By Tyler Lewis
Casey-South Melbourne is one win away from breaking a 54-season drought.
The Swans have won three premierships – 1952/53, ‘59/60 and ‘67/68 – and is just 100 overs away from adding a fourth.
The meteoric rise of the Swans has been mesmerising, considering since it became Casey-South Melbourne in 2006/07, the Swans have made finals on three occasions before this summer.
In fact, the Swans have won as many games in a row as they have ever won in a season as Casey-South Melbourne.
Will Carr’s men recorded their ninth successive win over Richmond – the last team it lost to – to secure a grand final berth at the weekend.
With the return of Ashley Chandrasinghe (22 off 37), he and Luke Manders (67 off 107) were straight back into their usual work, adding 44 before the loss of a wicket.
Besides Manders, the Swans battled to have a player capitalise on a start. Harrish Kannan (18), Dev Pollock (15), Luke Shelton (26) and Ruwantha Kellapotha (13) all managed to get in, but none were able to go on, as the Swans posted 192.
Admittedly, Carr was a bit displeased the Swans were unable to reach 200.
“I mean we would’ve preferred to have a two in front of the number,” he said.
“We felt 190 odd was a total our bowlers could defend if we bowled well as a unit and were supported well in the field.
“We felt we had enough to still stick to the game plan, and the guys executed accordingly.
“That was the message (at the break), nothing changes for us with the ball, we identified a couple of key wickets in there side. We felt if we could keep them under control, that it would have a bigger impact on them.
“It was about keeping things pretty simple and basic.”
The Tigers have a similar game plan in a batting sense as the Swans, get off to a wicket-less start before cashing in with some hitters later on.
Young Richmond pair Shobit Singh – a former Swan – and Yash Pednekar – a product out of the DDCA – have been a platform-setting pair consistently throughout the year, and the price of their respective wickets is always high.
But, as he has all summer, Nathan Lambden collected an early wicket to give the Swans some early hope.
He snared Singh (16 off 33) to bring in the dashing Jake Fraser-McGurk.
As 35 other batters have this year, Fraser-McGurk departed as a result of the control from Kellapotha.
The young Victorian’s fiery departure sparked a flurry of wickets for Kellapotha and Casey-South Melbourne, as the Tigers swiftly went from 1/47 to 8/114.
Kellapotha – quite comfortably the story of the season – collected another handful of wickets at a low cost, capturing 4/32 off 8.5.
The crafty leg-spinner now has accumulated 36 wickets at 15.08, with an economy of 3.38 – even more astonishing when considered he rarely comes on to bowl with no wickets on the board.
And while Carr is continuously impressed, proud, and in awe of Kellapotha, he is never surprised.
“Not overly surprised, he was just terrific again,” he said.
“He challenged, he asked questions every ball, he has got all the tricks.
“He is going to keep batters guessing as to what is coming down at them… it is one thing to be able to play it, but it’s another to be able to score off it.
“I think it needs to be said that with the bowling around him, it allows him to do what he does.
“He is well supported, we bowl well in partnerships; whether it be Shelton at the other end, Lambden, Fry, (Devlin) Webby or Sperlo (Lachie Sperling), everyone else is executing their roles which allows Kellapotha to do what he does.
“I am not surprised, but he is just so well supported at the same time.”
Kellapotha’s performance spun the Swans into the grand final, dismissing the Tigers for 136 in the 39th over.
The reigning Wookey Medallist is arguably the most important player on the ground this week, and while he has a big role, Carr is not only backing him, but is backing the bowlers around him.
“I think he will handle the pressure fine, he is an experienced player,” he said.
“He has played first-class cricket in Sri Lanka, he has been a pro in the local competitions for a long time.
“Expectations (to perform) have always been there, so I think he soaked up the atmosphere and the experience of playing in a final.
“He will be fine, no worries there.”
The Swans will now tackle the might of Carlton in the Vic Premier Cricket grand final, and strangely enough, are yet to play each other in season 2021/22 season.
With 18 teams in the Premier Cricket competition, and a delayed start, the Swans and the Blues fixture was thrown out the window, resulting in a bit more intrigue heading into Saturday’s match.
“Their players have been around a bit, they’re experienced, we probably know more about them then they know about us – for whatever that’s worth,” he said.
“They will know something about our players, first hand with the (Vic) Second XI stuff, they’ll know bits and pieces, but certainly we probably know and have seen a bit more about them then they have of our guys.
“We just approach it like we would any other game, we look after what we can control.
“By executing what we can do, hopefully we give ourselves the best chance.”
GRAND FINAL
Casey-South Melbourne v Carlton at The Albert Ground 10:30am
CASEY-SOUTH MELBOURNE RECORD
SEASON POSITION WINS
2006/07 9 5
2007/08 17 3
2008/09 17 1
2009/10 4 9
2010/11 4 9
2011/12 10 7
2012/13 13 7
2013/14 15 5
2014/15 18 2
2015/16 15 5
2016/17 6 9
2017/18 17 2
2018/19 9 8
2019/20 15 3
2020/21 15 4
2021/22 GF 12
