By Russell Bennett
WGCA PREMIER DIVISION REVIEW – ROUND 2
CARDINIA v DEVON MEADOWS
The Panthers have loomed as a genuine Premier division finals threat really ever since winning promotion to the top tier with last season’s District flag.
They have the experience, they have the rising young stars, and they absolutely have the ability.
And the Panthers are proving they belong in the Premier division and won’t be adding their name to the list of teams who’ve made their way up to the top tier only to fall back down again – sometimes in the space of just one campaign.
Again, with the playing list the Panthers had compiled heading into 2018/19, it was clear they’d be in the finals mix – but they could yet be a genuine force to be reckoned with by the business end.
And the key reason is simple – simple, uncompromising, team-focussed cricket.
On Saturday at Cardinia, the Panthers reached the first of what could be a number of milestones in their 50th season – their first ever Premier grade victory.
Player-coach Scott Clark spoke of how significant the result was for the group, saying: “It’s a big weight off the shoulders. The boys were keen to get the win on the board early, but playing Pakky first up there was a pretty quick realisation that Premier wasn’t going to be like District.
In the Lions and the Bulls, the Panthers had two of last year’s top four to reckon with in the opening two rounds – and this week it doesn’t get any easier, with their home opener against Tooradin.
So Saturday’s result was about much more than just the win for the Panthers – it was about making sure they didn’t lose any ground on the top sides.
As thing stand now, they’re inside the top four – and deserve to be.
“The boys have put in a massive pre-season but with Pakenham, Cardinia and Tooradin in the first three games we knew it was going to be a huge challenge,” Clark said.
“If we could get one or two out of those three games, it’d be a positive.”
Clark acknowledged that a first-up 0-2 hole would be tough for his side to dig its way out of.
“Rob (Elston) hit the nail on the head in the paper last week,” he said.
“It’s such a competitive competition this year – just look at the sides that struggled last year. They’ve picked up what they needed to be competitive too.”
Batting first on Saturday, the Panthers compiled a strong 8/183 from their 40 overs – an effort that included a string of performances from the top and middle order.
After losing a couple of early wickets, Brad Miles (38) and Kyle Salerno (52) maintained their composure for the visitors and kept the scoreboard ticking. Clark (14), Ryan O’Connor (10), and Nathan Worsteling (31) also added telling contributions to give the bowling attack a strong total to defend.
“A lot of people get carried away with going too hard too early at Cardinia, particularly with the shorter square boundaries,” Clark said, adding that the group had learnt valuable lessons from the loss to Pakenham in Round 1 – particularly in regards to continually rotating the strike and not being bogged for extended periods.
“The goal is to play positive cricket all year, particularly with the bat,” Clark said.
“It’s just a matter of getting those extra runs where we can.”
The Panthers are aiming to take a leaf out of the book of the two powerhouse sides in recent seasons – Kooweerup and Pakenham – and keep wickets in hand for the closing stages of innings.
“Our goal is to build partnerships – if it means one bloke getting 50 and another getting 10 but they put on 60 together, that’s what we’re about. It’s about doing the one-percenters right,” Clark said.
And after Kallan Braid-Ball snared 4/42 with the ball, the Bulls set about a strong opening partnership of their own in their reply – courtesy of captain-coach Alex Nooy and newcomer James Giertz (19).
But just as Nooy (48) looked right in command courtesy of series of booming boundaries, he lost his wicket at the most crucial stage – following Giertz back to the sheds, both with their side’s score locked on 72.
With both openers gone, the Bulls struggled to generate any real lasting partnerships throughout the rest of their innings – with a number of questionable, cross-bat shots contributing to their downfall. Only AJ Walker (bowled by great mate Clark for 23) and Hashan Abeyrathna (bowled by O’Connor for 20) could join Nooy in passing 20 as they were dismissed for 141 early in the 36th over.
That was testament to the Panthers’ focus and discipline with ball-in-hand – with Lucas Carroll (3/23), Clark (3/27) and skipper Jason Dodd (3/28) leading the way in bowling that consistent fourth or fifth stump line and wearing the Bulls’ batsmen down.
It was a strategy that was well thought out, and with good reason.
“I think a lot of people underestimate the difference from District to Premier,” Clark said.
“With batsmen like Coops (Mark Cooper), Smitty (Chris Smith), and Russ (Russell Lehman) – when you’re bowling to blokes like them you can’t afford to bowl bad balls because you’ll just get put away. You have to stay focussed.”
Clark acknowledged there was something to playing ‘boring cricket’ with the ball – piling the pressure on opposition batsmen and forcing them to make mistakes in an attempt to create something out of nothing.
It’s the sort of thing that will be crucial in the Panthers earning respect in the WGCA’s top tier – something Clark says the group is hell-bent on doing in the club’s 50th year, to reward and make ultimate club people like Mick Floyd and Tommy Antoniou proud. So far, they’re well on track.
TOORADIN v PAKENHAM
It wasn’t until less than two months before the start of the Premier season that the Lions realised one of their most beloved favourite sons was coming home.
And when Ben Maroney told Pakenham’s leaders he wanted to return to the club and finish what he’d started there, they couldn’t have been more thrilled.
They’d seen him at his best – dispatching the WGCA’s best bowlers to all parts for decades – and knew how valuable even a slight reproduction of that form would be to their cause in a super-strong top tier for 2018/19.
But surely not even the likes of captain-coach Rob Elston, president Phil Anning, or Dom Paynter could have realistically expected the 40-year-old Maroney to start the new season like an absolute bat out of hell – with 205 runs over his opening two knocks giving him an average of 102.5.
To many, it seemed his storied first XI career might have been coming to an end after just five games in the Premier division for Cardinia last season – batting no higher than six in any of them.
But after returning to the top of the Lions’ order to open their campaign, Maroney has delivered a stunning reminder of just what he’s capable of.
“Ever since he’s been back, I don’t think he’s missed a training – his enthusiasm and keenness infiltrates right throughout the whole club,” Anning said of the Lions’ former captain-coach.
“He’s one of the first at training and helps the young kids on the bowling machine
“He’s just been a breath of fresh air at our club since he returned.
“He’s playing cricket for all the right reasons – the love of the club and the game, to help the younger players, and to come back and play with his mates.
“I think after the first or second indoor training session, I spoke to Jack (Anning) and asked how he was going – he said he was hitting the ball as well as he was five or six years ago. He said he was smoking it.”
On Saturday Maroney recorded his 25th century – let that sink in for a moment – as the Lions compiled 4/219 from their 40 overs at Tooradin.
Dale Tormey (45) also continued his imposing Round 1 form, while Chris Smith (20) and Jason Williams (25) also provided handy contributions.
Seagulls champion all-rounder Cal O’Hare has also been simply sensational to start the season – with knocks of an unbeaten 90, and 127 in the opening two rounds.
But unfortunately for the big man, Saturday’s ton came in a losing effort as the Gulls were dismissed for 213 at the start of the 40th over – losing their last three wickets (including the vital scalp of O’Hare) for just 12 runs.
Elston admitted his side, in many respects, escaped with the points.
“We had to bowl them out to win the game in the end, but realistically we got away with one,” he said of the game of the Premier season so far.
Elston spoke of the early lives O’Hare was given, and praised him for making the most of them.
“Honestly, I think they (the Seagulls) kept us in it – not sticking with Cal and rotating the strike with him,” he said.
“But in saying that we had a couple of guys who did some really good things with the ball, like Dan Vela who bowled an exceptional spell.”
After O’Hare took to the youngster early, he bounced back in style and finished with 3/40 from his eight overs.
Talking about his side’s innings with the willow, Elston spoke about how 250 could have been on the cards at one stage.
“They tightened the bowling up in that second ten (overs), and we probably only got about 25 runs. If we could have been somewhere near that 105/110 mark we could have got to that 250 again,” he said.
“We’re still finding our way as a group but we can’t not credit the bowling we’re facing. We’ve got to play what we’re presented with, and the beauty of Ben and Dale is that they’re really sensible how they go about it.”
UPPER BEACONSFIELD v CLYDE
The Cougars recorded their first win of the season on Saturday with a three-wicket victory over the Maroons at Upper Beaconsfield, but they’ve still got an enormous amount of improvement to make – particularly with the bat.
After rolling the Maroons for just 89 in the 39th over – courtesy of 3/10 from Matt Aslett, 2/16 apiece from Pat Lawson and Liam Bennett, and 2/20 from Shane White – the Cougars lost seven wickets in their reply, in which it took them just over 25 overs to reach 7/91.
While the result was never really in doubt, the Cougars surely couldn’t be satisfied with their batting performance and will look for real improvement this week at home in a mouth-watering clash with Cardinia. In particular, they’ll need more support for skipper Kiefer Peries who backed up his 63 in Round 1 with 36 on the weekend.
For Upper Beaconsfield, the same applies for skipper Scott Pitcher – whose 45 was the only double-figure score for his side on Saturday.
MERINDA PARK v KOOWEERUP
While top versus bottom clashes after often one-sided, rarely are they more-so than what Kooweerup’s win over Merinda Park was on the weekend.
Batting first, the Demons amassed 6/226 from their 40 overs with openers Chris O’Hara (36) and captain-coach Mark Cooper (33) combining for a 64-run stand. When they fell in relatively quick succession, Tyler Clark (58) and Chris Bright (47) continued from where they left off – maintaining their own impressive starts to the season. That’s the thing with Kooweerup – their depth with both bat and ball is simply incredible. Rarely, if ever, do the Demons leave it up to just one or two players to get the job done and this year – with the inclusions of Clark and fast bowlers Tiron Fernando and Lauchlan Gregson – their depth has gone to another level. The Demons steamrolled the Cobras for just 51 in their reply, with Fernando claiming 4/19 from his eight overs, Gregson 2/5, and Jess Mathers 2/19.
