In-form Butchers seal Cricket Illawarra victory on the road over Balgownie

The Butchers sit in second spot on the ladder with two rounds remaining until finals, as they continue to pile pressure on competition leaders Wollongong. Saturday's victory also helped extend their advantage over the third-placed Magpies.

"I'm really happy with how he played," Butchers captain Jackson Stewart said.

"Hopefully that guarantees us a top-two spot now, which is pretty important considering most semi-finals in recent years have been rain-affected in some way or another."

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Balgownie batted first at Judy Masters Oval, compiling a total of 147 runs from 48.2 overs.

The hosts had been in cruise control, crossing the 100-mark for the loss of no wicket with veterans Graeme Batty and Rob Fisher at the crease. However, the first wicket triggered a dramatic collapse, as they lost their final nine wickets for around 40 runs.

Despite being under the pump early, Stewart said he was delighted that his bowlers stuck to the task.

"A couple of our young guys stood up with the ball, but it was genuinely more like a team performance. And even though they batted quite well at the start, we didn't let it get away from us, and we continued that pressure throughout the whole 50 overs," he said.

"They were 0/108 or something at one stage. But I didn't get too nervous because the two guys batting, Batty and Fisher, are quite good players, but we kept them at three-and-a-half per over. So we were pretty happy that they were 100-odd after 30 overs.

"So we didn't panic too much and I trusted the (bowling) group."

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The Butchers had few issues in reply, chasing down the target for the loss of three wickets with more than 12 overs to spare.

"We lost one early but, even the last two wickets, we lost only needing five wickets or something. Daniel Wark got 69 and Mason Broadhead was 47 not out, so they did the bulk of the damage for us and batted well. It was a comprehensive chase in the end," Stewart said.

"I'm happy with how we're going. There's been a few small hiccups along the way and in the games we've lost, there were just lapses in concentration. But we have a pretty young team at the moment, the average age is about 21, so I suppose is going to happen along the way.

"But hopefully we can be as consistent as possible for the next couple of weeks."

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