A BRILLIANT bowling display from Niahl Dwyer was not enough to lead Port Fairy to victory in round one of the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association 2016-17 season.
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Dwyer got the Pirates into a strong position last Saturday when he grabbed 5-22 from his four overs in a Twenty20 game against Dennington at JJ Colledge Oval.
This impressive haul from Dwyer kept the Dogs to a score of 8-114.
Co-captain Aaron Williams got Port Fairy off to a flying start with the bat, knocking up 45 from just 31 balls.
Williams’ innings included five fours and a six.
The Pirates were in the strong position of 2-56 when Williams was dismissed.
But his departure triggered a collapse with the Pirates slumping to 5-70 soon after.
Sam Wilson hit back in the middle order, making 21 from 15 balls before he was caught with the score on 90.
Port Fairy’s tail got within two runs of the Dogs total but ran out of balls, finishing its 20 overs on 8-112.
The news was better for Port Fairy in division two with the Pirates winning their opening game of the season.
Like division one, the Pirates opponent was Dennington with the game played at JJ Colledge Oval.
Over his career, veteran Stephen Dwyer has produced many match-winning performances for the Pirates with the ball.
But on this occasion, Dwyer produced some heroics with the bat to get his team home
Dennington batted first and had some steady contributions throughout their innings to produce a score of 8-124.
Michael West was the best of the Port Fairy, taking 2-23.
Port Fairy ran into some early trouble with the bat, losing their first wicket with just three runs on the board.
Young opener Hamish Gleeson proved to be the steady hand for the Pirates, carving out an innings of 20 off 26 balls.
But despite the efforts of Gleeson, Port Fairy slumped to 7-64.
With the fall of the seventh wicket, Dylan Hare joined Dwyer at the crease and the pair produced a brilliant salvage effort.
They combined for an unbeaten partnership of 64 to guide their team to a winning score of 7-128.
Hare ended with 14 not out from 10 balls faced, including two fours.
Dwyer made 53 from just 30 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes along the way.
It was his highest score since round seven, 2010-11 when he scored 53 against Allansford.
This Saturday, both the division one and division two teams will make their way into Wenborn Oval in Warrnambool to take on Nestles in Twenty20 games.
Division three begins on October 29 with Port Fairy facing Woodford.
