Casey-South Melbourne gloveman Robbie Elston hits out against Dandenong at Casey Fields on the weekend.By Marc McGowan
A COMBINATION of injuries and unavailability exposed Casey-South Melbourne’s lack of depth as it faced Dandenong in their local Victorian Premier Cricket derby at Casey Fields on Saturday.
With five first-team regulars missing in Chris Benham (ankle), Tim Dale (foot), Brett Watkins (ankle) and twin brothers Max and Reuben Wakefield (private school commitments), the Swans were always going to struggle against the reigning premier.
But it was still a disappointing performance by Casey-South Melbourne on what was a great batting deck.
Swans captain Michael Hansen won the toss and had no hesitation in batting, but lost opening partner Marc Ferne early.
Despite showing noticeable nerves while waiting in the pavilion, Australian under-19 prodigy Clive Rose (25 runs) justified his elevation to first drop.
Rose was dismissed with the score on 60, but Entwistle joined Hansen (44) and they moved the score along to 2/90.
When a significant wicket has fallen for Casey-South Melbourne in recent seasons, it has often been the case that several soon follow.
And so it was again, with Hansen and Entwistle removed within a run of one another to leave the Swans stumbling at 4/91.
It was not the end of the collapse either as they suddenly fell to 6/112.
Casey-South Melbourne steadied somewhat courtesy of Luke van Raay and Daniel Streker, but it was all too late and it capitulated for a dismal 159.
The Panther attack shared the load brilliantly, with all-rounders Matthew Chasemore (3/16 from 4.2 overs) and David Newman (3/21 from 13 overs) leading four multiple wicket-takers.
The placid nature of the pitch was soon clear to all, as Dandenong’s teenage batting dynamos Brett Forsyth (77) and Kumar Sarna (48) put the Swans – and in particular the out-of-form Lukas Hoogenboom – to the sword.
Hoogenboom endured a disastrous day, being belted for 50 runs off just seven wicketless overs, while also bowling 13 no balls.
Forsyth’s and Sarna’s blossoming opening partnership finally ended on 109 when blond leg-spinner Aaron Daniel broke through the defence of the latter.
It did not halt the Panthers’ momentum, however, and Chasemore proved more than capable of continuing the domination.
Forsyth was out short of another century, but by that time Dandenong’s innings had motored along to 154.
Newman was next to the crease and safely negotiated play to leave the Panthers in an enviable position at 2/165 and pushing for outright points.
Hansen rued his dismissal before lunch and believes it played a pivotal role in how the game panned out.
“Leading into lunch we were 2/80 or thereabouts and then 10 minutes before lunch I was out and that was bad timing,” he said.
“If we had kept that score at lunch, we would have been in a reasonable position, considering the players we had out.
“After lunch no-one went on … at the end of the day we didn’t bat well enough on a really good wicket.”
Hansen expects Benham and Dale to return for the club’s next match against Melbourne University, but Casey-South Melbourne loses Rose, who heads to Malaysia for the Under 19 World Cup, for a month.
The Swans will hope to stave off outright defeat when the Dandenong clash continues at Casey Fields from 11am on Saturday.
