Echuca’s mammoth total of 5-354 in the first innings of round 14 is easily the largest team score for the season, with the men in green’s numbers three and four putting on a stand for the ages at Victoria Park.
Sniffing out a good batting wicket at its home deck, Echuca held no reservations about batting first and got off to a hot start courtesy of explosive opener Curtis Townrow and marathon man Brendan Moyle.
The pair rattled off a quick-fire 32 before Moyle (6) tried to finesse spinner Simon Van Duinen to the leg side, leading an edge straight to Jeremy Felmingham.
Townrow, on the other hand, kept going about his business, tallying 36 and eyeing a six off a Noah Turner cherry, but his eyes got too big for his bat and he was bowled by the seamer.
In retrospect, Townrow would be kicking himself to only last 25 balls, as the batsmen to follow showed just how many runs he left out on the ground.
New batsmen Grixti and James went about their business early, turning over the strike and frustrating seamer Felmingham and Van Duinen.
The pair saw off the bowling duo and then looked to target new bowler Lucas Holgate on the cusp of drinks, steering their side to the cusp of 100 at the first break.
The carnage only increased for the Lions, who would quickly realise that it would be a long day in the field.
Neither Grixti nor James looked like getting out as both freewheeled their way past 50, both setting their sights on a big hundred to get into finals form.
An explosive James was the first to hit the milestone, carving out a monumental century in front of his home crowd in 148 deliveries.
Meanwhile, Grixti was eager to join his partner at the crease in raising the bat, but he perhaps got too ahead of himself, hitting a leading edge straight back at Noah Turner, who hung on to a tough chance, bringing Grixti’s 182-ball innings to an end on 92.
Following the duo’s masterful 207-run partnership, the men in green could have easily declared and had a crack at BLU, but the sleeping Lions are known for big scores, so Echuca continued to bat on.
New batters Anthony Dennis, Easton Carlile and Aidan Young were tasked with batting around James, who continued to go about his business in emphatic fashion.
Dennis carved out an almost run-a-ball 22 before hitting a cover drive airborne straight into the hands of Luke Thompson.
James was the last wicket of the day, the ever-aggressive number four hooking Felmingham around the corner, where Liam Hamilton was waiting to catch him.
James hit 142 off 177 balls, an innings that included 12 fours and three sixes, striking at a tick over 70.
Carlile (20 not-out) and Young (32 not-out) navigated the final eight overs of play, the 50 extra runs they hit just salt in the wounds of a tired Lions side at the receiving end of pure class cricket.
In other games, Tongala is in a strong position to chase down Kyabram Fire Brigade’s day one total of 175.
The Flames batted first but, bar Shannon Fleming’s knock of 57, were largely contained by the Blues’ bowling as Tongala rounded out at 0-14 at stumps.
Moama has Echuca South down 3-7 after declaring at 9-191, spurred on by Matt Saunders’ half century.
The Swans desperately need batters to step up if they are to avoid defeat, with a chance for Moama to pursue an outright victory on the cards.
Finally, Nondies Cohuna is in an even more precarious position than Echuca South, sitting at 3-37 after already being bowled out for 63 by Rochester.
The Tigers, led by Angus Martin (4-10), skittled the combine and then posted 4-144 to hold a strong grip on the game heading into day two.
