AROUND THE GROUNDS
VICTORIAN PREMIER CRICKET
ROUND 4
Dandenong champion Tom Donnell has feasted on region rivals Casey-South Melbourne for the past decade so it was only fitting he did it once again in a milestone match.
Playing his 200th Victorian Premier Cricket match after starting his career with the Swans, the unassuming Donnell thrilled his beloved Shepley Oval on Saturday with a wonderful half century to guide his side to a 4-0 record and on top of the ladder with yet another bonus point.
It was an innings that lifted his average to close to 50 against his former club since joining the Panthers at the beginning of the 05/06 season.
The game was always played in Dandy’s court as soon as Lachie Sperling and his Swans won the toss and elected to bat.
Two iffy calls gave the Panthers the opening scalps of Kasun Suriaratchie (0) and Lachlan Sperling (5) and before drinks the Swans were hanging on by a thread at 5/37.
Veteran quick Darren Pattinson (4/19) was simply phenomenal in this period, winding back the clock in a stellar spell that saw him bowl his 10 overs straight and worry the Swans with his pace, bounce and relentless lines.
As they did last week, Chris Benedek (23) steadied the ship while Dylan Hadfield (43) played the aggressor and it worked a treat, lifting the score just above 100 with a decent launching pad for the remaining 20 overs.
Hadfield in particular struck the ball sweetly with a series of cracking cover shots bringing the Swans back into the contest.
But impressive left arm spinner Akshat Buch (2/24) ignited the flame once more with a clever quicker ball that saw Jacques Augstin stump Benedek before slowing one up and forcing Hadfield to spoon a ball to Donnell at cover – it changed the game.
Brendan Rose (30 not out) and Leigh Diston (14) then lifted late with some smart shot selection, lifting the Swans to 9/155 off their 50 overs – a competitive, yet underpar score that would have had the Panthers licking their lips.
It didn’t take long for legendary openers Donnell and Brett Forsyth (35) to take the fizz out of the contest, with Donnell cracking an early lofted drive straight to the boundary before the pair brought up their customary 50 run partnership in less than an hour.
The skipper eventually fell for 56 but it simply didn’t matter with Ed Newman (40) once again showing his abundance of class by playing a crafty knock before LJ Edwards (12 not out) and James Nanopoulos (8 not out) eventually saw the home side to victory in the 32nd over and with only three wickets down.
“Everything’s fallen into place in the first few games and I think we’ve been lucky enough to get early wickets when we bowl,” Donnell said of the start to the season.
“Our aim is to play finals and a good start gives you breathing room because you will have tough patches through the year and just to have that breathing room is really important – there are a lot of games before Christmas and you want to do a lot of your damage early on.
“It is important to bank the points now and, hopefully, it can push us to play finals at the end of the year.”
Although Donnell was once again the star, he acknowledged that the brilliant early spell of Darren Pattinson – nursing a sore hamstring – set the tone for his side.
“He just knew what he was doing – he controlled the swing and the seam movement perfectly, it was just a shame he couldn’t get five, but we’ll take those figures every day of the week,” he said.
Donnell said that although his side had managed to swiftly chase down its targets in quick time to earn bonus points, starting well when chasing has been the focus first.
“You don’t really think about the bonus point at the start of the innings and I suppose getting through the first five to 10 overs and get a decent start saw us push on. The starts have been really important,” he said.
The win leaves the Panthers undefeated and atop the Premier ladder ahead of a Round 5 clash with Melbourne Uni away.
In the lower grades, Dandenong also defeated Casey in the seconds, thirds and fourths.
SUBBIES – SOUTH/EAST
ROUND 2
Endeavour Hills was inflicted with its second consecutive heavy defeat, narrowly avoiding an outright loss to Balwyn at Gordon Barnard Reserve.
Resuming at 3/61 in pursuit of the Eagles’ 126, wicketkeeper batsman Harry Swindells (107 not out) stole the show with a sparkling century for the Tigers with the home side racking up 5/242 before declaring.
The Eagles looked destined to fall over in the second innings meekly when opening batsmen Rhyss Wilson (0) and Alistair Read (0) fell early but the visitors – off the back of Harry Johnson (43) – managed to play the day out, finishing on 7/77 off 37 overs.
Noble Park, meanwhile, annihilated Moorabbin off the back of star all-rounder Isi Perera in what was the champ’s 100th match for the Parkers.
Resuming at 0/71 in a small chase of just 111, Perera (64) helped guide the Parkers to 4/211 before declaring with enough time to force an outright victory.
Moorabbin somehow managed to bat out the remaining 49 overs, finishing on 8/61 with Perera’s incredible 4/19 off 18 overs seeing the Parkers fall just two wickets short of the extra points.
WOMENS PREMIER CRICKET
ROUND 4
Dandenong is still winless in the 2017/18 season after falling to a star-studded Essendon Maribyrnong Park side at Shepley Oval on Sunday.
After Panthers’ skipper Sophie Molineux sent the Bombers in to bat, Georgia Wareham (113) put on an absolute clinic and, combined with a cameo from Natalie Schilov (60), saw the visitors post an ominous 6/268 off 50 overs.
Kim Garth (3/32) continued her stellar start to the season with the ball for the Panthers.
The Panthers got off to the worst possible start with the bat when Nicole Faltum (0) fell to Molly Strano (3/7) in the second over, and the home side couldn’t quite recover.
Molineux (67) tried in vain to keep her side in the contest but the Panthers were eventually bowled out for 129 with Garth (29) also batting well.
In the round’s other matches, Prahran defeated Melbourne and Box Hill crushed Plenty Valley.
WARRAGUL DISTRICT
ROUND 4
Longwarry’s tough start to the season continued on Saturday with the Crows falling to Ellinbank by three wickets.
After two early wickets, the Crows steadied the ship in the first innings to score a competitive 7/156 off their 40 overs with skipper Tom Keily (41) playing a strong knock at number three.
There was plenty to like for the Bankers with the ball with Sean Masterson (2/24) excellent with the new ball while the likes of Jeremy Gray (2/33) and Jeff Reid (2/38) all did some late damage.
The Bankers got off to a solid start with Troy Ferguson (59) crashing the ball to all parts of the ground.
When Ferguson was eventually dismissed off the bowling of Jedd Serong (2/12), the Bankers went from 2/61 to 5/86 as the game hung in the balance.
Skipper Nick Fairbank (22) and Reid (24) steadied the ship, ensuring the Bankers would pass the Crows with three wickets and two overs left.
Down at Bellbird Oval, an entertaining 62 to Sanjaya Gangodawila inspired Western Park to a narrow win over Drouin.
Gangodawila crashed and bashed a half century at the top of the order for the Warriors with the visitors racking up 7/186 off their 40 overs. Skipper Sam Batson (43) was also excellent in the middle overs.
Batson then followed that up by taking 4/41, including a wicket in the first over, to roll a gallant Hawks’ batting line up for 170 off 39.2 overs.
Damon Healy (34) top scored for the Hawks while Sam Russell (4/23) also proved a handful with the ball.
In the round’s other match, Hallora chased down Yarragon’s 9/79 with no dramas, with the Kangaroos finding the runs in just 21 overs.
Buln Buln had the bye.
MPCA – PROVINCIAL
ROUND 4 (DAY ONE)
Pearcedale needs to do a lot right with the bat on Saturday if it’s got any chance of defeating a clinical Mornington at Pearcedale Reserve.
After sending the Dogs in to bat, Sam Wiese (33) got them off to a steady start before Brad Wilson (101) and Brad McDonald (150) sparkled with a 241 run partnership that saw the visitors post a mammoth 4/298 off 74 overs.
Skipper Wiese declared with just six overs left to play, giving the Panthers a testing 30 minutes before stumps.
Star openers Brad Trotter and Chris Dew managed to play out the day unscathed, finishing on 0/12 and setting up what will be an intriguing final day of cricket.
