By JARROD POTTER
Victorian Premier Cricket – Round 16 (day 2)
WITH the Cricket World Cup firing into life on Saturday, Victorian Premier Cricket settled into a temporary Sunday fixture as Dandenong and Casey-South Melbourne both succumbed in clearing skies.
DANDENONG v RINGWOOD
IT ALL went pear-shaped from the start for Dandenong (144 and 1/70) as the Panthers tried to hunt down the Tom Stray-led Ringwood (5/341dec) tally.
From a strong start – led by Tom Donnell (30) and Brett Forsyth (11), the wheels fell off instantly for Dandenong. From 0/42, Dandenong woefully fell away to find itself 7/71.
The resilient knock of Peter Sweeney (50 not out) was about the only bright light from the innings as the Panthers came and went from the crease without much fuss as Matt Fotia (4/29) and David King (3/18) ran riot. James Pattinson (4) – returning from Victorian duties for day two – didn’t faze the scorers much as the only lower-order partnership of note came from Sweeney and captain Dan Doran (24). They added 25 for the eighth scalp before Doran succumbed to Brendan Walsh (1/25). It left Sweeney to carry on and effectively carry his bat from first drop to final scalp as James Wilcock (9) held his own to get Sweeney to his half-ton before becoming the last wicket at 144.
Ringwood – on the hunt for maximum points – sent Doran and his men back in again for a second heaped spoonful of pain, but the home side fared a lot better in attempt number two. Forsyth (46 not out) and Sweeney (15 not out) made sure no inroads were made by the Rams as stumps were called after 19 overs in the second innings.
FRANKSTON-PENINSULA v CASEY-SOUTH MELBOURNE
DEVIN Pollock’s master class century last week wouldn’t be the only one pilfered at AH Butler Oval as Paul Borrington (115 not out) got his eye in to help Frankston-Peninsula (3/290) knock off Casey-South Melbourne (287).
Borrington – in tandem with Matthew Gapes (74) and Sam Wiese (66) added sizeable partnerships to take the match away from the Swans.
Casey could only muster containment and not out-and-out dissection of the Heat’s batting order. While it took the best part of the day to secure the points, with Frankston-Peninsula earning the win in the 93rd over – the visitors didn’t have the arsenal needed to douse the Heat.
Shane Maggs (1/21) was the best statistically of the bowlers while Dan Watson (1/49) stormed in for 21 overs on a boiling hot day on the coast.
In the last round of the season, Casey South-Melbourne will host St Kilda while Dandenong is away at Northcote.
