Best, Rose salvage Swans’ reputation

By David Nagel
CASEY-SOUTH Melbourne all-rounder Clive Rose provided a rare individual highlight on Saturday, when he completed a unique hat-trick against Footscray Edgewater at the Numurkah Showgrounds.
Rose’s hat-trick wasn’t enough to get the Swans over the line however, and their chances of repeating last season’s finals appearance are becoming slimmer and slimmer by the round.
The uniqueness of Rose’s hat-trick stems from the fact that all three wickets were given out LBW by umpire David Jones, and it was only the second to be taken during a Victorian Premier Cricket Country Week round.
The Swans prepared well for their clash with Footscray Edgewater by travelling to Numurkah on Friday night and after losing the toss were asked to field first in the one-day clash.
Opening bowler, Rod Bird, got the Swans off to a great start, and at 3/40 they had the opposition looking for answers. Things turned pear-shaped however as Travis Gloury and Dylan Kight put on 105 for the fourth-wicket as the Swans’ flight north hit severe turbulence.
Footscray Edgewater was cruising at 4/171, but Rose then put his name in the record books and the match changed complexion. The Swans took 6/18 from that point on and rolled Footscray Edgewater for 189 in the 48th over.
Rose complemented his hat-trick with two more wickets to end with 5/43 off nine overs, while Bird worked tirelessly and was rewarded with figures of 4/39 from his 10-over spell.
The big finish to the Footscray Edgewater innings had the Swans in the hunt for a crucial victory, but all momentum was lost in the early stages of its reply and it never recovered.
Wickets kept falling at regular intervals and the innings was summed up when Rose was run-out, breaking a promising 42 run stand in the middle of the innings as another wasted opportunity went begging.
Casey-South Melbourne was bowled out for a dismal 110 in just 38.2 overs and they look a shadow of the team that finished in fourth position last season. Jake Best was the best of the batsmen with 31 and Rose backed up his five wickets with 17.
The fact that a 31 and 17 are even getting a mention highlights the Swans’ batting woes this season and a look at the overall stats after five rounds makes for horrible reading.
Roshan Livera leads the way for aggregate runs with 85…yep, just 85 runs for the season and only one player, state representative Matthew Wade, has chalked up a half century.
Coach Mark Ridgway did warn after an earlier capitulation this season that due to the club’s youth policy, inconsistency could be a familiar theme, but even he would be disappointed with those stats.
The Swans have a chance to redeem themselves this week when they play host to fifth-placed Richmond in the season’s first two-day fixture. Hopefully, the extra overs available to the batsmen will help them dig in for the long haul.
Hopefully.