tatura export laso had no luck with the ball, finishing with figures of 0-28 from his 6.1 overs.
On the Sheffield Shield stage, Moama export Todd Murphy inspired Victoria to a famous triumph over New South Wales.
The 22-year-old off-spinner took 4-42 in the second innings as the Vics bowled out the Blues for 163 and sealed a 69-run win at Junction Oval.
This came after he recorded 3-44 in the first innings, lifting his wicket tally to seven for the game and 14 for the season at 17.71.
Murphy continues to make a great impression on the first-class cricket scene, not just for Victoria, having taken three wickets for the Prime Minister’s XI in the recent clash against the touring West Indies.