Alex Jennings takes a four-wicket haul in first game as Port Fairy skipper

The Pirates skittled West Warrnambool's batting line-up for 72 before going on to claim an eight-wicket win in round one of the 2020-21 Warrnambool and District Cricket Association division one season.

Jennings, who joined the club in the off-season from Woodford, claimed four wickets and made 16 runs in his first outing as skipper.

"It is a bit of relief and it was nice to get one first-up," he said after the victory. "I thought we were in it before the game so I'm very chuffed to get the win."

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The 20-year-old said he would take a few learning points from the first-up win.

"There is definitely a few things I'll take out of it, like learning about our own players, how they go about things and getting used to being at a new club," he said.

"I've never been a captain at senior level and I was pretty nervous but the boys made it easy and we all got around each other and made it quite enjoyable."

The all-rounder praised a number of his Pirates teammates, who played a part in his top performance.

"It wasn't just me - the dot pressure from the boys bowling before me helped," he said.

"Sammy Wilson (1-16), Shaluka Silva (1-17) and Jase Perera (1-18) built a heap of pressure and helped created the wickets and I just got on the end of them.

"Shaluka, Jase and Sam bowled well with new ball and built a lot of pressure and then I thought Jase was also good with the bat."

Perera, a former WDCA cricketer of the year, finished unbeaten on 29 alongside his captain.

Jennings said there were plenty of positives he and coach Brian Madew could take from the opening round win.

"Our ability to build pressure through dots, we held our catches, fielded well were highlights of our game," he said.

"To get it done with two down was good too."

Jennings said there had been no rustiness from his side after a shorter pre-season due to the uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions.

"We did a fair bit of training and been going for a few months now so we were well prepared," he said.

Elsewhere, reigning premier Brierly-Christ Church were narrowly beaten by Dennington in a thriller on Saturday.

The Dogs edged out the Bulls by two runs. Xavier Beks' four-wicket haul combined with two scalps each from Lochie Worden and Sri Lankan Damith Indika helped the Dogs get across the line in their defence of 100.

Nestles, thanks to an unbeaten 92 from Caleb Bidmade, got its season off to a great start with a commanding victory over newly merged Allansford-Panmure. Factory, who made 194, restricted the Gators to 9-100.

In the association's other games Russells Creek defeated Merrivale by 33 runs while Woodford claimed a big win in its first outing, defeating Welsey-CBC by 107 runs.

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