WDCA division one: Russells Creek defeats Merrivale by 111 runs

Premiership winning gun Craig Britten - in his third season at the club - once again provided a significant presence with bat and ball as his side inflicted Merrivale with a thumping 111-run loss in Saturday's Warrnambool and District Cricket Association blockbuster at Mack Oval.

The vice-captain whacked an unbeaten 45 off 29 balls and snared 2-29 with the new-ball as the Creek easily defended its 9-197 by bowling the Tigers out for a lowly 86 in just 21 overs.

Britten, who represented the WDCA at country week level last season, has slapped scores of 68 not out and 35 already this season, coming in at crucial times and scoring rapidly.

He has also taken 10 wickets from four matches in what has been a golden start to his summer.

"His skill set and what he does is quite incredible, he just sticks to what he knows," Williams said.

"He bowls a basic line and length and if you do it consistently you can reap the rewards, especially in this competition.

"We always knew he could do it (with the bat). With the turnover of players we've had, I guess he's showcasing his talent even more and getting a bit more opportunity up the order.

"The competition is taking note of how good he is, I reckon. He helps a lot off and on the field too, he's a great leader for me to lean on."

The Creekers mentor, who made 32 himself, also heaped praise on middle order star Rukshan Weerasinghe, who scored his third consecutive half-century to anchor the first-innings total.

"He's a quality player and human, he just gets on with his own thing, bats to his strengths," Williams said of Weerasinghe.

"Two-day cricket will suit him, simply because he'll get longer to bat and won't have to rush. He'll make some big scores. He's a great asset to us."

Williams noted Oliver Noonan's 4-12 as great reward for effort and said collectively as a team it was important to bounce back from a disappointing round three loss to Nestles.

"We had a poor week with bat and ball last week and really as captain-coach you only can say so much, but we produced a bloody brilliant performance today," he said.

"We batted well, through the middle they were tight but Britten and Weerasinghe hit the ball as clean as anything and set us up. With the ball, we just bowled good balls and hunted the ball in the field and took our catches."

With an impressive three win, one loss start to their campaign, Williams said the team was happy to fly under the radar in a sense.

"We're happy to do what we're doing, we're not taking notice of any outside noise," he said

"We're keeping it all behind doors, working hard and we're showcasing our skills and players on the weekends.

"There's no real change in anything we do or have done, we're chomping at the bit to get better and working hard at training.

"We're a work in progress. Hopefully we can keep winning games of cricket."

The Tigers, who would be disappointed with their first loss of the season, couldn't quite get their best game up and running, but Jarrod Petherick impressed with 2-12 from his eight overs.

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