Nanopoulos atop a classy list

Cassidy continued his sublime season with another brilliant bowling display on Saturday. 203216 Picture: ROB CAREW

By Tyler Lewis

At 3:49pm on Saturday, James Nanopoulos etched his name further into Dandenong Cricket Club folklore when he dismissed Ringwood champion David King.

The all-rounder now leads the way as the Panthers’ all time wicket taker, surpassing Roger Gill (313).

Earlier in the day, Dandenong skipper Tom Donnell won the toss and had very little hesitation in batting first.

He immediately set the tone with his Kookaburra blade, reminding some of the competitions most potent quicks that pitching it in their half will not go unpunished.

Donnell’s opening partner Brett Forsyth found his time in the middle a little more difficult than he, but still managed to hang around with Donnell, as the pair posted yet another partnership of over 50, their 52nd together.

Donnell swiftly moved to 50, a 45th Vic Premier Cricket half-century – highlighted not only by his trademark pulls and cuts, but a lofted square drive that slapped into the pavilion.

A spurt of wickets from David King before drinks, collecting Forsyth (18), Donnell (51) and Comrey Edgeworth (10) had the Rams back in the game as the Panthers were 3/91 at the half-way mark.

Ed Newman sustained his rise as a genuine star this season with an impressive 45, before the Panthers hit a major halt with less than 10 overs to go.

Nanopoulos, Augustin and Newman all departed in the space of two overs, without adding any runs to the scorebook – bringing back the Panthers’ potential total.

After a few minor cameos from Peter Cassidy and Suraj Randiv, Dandenong were dismissed for 196.

After the thud of the brand new ball hitting Tom Rogers’ bat then the pavilion roof inside the first over from Josh Shaw, there was a deathly silence around Shepley Oval from the Dandenong faithful who came to watch a historical day.

But they soon found their voice, when Randiv caught the edge of Rogers and brought the all-important partnership of King and Ian Holland to the crease.

Enter James Nanopoulos.

With King trying to work into the gap on the leg side, the champ miscued his stroke and found the safe hands of a diving Comrey Edgeworth at mid-wicket, cracking open the match for the Panthers and more importantly, making the record his own.

In typical Nanopoulos fashion, he wasn’t finished, claiming another wicket only a number of deliveries later to send a ripple through the Rams top order.

Akshat Buch got in on the action with a scalp of his own, before Cassidy snared the match defining wicket of Ian Holland, who tried to slash through the offside and could only find a thick edge that was taken astoundingly on the rise by gloveman Jacques Augustin who was up to the jump.

The Panthers smelt blood and went for the kill, removing the Rams for just 103 to secure a 93-run victory.

Tom Donnell won the toss and elected to bat, holding Nanopoulos to wait a further three hours for his turn at the record, a wait he didn’t seem to fussed about.

“I was too disappointed to be honest, I thought it would be a really good wicket to bat on,” he said.

“We put on around 200 and we thought that would be a really competitive score which it turned out to be.

“I wasn’t too fussed, we thought best to use the conditions.”

The nerves didn’t kick in for Nanopoulos until the thought of not getting it in the 10 over spell, but a change of ends helped him pound through the bowling crease a bit more and pick up one of the best batsmen in the competition in David King.

“It was a pretty strong breeze, really, we thought go down breeze for a couple after ‘Shawry’ finished,” he said.

“We thought we would see how it would work, I don’t really like bowling into the wind anymore, I am getting too old for it.

“I started to panic a little bit, luckily I was able to get Kingy out, and well he got himself out really.

“It was a relief to be fair, it was good to do it at Dandenong and contribute to a win which was more important.

“It wasn’t a very good ball to be fair, it was a relief to be honest, there was a little bit of a build-up – it wasn’t really spoken about but I knew I only needed to take one wicket.

“Once it happened it was a good relief and I was able to relax a little bit more.

“It is always nice to bowl to the best players in the comp and to get him out, it has always been a great challenge, he has a great technique and has been a great batsman for so many years, so to get him was good not only for our side but good to bring it up with such a good player.”

While Nanopoulos has found pole position as the Panthers leading wicket taker of all-time, Gill also holds the record of most dismissals in a season (47), another record Nanopoulos (32 scalps this season) will be hoping he can pinch from Gill come seasons end.

Casey-South Melbourne’s finals hopes, meanwhile, took another hit, going down to a youthful Monash Tigers at Central Reserve.

The Swans were always behind in the game with stars Luke Wells and Nathan Freitag, as well as emerging duo Aaron Fernando and Joel Mitchell back in the sheds with the score 4/27 after a searing spell from Tigers quick Marcus Berryman (4/41).

Upon his return to the first XI, Lachie Sperling (21) looked terrific, dispatching young spinner Reiley Mark for two monster sixes on his way to a 34-run stand with Michael Wallace, but a horror run-out – just as the pair looked settled – was the catalyst for a middle-order collapse.

Despite Wallace (51 not out) playing a lone hand in a terrific knock from the stylish leftie, the Swans were rolled for 125, with the pace of Mitch Perry (3/12), as well as the wily mediums from Andrew Humphries (2/16) proving too hard a task to handle.

But the Tigers didn’t have it all their own way in the chase.

Seamer Jordan Hammond (1/9) managed to find the edge of opener Kyle Viccars in his second over, before a double strike by leggie Luke Wells (2/27) saw the home side slump to 3/38.

But Scott Edwards (58 not out) – who looked confident and stylish from the outset – built the chase with Berryman (33) – putting a dent in the Swans’ faint flicker, and the home side cruised to victory with six wickets and 15 overs to spare.

The Swans will be looking to bounce back on Saturday when they take on Northcote at home for day one of the two-dayer.

MPCA PENINSULA

ROUND 10

Pearcedale suffered another defeat, this time at the hands of Heatherhill.

The Dales bowled for 65 overs in the first dig, where the Hawks posted 250 and sent Pearcedale in.

Bowled out for 90 in the first innings, Heatherhill sent the Dales back in for another bat, trailing by 160.

Pearcedale fell to 7/68 and avoided another outright defeat, with time to thank after another poor set of batting displays.

Pearcedale sit 32 points behind second last and are set for second relegation in as many seasons.

VICTORIAN SUB-DISTRICT – NORTH/WEST

ROUND 10 (DAY ONE)

Endeavour Hills are in a tricky position after a tough day away from home against Balwyn.

The Eagles won the toss and had a bat, but could only muster up 105 in 62.4 overs, with the reliable Vinu Mohotty the only to show resistance with a gritty 39.

Balwyn did what they needed to with 20 overs to bat towards the end of the day, and got through unscathed with 23 runs on the board.

Noble Park, meanwhile, will need to bat well against Mt Waverley on day two after an interesting day of cricket.

The Parkers bowled well and often find breakthroughs when needed, but the home side still managed to find a way to score 204, with Angus Robbins leading the way with 88.

Kalhan Sineth was tireless all day to send down 33 overs for 4/78, while all-rounder Marasinghe Perera snared 4/32.