Just too big a target?

By David Nagel
CASEY-SOUTH Melbourne face a huge run chase this week after they battled hard against a powerful Richmond line-up in Victorian Premier Cricket at Casey Fields on Saturday.
The Swans were right in the game either side of the tea break as they reeled in a positive Tigers start, but things slipped away at the end of the day as the visitors reached 9/342.
Ash Perera took the first three wickets and continued to be the shining light throughout the day; his 4/31 off 20 overs was just reward for a job well done. Clive Rose was the other bowler to have success to match his effort and finished with 4/128 off 33 overs.
Casey lost the toss and Richmond elected to bat on the first hot day of the year. It was a good toss to win, with the Casey Fields’ pitch and outfield both in perfect condition for batting.
To make matters worse for the Swans, opening bowler, Rod Bird, had a bout of the flu and struggled as the day drew into the latter stages.
Despite the massive run chase, Swans’ coach Mark Ridgway was satisfied with the effort his boys put in. “They’re a quality outfit; we had them 5/150 at tea, but for various reasons we just ran out of legs,” Ridgway said.
“Bird had a bad case of the flu, so that restricted him and the rest of the boys just got tired. It was the first really hot day for the year; we haven’t been in the sun up until now.
“They all tried, that’s all you can ask for.”
Richmond’s recovery was headed by former test cricketer Graham Manou, who played cautiously to start with, before taking advantage of the tiring Swans’ attack at the end of the day. Manou finished with 80 and combined with Ben Torney’s 66 took the game away from the home team.
Ridgway wasn’t overly optimistic about the chase this week, but has been around cricketing circles long enough to know anything is possible.
“Pretty simple plan really, just bat as long as we can, keep some wickets in the shed at tea and reassess from there,” he said.
“They’ve got a really good attack; Wise and McDonald are both good bowlers so it will be tough.”
Casey-South Melbourne kick-off their run chase at 11am this Saturday at Casey Fields No4.