By Marcus Uhe
A fighting half-century from emerging Dandenong batter Dhanusha Gamage in the Panthers’ opening round of the 2024/25 Premier Cricket Victoria season will be consigned to the annals of history after the clash at Shepley Oval on Saturday was abandoned due to weather conditions.
With St Kilda winning the toss and asking the home side to bat in the first innings of the one-day contest, Gamage added stability in the middle order after the top three failed to fire.
Brett Forsyth (9), Matthew Wilson (27) and Shobit Singh (26) were all removed without making significant inroads, leaving Gamage to steer in the innings through its back end.
He added 67 runs for the fourth wicket with Joshua Slater before numbers six to nine, including the returning James Nanopoulos, all fell for single figures, as the Panthers crawled to 9/201 from their 50 overs.
Gamage reached 53 from 92 deliveries, continuing on from his breakout Summer last season when he made the First XI Team of the Year despite making his First XI debut in round two.
St Kilda’s innings was abandoned before a ball was bowled, meaning the two sides split the points.
Just two of the nine round one fixtures could be completed due to Saturday’s weather, with Casey South Melbourne and Geelong securing vital victories in what is set to be another close season of cricket.
The Swans defended 174 against Frankston Peninsula and Geelong thrashed Greenvale by 145 runs.
Dandenong heads to AH Butler Oval next week to face Frankston Peninsula in the first day of a two-day fixture.
