Trego sparks T20 blitz

By Paul Pickering
A TWENTY20 whitewash could be Casey-South Melbourne’s ticket back to Premier Cricket’s promised land.
That’s the view of Swans coach Mark Ridgway, who was at his bullish best after two emphatic wins over Melbourne Uni and Geelong in the 20-over format on the weekend.
“We almost played two perfect games of Twenty20 cricket,” Ridgway reflected on the opening weekend of the four-match Twenty20 phase.
“We’re pretty confident we can go through the Twenty20s undefeated, and if we can do that, we’ll certainly cement a spot in the top four, so we’re pretty happy.”
This summer marks the first time that points gained in the shortened format have counted towards the premiership race, and, if the weekend’s result are any indication, the Swans are set to cash in.
Skipper Damien Wright returned to lead the Swans into battle, but it was fellow first-class star Peter Trego who stole the show.
The hard-hitting Englishman smashed 54 from 30 balls at the top of the order on Saturday, before bettering that with 64 from 33 – including five sixes – against the Cats at Casey Fields on Sunday.
He had great support from young opening partner Rohan Blandford (25 and 30 not out) on both occasions as the duo combined for 64 and 96 on consecutive days.
The home side failed to fully capitalise on that platform on Sunday, but, after having Geelong at 3/10 in reply, held on to win by 23 runs.
It was another accomplished team bowling performance, with Andrew Perrin (2/21), Jeff de Wet (2/22) and Clive Rose (2/37) complementing the cagey all-rounders in Trego (1/15 from four overs) and Wright (1/12 from three).
Rose (3/17) was the pick of the bowlers on Saturday as the Swans held the students to 8/106.
But it was Trego’s fireworks that had his teammates – and coach – walking tall come Sunday night. Ridgway expected the tattooed Pom to be a menace at the top of the order, and he hasn’t disappointed.
“He does that for Somerset in county cricket, so we knew he would just tear sides apart in our competition,” Ridgway said.
“When we knew that the Twenty20 games would count towards the premiership ladder, we knew he was the player to go after.”
The Swans were among seven teams to snatch a maximum of eight points from the weekend’s double-header. They now sit seventh on the ladder, but just six points adrift of third-placed Geelong.
Pace spearhead Jayde Herrick, who made his Victorian first XI debut against the touring English at the MCG over the weekend, is set to replace Wright – bound for Bushrangers duties in Adelaide – in the side for Saturday’s home game against Footscray Edgewater.
Casey’s remaining Twenty20 game will be the Country Weekend fixture against Richmond at Colac on 8 January.