Worcestershire opener Richard Oliver will hope to make another sizeable contribution when Geelong City continue their pursuit of a modest 106 target for first innings points next weekend in the home Geelong Cricket Association Division One clash with St. Joseph's.
The normally aggressive Oliver battled it out for 17 overs to remain unbeaten on six as the Sharks closed day one on 22-2.
Oliver went into the game at the top of the Geelong batting averages with 451 runs in nine Division One innings at an average of 56.38.
St. Joseph's won the toss and chose to bat and were made to really work hard for their runs, scoring at barely one and a half runs per over throughout their innings.
They were eventually dismissed for 105 in 63.2 overs.
The bowlers to do the damage were Kent Agg, who took the new ball, and Adam Marsland. Agg finished with 4-31 from 19 overs and Marsland 3-22 from 14 overs.
Geelong will hope to over-take their opponents total and try and force an outright victory when the game resumes on January 24.
County wicket-keeper Joe Clarke's side, South Perth, went down by 63 runs away to Claremont-Nedlands in a Western Cricket Association first grade match.
The home side made 183-4 in their 50 overs after opting to bat with Clarke taking one catch.
After a run of three successive half centuries, Clarke was dismissed for six batting at number three as South Perth were bowled out for 120 in 42.5 overs.
