Three tons too light

By Marc McGowan
CASEY-SOUTH Melbourne’s batsmen topped 300 runs in a one-day match for the first time this decade, but the performance was still not enough for the Swans to end their win drought.
Skipper Craig Entwistle (68 off 44, two fours, three sixes) and openers Clive Rose (65 runs off 94 balls, eight fours) and Tom Hussey (56 off 67, four fours, one six) all hit half-centuries as Casey-South Melbourne reached 8/301.
But the Swans’ run chase fell 20 runs short after Prahran pair Vinay Parikh’s (126 off 114, 13 fours, two sixes) and Steve De Bolfo’s (90 off 118, nine fours) career-high contributions steered the True Blues to 6/321.
Parikh and De Bolfo added 201 runs for the third wicket after Victorian second XI all-rounder Jayde Herrick (3/64 from 10 overs) removed dangerous openers Grant Chessari and Neil Schlittler cheaply.
They set a magnificent platform and Prahran wound up smacking 91 runs off the last 60 balls.
James Wild slashed a quick-fire 38 off 27 balls at the end to cap Parikh’s and De Bolfo’s good work.
Beanpole left-armer Ash Perera (2/58 from 10) was Casey-South Melbourne’s other multiple wicket-taker.
Struggling leg-spinner Aaron Daniel, off-spinner Entwistle and the out-of-form Tim Dale conceded an alarming 92 runs from their combined 11 overs.
Swans coach Mark Ridgway gave Rose a second chance at opening the batting after scoring a duck the week before and he relished the opportunity.
Rose and wicketkeeper Hussey took Casey-South Melbourne to 99 without loss before Steve Seymour (2/61 from 10) removed the latter.
Veteran number-three Michael Hansen (46 off 47, two fours, two sixes) also had another good outing.
But neither Rose nor Hansen could go on with the job and when Dale joined them back in the pavilion the Swans were 4/197 and still with plenty of work ahead.
Casey-South Melbourne required 111 runs off the final 10 overs to achieve victory, but with Entwistle and Herrick at the crease the Swans still held out hope.
Shane Jones (4/79 from 10), who entered the contest with an economy rate of just over three runs an over, took the brunt of the batting assault, but he had the last laugh – dismissing both Herrick and new batsman Rhys Holdsworth.
Entwistle’s whirlwind innings kept Casey-South Melbourne’s chances alive, but it became too tough a task for him and Paul Sealey (2/78 from 10) finally claimed his wicket in the last over.
Ridgway was not surprisingly happy with his batsmen, but lamented his players’ fielding performance, which he estimated cost them around 40 runs.
The True Blues also managed 17 runs from the Swans’ bowlers’ 10 wides.
Ridgway has all but given up on his side making the one-day finals after starting the season with five straight defeats, but believes a victory is not far away.
“I’m still pretty positive about what we’re doing when you look where we’ve been and where we are now,” he said.
“Casey-South Melbourne wouldn’t have made 300 chasing 320-odd last season and, up until the weekend, we’ve been bowling sides out for totals that are chaseable.
“But we need to do everything – batting, bowling and fielding – really well to be competitive and we can’t afford to let one part of our game slide.”
Off-spinner Ben Durrant, from Maffra, could replace Daniel in the Swans’ first XI this weekend after impressing in the seconds.
Casey-South Melbourne starts its two-day campaign against Essendon at Casey Fields on Saturday from 11am.