By Tyler Lewis
Jakeb Thomas continues to be one of the most underrated bowlers in Victorian Premier Cricket.
The big quick has been in and out of the Dandenong side this year, but by no means due to form.
When the right-armer comes back, the Panthers attack always look a touch classier, and far more threatening.
On Saturday, the Panthers set 7/194 for victory; Brett Forsyth recorded his 45th Vic Premier Cricket half-century, while his brother Cam notched his second successive score of 46 and nudger Josh Slater chimed in with an uncharacteristic 24 not out from just 23 balls.
And while the target was nowhere near enough to contain such an elegantly potent Melbourne outfit – that currently sit third and are premiership contenders – the Panthers were almost bowled to victory by Thomas.
And if it wasn’t for the cap on overs in a one-day fixture, he could very well have finished the job.
In his opening two overs Thomas bowled too short to Melbourne skipper Blake Thomson, but whenever he pitched it up, he had the stylish batter fending at balls without earnest conviction.
Before he finally knocked the castle over with a tremendous ball, clipping the top of off, before he found the edge of Cam Kellaway, who had just stepped off the plane from Australian under-19 World Cup honours.
In the end, the Panthers were passed in the 45th over by the Demons with five wickets in the shed. In-form Demon Jack Harper crunched 74 not out to win his side the game.
While Thomas’s figures of 10 overs, zero maidens, 2/40 may appear as a solid, but not extraordinary day on paper, when taken into consideration that he has gone for 12 off his first nine balls and has dismissed the two best batters in the league’s third placed side, his day – much like him – goes unrecognised.
The Panthers are well and truly out of the finals race and are having a difficult summer with just three wins, however, development like Thomas’s this year can be something the Dandenong unit will take proudly into season 2022/23.
