Panthers enter finals with confidence

THE Dandenong Panthers crushed Fitzroy-Doncaster at Shepley Oval on Saturday and advance to the semi-finals of Premier Cricket’s Neil Buszard group full of winning confidence.
Chasing the Panthers’ score of 205, Fitzroy-Doncaster resumed at 4/70 and added just 19 runs before David Newman had Tim Sheehan caught behind.
With Fitzroy-Doncaster’s innings at the crossroads, another wicket to Jim Prendergast and a quick-thinking run-out tipped the game in the Panthers’ favour.
With the score at 8/90, the tailenders batted cautiously before Darren Pattinson, who returned from state duties, and Prendergast cleaned up the remaining two wickets.
Prendergast finished with 3/26 from 15 overs and Newman snared 4/39 from 23 overs.
Fitzroy-Doncaster was all out for 116.
In the second innings, Kumar Sarna continued his great form, scoring 49.
Dandenong finished the day at 8/178 and ended the regular season on top of the group ladder.
In the semi-final, Dandenong will play Hawthorn-Monash University at Shepley Oval on Saturday and Sunday.
With Paul Boraston and Peter Siddle likely to return to the Dandenong side, it could be a case of third year lucky for the Panthers.
The past two seasons have seen Dandenong bow out of the finals in the first week, but having defeated Hawthorn-Monash University in all three of the teams’ encounters this season, that habit will most likely be broken.