Casey-South Melbourne captain Craig Entwistle and coach Mark Ridgway will have plenty to talk about this week after the Swans capitulated for 62 in a nine-wicket thrashing to Geelong on Saturday. 23218 Picture: Meagan RogersBy Marc McGowan
A NEW Casey-South Melbourne – same disappointing result.
It took less than 36 overs for the pre-season hype surrounding Mark Ridgway’s coaching appointment to dissipate.
A raft of quality recruits had team officials buzzing about the possibilities for the Victorian Premier Cricket season, but last season’s finalist Geelong quickly gave the Swans a reality check.
Casey-South Melbourne batted first and lost two wickets in the opening over before succumbing for a paltry 62 in just 22.3 overs.
All-rounder Tim Dale (42) was the only Swan to offer any resistance, with nine Casey-South Melbourne batsmen combining for a meagre five runs.
Luke Muller (4/16 from 7.3 overs) and Clinton Peake (3/8 from five overs) took full advantage of the Geelong Cricket Ground’s spinner-friendly deck to be the hosts’ chief destroyers.
Paceman Marc Carson (3/15 from five overs) claimed the first three scalps to start the rot.
The Cats lost only one wicket and took just 13.1 overs to surpass the total.
Victorian Bushrangers star Aaron Finch impressed with an unbeaten knock of 27 to pick up where he left off from his record-breaking 2007-08 season.
But it was a nightmare beginning for Ridgway, who at one stage left in disgust to check how the club’s third XI was faring on the adjoining ground.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The wicket wasn’t great – it was probably a 120 to 140-run wicket – but it certainly was not a 62-run wicket,” he said.
“Unfortunately the performance had traits of the previous Casey-South Melbourne teams and we need to get rid of that … but we live to fight another day.
“It was embarrassing and spineless – I’m not telling you anything I didn’t tell the players – and we certainly need to review all selections besides Tim Dale.”
The only positive for the Swans was that their seconds and fourths both managed wins.
St Kilda recruit Rhys Holdsworth amassed 76 runs to top-score for Casey-South Melbourne’s second XI and is a likely starter in the Swans’ top side this weekend.
And there could be more selection changes to come if Casey-South Melbourne’s much-vaunted new line-up cannot fire a shot soon.
“If we’re 0-4 after the first month, we’ll just play all the kids,” Ridgway said.
“Well put it on the players and if they don’t respond they’re probably not players we want in the team anyway.”
There is no respite for the Swans, with Northcote, which rolled Dandenong first-up, and last season’s premier Ringwood awaiting this weekend at Casey Fields and Croydon Park Oval respectively.
“We just need to dust ourselves off and forget about that result,” Ridgway said.
“We haven’t got time to remember what happened and we need to pretend that round one is this Saturday.”
