Van Raay a shining light

By Marc McGowan
LUKE Van Raay has continued his stunning debut season in Victorian Premier Cricket by helping guide Casey-South Melbourne to a shock three-wicket victory over previously unbeaten Carlton at Princes Park on the weekend.
Van Raay has been Casey-South Melbourne’s stand-out performer this season, with his all-round contributions sending shockwaves through the competition.
He was at it again against Carlton, nabbing 2/27 off his 10 overs and scoring 43 with the bat before being run out.
“He’s just getting better and better,” Casey-South Melbourne captain-coach Roger Sillence said.
“If he can keep this up, he will be the find of the season and no doubt he’ll be pushing for some kind of reward.”
Carlton captain Tim Welsford won the toss and elected to bat, but his team found itself immediately on the back foot.
Openers Evan Gulbis (8 runs) and Michael Allen (23) quickly departed and when wicketkeeper Nathan Pilon (16) joined them in the pavilion, Carlton had slumped to 3/84.
Welsford (46) joined Benjamin Fletcher (53) at the wicket and together they formed the only significant partnership of the innings, but when they fell within a run of one another on 164 and 165, Carlton was in trouble.
Steady wickets fell from then on and Sillence (2/33) finished the innings by claiming the final two wickets, as Carlton was bowled out for 204 with a ball remaining in its allocated 50 overs.
Casey-South Melbourne’s opening attack has been maligned in recent weeks, and Matthew Hawking responded to the criticism with a 10-over spell of 4/39 to lead the bowling charge.
The pressure on Casey-South Melbourne opening batsman-wicketkeeper Robert Elston (8) reached fever point as he made his fourth consecutive single-figure score of the season, but opening partner Shane Nicholls (40) finally broke the shackles to post his first double-figure total.
The match appeared to be headed on a predictable course at 6/101, with stars Sillence (35) and Entwistle (4) two of the casualties.
The Casey-South Melbourne middle-order has been its strength all season, however, and Van Raay continued his season-long penchant for major alliances when Nathan Bird (51 not out) strode to the wicket.
The pair produced a 95-run association that took them to the brink of victory, before Brendan Meagher joined Bird for the final overs and completed the amazing turnaround with two balls to spare.
“I was quite confident of beating them,” Sillence said.
“The first two weeks of the season was just getting settled in and we’ve played some really disciplined cricket since then.
“Elston is strugglinga little bit, but I have faith in the guys.
“I will continue to back them to do the job.”
Elston is likely to keep his spot for this weekend’s two-day opener, but his position may come under threat when Casey-South Melbourne plays its next one-dayer against Camberwell on Melbourne Cup day.
Casey-South Melbourne will be out to take another top scalp this weekend when it takes on Essendon in the first two-day match of the season, which starts at 11am on Saturday.
This weekend’s match will also be the first Victorian Premier Cricket game to be played at Casey Fields, and City of Casey mayor Kevin Bradford will open proceedings.