By Nick Creely
What a bounce back from Casey-South Melbourne.
And a timely one as the Christmas break creeps closer and closer by the day.
Just seven days after being inflicted with a hefty 10-wicket loss to Footscray, the Swans clinched their second win of the Victorian Premier Cricket season, downing great rivals Dandenong in a south-east showdown at Shepley Oval.
As a result of the win, the Swans move into the top-eight.
“The result against Footscray wasn’t a true reflection of the way we played – it didn’t feel like a 10-wicket loss, but at the same time it was important to bounce back and play the way we wanted to play,” Swans coach Will Carr said of the side’s response to last week.
“The result was important, but more so the way we wanted to play and wanted to get out of the game.
“We ticked those boxes and the result looked after itself – Dandenong had some challenges throughout the week, and they had a few inexperienced players debuting.
“They had some dangerous players in (Brett) Forsyth, (Tom) Donnell, Josh Slater’s turning into a really formidable player, (Matt) Wilson, and (Braeden) Taeuber is an improving bowler, so they still had some dangerous players to be wary of, but we knew if we were at our best, the result would take care of itself.”
The comfortable victory was set up in two parts – a class half-century from Michael Wallace – and a disciplined bowling display that strangled the Panthers.
The Swans looked destined for a strong total after being sent in to bat, with Ashley Chandrasinghe (29) and Luke Manders (49) ticking over 70 runs with relative ease.
Manders in particularly looked ominous, taking on the quicks and hitting some sweet boundaries before being caught looking to clear the rope to reach his half-century.
But it was the skipper Michael Wallace that looked comfortable and assured from the outset, playing with plenty of flair and aggression to set the tone for his side, just days after spanking 78 from 50 deliveries in the Twenty20 Super Slam against Kingston Hawthorn.
The left-hander had panache and class during his outstanding 89 from 93 balls, hitting three sixes alongside seven fours, with one of his maximums an absurdly good reverse sweep shot off leggie Gehan Seneviratne (2/45) that cleared the square boundary.
Carr believes the stylish Wallace is starting to really grow into the captaincy role, and is adamant that his reliable left-hander can get even better from an individual perspective the more he learns about his game.
“It’s his second year as skipper, and he’s growing into that,” he said.
“He’s learning a lot about himself as a captain, and with his batting, he’s seeing the ball really well, he’s in good touch.
“He knows there’s improvement, but he’s got the technique and the artillery to be a more consistent player – we think there’s a lot of upside.
“He’s just turned 30, and been in the system a long time – we might still see the best of his batting.”
Talented 17-year-old Harrish Kannan – who is averaging a tick over 50 this season – impressed once more with a creative 39 from 55 deliveries, linking up in a 92-run stand with his skipper that ultimately saw the Swans post 8/258.
The youngster has scores of 77, 28 and 59 to go alongside his 39 on Saturday, with the club adamant he is one of the more exciting young players in the competition.
“He’s learning about his game and the level, and we’re seeing improvements every time he bats,” Carr said.
“The upside is just huge – he’s averaging 50 – there’s a long way to go, but you couldn’t ask for much more so far.”
But after Dogs opener Dylan Brasher and Dan Sartori put the Swans to the sword last week, Wallace’s bowling group bounced back in a big way, rolling the Panthers for just 157 in reply, with Josh Slater (25), Cam Forsyth (27) and Gehan Seneviratne (29) managing starts.
There was no particular standout for the Swans, with Nathan Lambden (1/23) impressing with his lines and pace, Cal Dodson (2/50) found some form, spinners Luke Shelton (2/40) and Ruwantha Kellepotha (2/28) played their roles to perfection, while the “unlucky” Jackson Fry (2/10) got the ball rolling with the early scalps of champion openers Brett Forsyth and Tom Donnell to break the game open before being managed through the innings with some tightness.
Carr was impressed with the discipline of his bowling group to shelve last week aside and stick to their plans.
“At one stage (our spinners) had 11 overs, and 2/33 between, so that’s ideally the blueprint,” he said.
“If the quicks can break through early, it allows Kellepotha and Shelton to come on and really strangle the opposition.
“They’ve got enough tricks to take wickets as well as bowl tight, and that’s how it panned out.”
Carr said that the opportunity to find some momentum and regain some confidence with a Tuesday night thumping of Kingston Hawthorn in the Super Slam was a huge catalyst in the swift turnaround.
“You want to take learnings out of any win, loss, or draw, and you do tend to take more learnings out of losses, but we spoke post-Footscray what the positives were and we got an opportunity to implement them a few days later,” he said.
“Regardless of who we were playing on Tuesday night, again we wanted to go about it a certain way, so it was a blessing to have a competitive hit-out and right some wrongs.”
The Swans will play their final game before the Christmas break on Saturday with a huge challenge at home against St Kilda.
