By Jonty Ralphsmith
Casey-South Melbourne has gone down in the Vic Premier Cricket grand final in heartbreaking circumstances, losing via reverse outright to a rampant Carlton outfit.
The Blues needed 251 runs in the last 36 overs of day three to claim the premiership and did it with five overs in hand as their experience came to the fore.
Carlton skipper and former Big Bash league player Evan Gulbis and Melbourne Renegades-contracted Mackenzie Harvey opened the batting with intent, scoring 88 runs off the first nine overs of the chase.
Young Casey lefty Harry Hoekstra broke through with the first ball of the 10th over, claiming Harvey for the second time in the match.
But, by that point, the run-rate required was at six runs per over, which allowed new batter Jai Lemire to put it into the deep pockets of Windy Hill and run hard, in between his own boundary scoring.
Skipper Luke Shelton claimed Evan Gulbis for 62 off 37 with the first ball of his second innings spell, but it did little to disturb the Carlton psyche.
The batting depth, poise and class of a perennial contender was on show, with each of the top five batters passing 35, and all scoring at a strike rate of more than 100.
It was a heartbreaking turnaround for Casey-South Melbourne, which at tea on day three appeared all but home.
State contracted opener Ash Chandrainsghe followed up a first inning half-century with a century, absorbing 263 deliveries and was a rock.
In a situation tailor-made for his oldschool style of cricket, Chandrasinghe offered no chances and showed no signs of letting up despite the Blues trying several plans to dismiss him.
After Yash Pednekar, Ruwantha Kellapotha and Chris Benedek, in particular, had played a key part in resisting the Blues’ bowlers and hold on after securing first innings points, number 10 Nathan Lambden was the batter who faced the second most balls.
In an innings which needed to prioritise survival as they looked to bat 136 overs, he faced 85 balls stymying the momentum Carlton built up by taking 3/9 which was a significant moment in the game.
But he was undone with the first ball after tea, with Harry Hoekstra dismissed the following ball which gave Carlton the opportunity to chase.
That crushing turn of events for Will Carr’s men followed an outstanding display of bowling which enabled them to defend 212 against a typically high-scoring team.
After Carlton started their pursuit positively, Hoekstra got the important breakthrough of Harvey to instil belief, with Carlton losing 10/97 after a 74-run opening stand.
The underdogs took nine wickets in the second session of day two, led by Ruwantha Kellapotha who spun a web around Carlton’s batters, taking 5/67 off 16.
Lambden was tireless with the ball in support of Kellapotha as that effort opened up a 41-run first innings lead.
Chandrasinghe, who was awarded the John Scholes Medal, was also the standout of the first innings.
The 22-year-old looked a class above as he made 53 off 106.
His dismissal, a misjudged pull shot which found a sweeper in the deep was the only misstep Chandrainsghe made all game, as he played with elegance and also caught well.
Kellapotha also played a key role with the bat, stabilising for the Swans after Yash Pednekar was dismissed in the first over.
The only two players in the lineup with state experience combined for 95 runs, with Kellapotha scoring 48 of those before snicking off to gully.
Chris Benedek was also a major contributor, willing to defend and absorb pressure in an innings of 52 off 158.
Usually a player who has attacking flair, Benedek was promoted to the First XI midway through the season after a series of significant scores in the seconds and played his most substantial hand in the final.
The right-hander paired his half-century with a second-innings knock of 25 off 76 and looked immovable until running himself out looking to come back for a third run that wasn’t on.
