Strategy changes in more ways than one have fuelled Pakenham to the perfect start in the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) Premier Division.
New approaches to bowling and bringing in Buckley Ridges and former Lions star Dale Tormey proved to be the difference makers for Pakenham against Devon Meadows.
In the opening game of the season at Toomuc Reserve, the Lions won the toss and opted to take the bat.
Despite opting for the crease, the innings got off to an awful start with skipper Jack Anning (1) being struck on the pads by Mitch Kleinig and given out just four balls into the season.
Recruit Imesh Jayasekara and emerging youngster Jackson Luka then steadied, adding 40 runs before Jayasekara became Kleinig’s second victim after being caught down the ground playing an ill-advised shot.
Less than two overs later, Jordan Jansz grabbed a wicket on debut by rattling the stumps of Luka (29).
From there, the partnership of Tormey and Dominic Paynter guided Pakenham through the middle overs and gave the upper hand back to the hosts by continuing to pile on the runs.
Tormey was finally dismissed when he chopped on a Ben Marsh delivery after posting 74 off 63 balls.
The next man in was Zach Flaxman, a promising young keeper-bat from the UK, but he showed there’s a lot of growing to do when he was caught after facing just three deliveries without scoring.
Paynter (43) was then removed by a cracker as Nathan Kleinig knocked over his off stump, leaving the Lions at 6/166.
Pakenham batted out the full 40 overs, reaching 9/196 with Jason Williams (16) the only other bat in double figures.
After the break, Pakenham implemented its new strategy with full effect.
The new ball was given to rising talented quick Marcus Martini and Tom Tyrrell.
The pair were impressively tidy before Zac Shepherd skied one that was caught by Flaxman for Tyrrell’s first.
Ethan Wood then snicked off a Martini delivery and suddenly the Panthers were 2/25.
Skipper Nathan Worsteling (1) didn’t stick around for long and Nathan Kleinig (20) was dismissed the next over as he was caught off James Close’s bowling.
Zach Bates’ slog of Williams fell short and was caught by Martini near the boundary after managing 13 runs.
At that point, Devon Meadows was 5/55.
Lucas Carroll (41) and Marsh (11) then provided a strong resistance for a near 40-run stand before Marsh took a risky single and was run out when he was left short thanks to a direct hit.
The Panthers’ bottom order struggled to hold up as the visitors posted three ducks from their remaining four wickets.
Close came very close to a hat-trick, taking three poles in four balls to close out the innings at 108 for Devon Meadows, marking an 88-run victory for the Lions.
“I was really happy with how we bowled,” Pakenham captain/coach Jack Anning said.
“We changed our attack a little bit not so much by the type of player but more so how we structured it.
“Marcus and Tom took the new ball where a lot of last season James had taken it.
“I changed James’ role slightly over the off-season to that first change bowler and I got Jordan Seers into the attack nice and early.
“I really like what he (Seers) does as a deep thinker about the game with his ideas and how to use them.
“He bowled really well with 1/18 which is tidy figures for a spin bowler.
“It was a credit to him to keep it tight.
“I thought we fielded really well, we hunted the ball in the field with good intent, we got a run out which is always a bonus.
“Overall, I was really happy with our bowling, we only needed to use five bowlers as well, we had other options there but only using the five was handy, it means all five of them have done their job.”
Close finished with figures of 5/23 on just under seven overs bowled, which was the young quick’s career-first five-fa.
Taking on a new role as Pakenham’s first-change bowler, he flourished in the opening round.
“It was a great effort,” Anning said of Close’s performance.
“He’s a late bloomer to cricket and pretty much all his cricket has been at Premier level.
“That was his first five-fa at any level so I was pumped for him.
“He’s a lovely young man, he works hard and he’s got a great attitude so to see him have success was great.
“It was set up off the back of Tom and Marcus’ work with the new ball and Jordan and James were able to capitalise.”
The comfortable result fills the Lions with confidence but they will be quick to set their attention to this week where a massive test awaits.
In round two, Pakenham will visit 2025 runners up Tooradin.
But for now, Anning was stoked with the signs his team showed on Saturday.
“It just solidifies what we’ve done over the off-season and the fact that it matters,” he said.
“Our intent between the wickets was great.
“One thing we focussed on over the off-season was being able to rotate the strike.
“Boundaries are a by-product of the good work that we do, we want to build a little bit of pressure that way.
“I was really impressed by Jackson Luka who opened the batting for us, it was only his second game of Premier cricket and his intent between the wickets really early was terrific.
“It opened the game up for us and it created boundary opportunities.
“I thought he set us up really well and that allowed Dale and Dom to do their thing.
“Getting the result from it early gives the confidence to be able to know we’ve shifted things over the off-season and we’ve got a new gameplan so it reinforces that what we’ve been doing does work but at the same time we’ve got a massive challenge this week away at Tooradin.
“There’s no bigger test than playing them away from home and we’ll find out where we’re at.”
