Casey notches first win

By Paul Pickering
A GUTSY stand from fringe players Tim Dale and Brett Watkins guided Casey-South Melbourne to its first win of the Premier Cricket season on Sunday.
The struggling Swans pair – well aware that the axe was looming ahead of the imminent return of Bushrangers Damien Wright and Matthew Wade – proved their value with an unbeaten 98-run partnership against Melbourne Uni.
Dale led the way with an authoritative half century as the Swans hauled in the Student’s total of 178 with four wickets and nine balls to spare.
The win came on the back of a washed-out draw against local rival Dandenong at Shepley Oval on Saturday, giving Casey-South Melbourne six points for the weekend.
Swans coach Mark Ridgway was relieved to put a win on the board after two narrow defeats in the opening rounds.
“There was mixed emotions during the day, because we won it, we lost it and we won it again,” he said.
Ridgway was particularly pleased to see Dale and Watkins find some form after getting a rev-up from the coach during the week.
“We put some pressure on them, so they knew that there wasn’t too many opportunities left for them in first grade in the foreseeable future if they didn’t start to perform.
“There comes a time when you’ve got to stand up and they did that beautifully. They grew some cahones and got us across the line.”
The Swans won the toss, sent their hosts in and looked to have them out of the game at 5/61.
Pacemen Matt Hawking, Jayde Herrick and Ash Perera wreaked havoc with the new ball, and spinner Clive Rose got in on the act by deceiving Uni’s Scott Sanders in flight.
Students Antony Keely and Matt Marshall combined for a 61-run stand to put the put the home side back in the game, before Rose accepted a return catch from Marshall to ignite the Swans.
Some lacklustre fielding allowed the runs to flow for the Students in the last 20 overs on their way to posting a competitive total.
The visitors found trouble immediately in reply, with Rose dismissed on the first delivery of the innings from Greg Kennedy.
Robbie Elston and Craig Entwistle steadied the ship with half-century stand, before four quick wickets left the Swans reeling at 6/83.
In hindsight, that was the perfect platform for Dale (55 from 68 balls) and Watkins (39 from 51) to stake their claim for an ongoing spot in the first XI.
Ridgway knows that his side has plenty of upside, with Wright and Wade set to return for the two-day game against Geelong in a fortnight. He was far from content with Sunday’s outing.
“Even though we won, we made some fundamental errors that we just can’t make against the really good teams,” he explained.
This Saturday’s opponent, North Melbourne, doesn’t quite fit into that category, but the Roos will be dangerous after an impressive win over St Kilda on the weekend.