By Jonty Ralphsmith
Seventh-placed Casey-South Melbourne has given itself a great chance of forcing an upset win over second-placed Carlton (276) in its home clash at Casey Fields.
The Swans’ bowlers dug deep to bowl the visitors out in the 89th over, taking 6/71 to finish the day and reel Carlton back in after an ominous first session.
Victorian squad member Jai Lemire (134 off 243) constructed a sensible innings full of class, to set the game up and continue to press his claims for higher honours following a strong Victorian Second XI match last week.
While he batted almost all the way through the innings, he had just one partnership beyond 50 runs, with the hosts’ ability to break through at the other end always keeping them in the contest.
The Swans fought back brilliantly after number-three Lemire and opener Tom Smyth (54) set up a healthy early platform.
Left-arm quick Harry Hoekstra led the attack, building on his strong form, taking 3/24 off 16 overs at a miserly economy rate of just 1.5.
Hoekstra made successive breakthroughs, removing Connor Rutland (1) and Jagadeswara Koduru (1) to peg the navy blues back.
Former state spinner Ruwantha Kellapotha took 3/72 and had a heavy bowling load, while experienced pair Nathan Lambden (2/51) and skipper Luke Shelton (2/49) bowled tidily to take two wickets each.
The Swans will rely on Ashley Chandrasinghe to get them off to a solid start when play resumes at 11am this Saturday.
