A week full of promise quickly turned to a tough pill to swallow for the Casey Cardinia Country Week team.
The Camels suffered a turbulent week on the field, going 1-3 overall and thus being relegated from Provincial Division.
It started with an imposing defeat at the hands of old foes Mornington Peninsula on Monday at Jubilee Park in Frankston.
Casey Cardinia batted first and after an encouraging start, a disastrous batting collapse saw the Camels rolled for just 131 after 33.4 overs.
Imesh Jayasekara (47) and Brad Butler (33) were the only shining lights in the innings.
The Purples, especially Matthew Calder, made light work of the total, blasting their way to the required amount through just 17.4 overs.
Calder smashed 67 off 32 deliveries while Aiden McKenna (48 not out) upheld the innings.
A potential bounceback was on the cards for Cal O’Hare’s men on Tuesday when the Camels travelled to Ivanhoe Park to face Sale Maffra.
Sale Maffra took to the crease to open the match and soon got on the front foot.
Jason Williams provided the first breakthrough by bowling Freddie Fallows (15), leaving Sale Maffra 1/30.
But a strong partnership saw Jason Langshaw (63) pass the half century mark and pile on 69 runs with number three Tom Morrison (41).
Lachie Volpe then struck, removing Morrison (41) and Anthony Scott (0) in the span of three balls to go from 2/99 to 4/99.
Langshaw didn’t budge an inch though, standing tall to form another 50-plus run partnership before he was finally dismissed by Lahiru Jayakody.
But wickets were too far and between for Casey Cardinia as yet another stand ran up the score as Taylor (40) and Jack Tatterson (30) got busy.
Shiran Rathnayake (three wickets) worked hard for the Camels to eventually knock over Sale Maffra, but it took until the last over of the innings to do so.
Volpe took three poles while Butler was the other multiple wicket-taker with a pair and Sale Maffra posted a very competitive score of 268.
Another positive foundation was laid by Trevor Bauer (21) and Lucas Ligt (28) to be 2/56, but again Casey Cardinia crumbled by losing wickets in clumps.
O’Hare (10) was sent back by batting partner Jayakody and slipped, subsequently being run out before Chris Bright was caught short of his mark and also run out for a diamond duck four balls later.
Jayasekara (10), Jayakody (42) and Rathnayake (13) then fell in quick succession to leave the Camels 7/140.
Zach Flaxman (6) didn’t stick around long and again it was up to Butler to pick up the pieces.
Butler (27) did his best at the bottom of the order and Casey Cardinia managed to reach the 200 mark before the final wicket fell.
Dylan Bolton snagged four scalps for Sale Maffra to guide his side to a convincing 68-run win.
The two losses essentially meant Wednesday’s matchup with Bairnsdale was a dead rubber as both sides were destined for a bottom-two group finish.
On what was a recurring theme for the week, Casey Cardinia bowled first on a lightning-fast outfield at Sydney Pargeter Reserve in Endeavour Hills.
Williams came up big in the second over, removing Brodie Anderson (0).
He then followed that up by trapping Ben John (2) in front in the fourth over to push Bairnsdale to 2/3.
But a massive resistance came from Rico Fourie (84) and Ryan Halford (51) which was only broken when Volpe struck Halford on the pads plumb in front.
However, the frustrations continued as Bairnsdale piled on more runs, leaking out to 3/152 before Ben Marsh knocked over Scott Davidson (25).
Ryan Adams then picked up a pole when he rattled the stumps of Isaac Love (0).
But time and time again Bairnsdale had the response, forming yet another partnership exceeding 50, as next man up Connor Mitchell (50) raised the bat.
Adams finally removed Fourie before bowling Mitchell to round out the innings as Bairnsdale notched 7/261 from its 50 overs.
Bauer and Ligt wasted no time in asserting themselves as Bauer rocketed his way past 50 before being caught for 53.
Adams (27) was the next man back to the sheds, but not before Ligt raised his bat as he passed the half ton.
Jayakody (22) added a handy cameo, followed by the dismissal of Ligt (79).
At that stage, Casey Cardinia was 4/200.
Bright (17) hung around for a bit but was then knocked over by Ayush Verma, allowing Mitch Davey (27 not out) and Jayasekara (19 not out) to guide the Camels home to 5/263 after 44.5 overs.
This set up a do-or-die clash with Ferntree Gully in a battle to stave off relegation from the top flight of Country Week.
The Camels returned to Endeavour Hills on Thursday and were tasked with bowling first.
Alan Jones (59) and Nathan Walsh (57 not out) led the opening innings, partnered with a supporting knock from Jake Toohey (34), and Ferntree Gully reached 226 after 42.2 overs.
Marsh (four wickets) took charge with the ball while pacer Adams (three wickets) provided another important contribution.
But the chase followed the theme that had characterised Casey Cardinia all week; a batting collapse.
Ligt and O’Hare were both dismissed for ducks to be 2/12 and single digit scores from every bat in the middle order formed a recipe for a disaster.
Bauer (27) was then run out as the Camels’ top scorer to be 6/60.
Tyler Evans (24), Marsh (13), Williams (12) and Volpe (8 not out) rounded out the innings and Casey Cardinia was rolled for just 122.
The result meant the Camels were relegation bound, returning to Division 2 for the first time since 2024.
Ligt led Casey Cardinia’s runscoring over the tournament with 120 at an average of 30 while Adams and Volpe both bagged six wickets each to lead the bowlers.
