By Nick Creely
AROUND THE GROUNDS
VICTORIAN PREMIER CRICKET
ROUND 12 (DAY ONE)
It’s no secret that Dandenong lift to another gear whenever their backs are against the wall.
Their success is based off an ‘anywhere, anytime’ mindset; it’s held them in good stead in their recent premiership successes in red ball, white ball and Twenty20 cricket.
You could easily argue that the Panthers had their backs against the wall when they hosted the powerhouse Fitzroy Doncaster at Shepley Oval, urgently needing a win to get them out of 10th spot and back in the finals race.
A delayed start due to a soft pitch meant that play couldn’t begin until midday, and the Panthers broke through early after sending the Lions in to bat, with overseas seamer Josh Shaw finding the edge of in-form opener Jack Rudd’s bat for 12.
The sharp hands of keeper Jacques Augustin helped the Panthers snare a few more wickets in good time, and after left-arm tweaker Akshat Buch (3/24) got into his groove, the Lions soon found themselves teetering at 8/125.
Dominant all-rounder Trent Lawford (56 not out) launched a few lusty blows to help the Lions reach 159 in just a tick under 57 overs, with Shaw (3/34) and Josh Thomas (2/51) providing valuable pace support to Buch, who continues his fine season.
Champion pair Tom Donnell (28) and Brett Forsyth (18) managed to get off to a strong start, knocking around 47 runs, before young seamer Sam Elliott ripped through the gate of Forsyth, sparking a mini collapse that saw a further three wickets tumble for just 39 runs.
Cam Forsyth (seven not out) and James Nanopoulos (12 not out) all but shut up shop until stumps, surviving a gruelling 30 minutes together to consolidate the innings and leave the home side 4/102, in a comfortable position and with 58 runs required to take first innings points.
Casey-South Melbourne, meanwhile, will need to bat out of their skins if they are to knock off top four aspirants Melbourne Uni after a tough day in the field on Saturday.
The top-eight clash – a perfect indicator of exactly where the Swans where at – didn’t get off to the most perfect start – with Uni openers Michael Clements (66) and Fergus McKenna (48) getting to lunch unscathed and with over 100 runs on the board.
Returning to the side, James Maxwell (4/59) finally broke through, and McKenna soon fell after, with keeper Dev Pollock gratefully accepting a chance to give Maxwell a second wicket.
But Uni dug in, with a series of partnerships through the middle from skipper James McNeil (52), Alex Gregory (56) and Tom Rogers (34) helping launch a massive total.
The Swans fought back – with spinner Lachie Sperling (3/76) rewarded for his efforts – to work his way through the middle order – but it was the left-armer Maxwell that did the most damage, finishing with the impressive figures of 4/59 in his 19 overs in what is his fifth first XI match at the level.
Uni were eventually bowled out for 332, giving the Swans a big ask.
But, with the form of the likes of Luke Wells, and a batting side filled with depth in Ryan Quirk, Jordan Wyatt, Lachie Sperling, Ryan Eaton, Michael Wallace and Devin Pollock, the Swans will fancy their chances of giving the chase an almighty shake.
VICTORIAN SUB-DISTRICT – NORTH/EAST
ROUND 10 (DAY TWO)
Endeavour Hills fell narrowly short of putting together yet another win, with the Eagles falling 21 runs short against Ivanhoe.
Setting the Eagles 190 for victory, the visitors got off to a fine start, but crumbled in the middle order to be bowled out for 168 in the 86th over.
Tyrell Panditharatne (39) top scored for the Eagles in his maiden first XI appearance for the club.
And Noble Park also suffered a defeat at the hands of Bayswater, with the Parkers also falling just short.
Chasing 239, the Parkers lost two very quick wickets, but recovered nicely – largely through the efforts of skipper Luke Wintle, who finished with a brilliant 94, his second consecutive innings in the nineties in a season that has netted him 526 runs at 75.1
The Parkers paid for their early wickets, and eventually fell for 216, with an excellent performance by Nilochana Perera (48) also helping the visitors get close.
MPCA – PROVINICIAL
ROUND 11 (DAY ONE)
Pearcedale is starring down the barrel of an outright loss to Baxter after a tough day of cricket on Saturday.
Now the most likely side to be relegated, the Panthers were simply outclassed from the outset.
Batting first, the Panthers were 4/29, but managed to recover somewhat to post a largely underwhelming 102 off 44.3 overs, with Dale Irving starring with 5/30.
It took just 17 overs to pass the total, with Baxter superstar Chris Britain cracking an unbeaten 48 before boldly declaring, with an outright to sure up his side’s finals prospects.
At stumps, the Panthers battled their way to 2/52 off 17 overs, needing a lot to go right to survive an outright loss.
In other matches, Sorrento posted 254 against premiership fancies Langwarrin, with Bobby Wilson slamming an unbeaten 147 – his second ton of the season – to give the Kangaroos a massive challenge on Saturday. Peninsula OB (8/267) had a big day against Mt Eliza, with Wade Pelzer (182 not out) absolutely dominating, while Mornington (166) have their noses slightly ahead of Flinders (0/3) at Cairns Reserve.
