Ballarat Cricket Association suffered a tough return to the provincial grade of Melbourne Country Week.
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The BCA boys were handed a heavy beating by reigning champions Geelong, which opened the carnival with a stunning batting display.
After winning the toss, Ballarat captain Heath Pyke sent his rivals in to bat first and they obliged in devastating style.
A whirlwind century from Geelong’s Richard Oliver set the tone for the innings, with the opener scoring 137 from 104 balls to get his team off to a flyer.
Oliver smashed 22 fours and a six.
From there, the runs kept coming, with three other players reaching half-centuries as the ball flew to all parts of Geelong Cricket Ground.
At the end of 50 overs, the hosts had reached 6-372 and set their rivals a mammoth run chase.
Things started badly for Ballarat after lunch with openers Lachlan Herring and Tom Phillippe both going cheaply, before Joe Crichard and Mathew Begbie – the late call-up to the squad – set about rebuilding the innings.
Begbie eventually made 67 and Crichard 38, but it wasn’t enough to give the BCA a sniff of victory.
Pyke (41) and the experienced Heath Pritchard (30) tried hard in a losing cause, with Ballarat eventually finishing at 8-192 at the completion of 50 overs.
In an extremely tough day for the Ballarat bowlers, Matt Ringin continued his wicket-taking form with 4-88, while Ryan Knowles claimed 1-63.
BCA president Rob Florence was on hand to witness the opening game of the campaign and said Ballarat was simply beaten by a better opponent.
“We always knew it was going to be hard,” Florence said.
“The guys played to their best ability and the (Geelong) team was just really strong.”
The heavy defeat sees the BCA slip to the bottom of the provincial ladder ahead of Tuesday’s encounter with Traralgon and District.
This clash is at Footscray’s Tony Dodemaide Oval.
Florence said a key goal of the week is to ensure the BCA is not relegated from the top division of Melbourne Country Week.
Following Tuesday’s game, Ballarat has fixtures against Bairnsdale on Wednesday and Warrnambool and District on Thursday.
The final is then played between the top two teams on the ladder at Melbourne’s Albert Cricket Ground on Friday.