By Marcus Uhe and Jonty Ralphsmith
A tight bowling effort from Casey-South Melbourne has the Swans in a solid position at stumps on day one of its Premier Cricket Victoria contest against Ringwood at home.
Winning the toss and opting to bowl, Casey-South Melbourne kept the Rams to 9/266 from the opening 90 overs in a rematch of last season’s preliminary final at the same venue.
The Swans took regular wickets throughout the day, halting the progress of any Ringwood partnerships before they could get off the ground.
The largest stand the Rams could offer was 63, for the sixth wicket, having begun at 5/129.
The prized wicket of veteran David King was the first to fall, caught by Yash Pednekar in the ring off the bowling of Jackson Fry for just 22.
The interruption of rhythm due to the consistent falling of wickets meant no Rams batter could cash-in on their starts, with Oliver Horlock (66) and Jackson Freeman (52) the only two to pass 50.
The Rams will have the option of continuing to bat next week if they choose.
Jack Stevenson continues to impress at his new home, taking 2/30 from his 19 overs and bowling seven maidens to finish as the pick of the Swans’ bowling line up.
Daud Malik and Nathan Lambden also grabbed two wickets each, with Fry and Vinu Mohotty each adding one.
