The prospect of a finals berth in Vic Premier Cricket is looking much healthier for Casey South Melbourne (9/347d) after the Swans held off a brave Sunday batting effort from Kingston Hawthorn (321) at Walter Galt Reserve.
The Swans were terrific on day one, building a mammoth total on the back of a 139-run partnership between skipper Ash Chandrasinghe (67) and number-three Jackson Isakka (77).
The Swans had many others chip in with valuable contributions, with Chris Benedek (45), Yash Pednekar (32), Harry Hoekstra (29) and Nathan Lambden (22 not out) allowing the total to soar to the 350-range.
After a good-night sleep, the Swans had every reason to be confident of an easy kill on Sunday with Kingston Hawthorn the clear cellar-dweller of the competition.
But cricket rarely runs according to script; the Swans having to fight hard for victory after Josh Manning (104), Joel Lewis (91 not out) and Nic Tindall (45) pushed the Hawks to the brink of an upset win.
The Swans held their nerve however, with Ashvin Adihetty (3/69) and Hoekstra (2/50) giving their team a chance of a late win before Finlay Gordon (3/84) took the last three wickets to fall to lead the Swans to fifth place on the ladder.
The Swans face a huge home game against second-placed Footscray in round 15 over the next two Saturdays, before an away trip to Ringwood (10th) and a home-ground last game against Richmond (7th).
In the biggest highlight of Vic Premier Cricket on the weekend, Melbourne openers Farzan Chowna (200 not out) and skipper Blake Thomson (128 not out) compiled an epic and unbeaten 334-run partnership on Sunday to down Frankston Peninsula at Frankston.
Chowna faced just 211 balls for his double century, hitting 28 fours and two sixes, while Thomson whacked 17 boundaries and three maximums in a 185-ball masterclass.
Both St Kilda and Footscray confirmed their and one and two-placed ratings with outright wins over Northcote and Greenvale respectively.
VIC PREMIER SUMMARY
Results R14 (Two Day): Kingston Hawthorn 321 def by Casey South Melbourne 9/347d, Dandenong 6/242 drew Camberwell 286, Prahran 7/349 def Richmond 9/348d, Ringwood 118 and 3/195 def by Carlton 159, Frankston Peninsula 323 def by Melbourne 0/334, Geelong 9/254 def Fitzroy Doncaster 251, Footscray 2/363d def Greenvale 177 and 183, Essendon 9/356 drew Melbourne University 8/385d, St Kilda 4/305d def Northcote 66 and 132.
Ladder: St Kilda 64, Footscray 59, Carlton 52, Melbourne 48, Casey South Melbourne 46, Prahran 46, Richmond 43, Camberwell 43/ Northcote 39, Ringwood 37, Geelong 35, Melbourne University 34, Frankston Peninsula 32, Dandenong 26, Fitzroy Doncaster 23, Essendon 21, Greenvale 10, Kingston Hawthorn 5.
Fixture R15 (Two-Day – Jan 24/31): Casey South Melbourne (5) v Footscray (2), Geelong (11) v Dandenong (14), Melbourne (4) v Carlton (3), Richmond (7) v Ringwood (10), Camberwell (8) v St Kilda (1), Northcote (9) v Essendon (16), Melbourne University (12) v Prahran (6), Fitzroy Doncaster (15) v Frankston Peninsula (13), Greenvale (17) v Kingston Hawthorn (18).
