Winning the toss and electing to bat in the first home game of the season at Kings Park, the Eagles got off to a disastrous start as opener Matthew Collard was back in the sheds for a duck in the opening over, leaving the home side one down without a score on the board.
It proved to be of little consequence, however, as Bryant strode out to the middle to join Billy Cox and the pair put together a brilliant partnership to well and truly put Eastern Hill on top of the contest.
Adding 141 runs in tandem, Cox and Bryant punished the Harkness bowlers for 27 overs, dispatching them all over the ground before Cox was eventually dismissed to end the stand, extremely unlucky to not reach his half-century when he was bowled on 47.
Oscar Newell (8) and Ollie Bryant (1) made fleeting appearances at the crease, as Eastern Hill lost three in quick succession to go from 1-141 to 4-155.
However Ben Bryant remained at the crease and continued to frustrate the Harkness attack, smacking nine boundaries en route to a chance-less 113 from 132 deliveries before eventually holing out.
A handy 27 off 31 from Michael Brown down the order helped the Eagles past the 200-run mark, with the scoreboard reading 6-226 after 45 overs.
With a healthy amount of runs on the board, the Eastern Hill bowlers had plenty to play with, but wasted no time in sending the visitors packing.
Within the first seven overs Fraser Lewis, Tim Rudd-Schmidt and Ben Bryant had all claimed scalps, reducing Harkness to 3-20 and putting the Eagles well and truly on the path to victory.
The momentum stalled slightly as Harkness mounted some resistance, but Collard found the breakthrough to dismiss opposing skipper and danger man Gurinder Singh Grewal for 36, before Daniel O’Sullivan found his first wicket and Ben Bryant found the stumps for a run out, as Harkness lost three wickets for eight runs and collapsed to 6-68.
The final four wickets came in a flurry, too, with the Eagles claiming the last four scalps for just 11 runs as they cleaned up a dominant victory.
O’Sullivan ended the afternoon with the best figures of 3-21, while Oscar Newell also picked up multiple wickets, snaring 2-8.
The win ensures Eastern Hill finishes round two on top of the ladder and will look to keep hold of top spot when it takes on fifth-placed East Sunbury this weekend at John McMahon Reserve in Sunbury.
