Panthers set for big chase

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG skipper Darren Dempsey believes his Panthers may yet be haunted by some crucial dropped catches against reigning premier Ringwood on Saturday.
The Panthers had their hosts reeling at 3/24 early on day one, before letting them off the hook with some sloppy fielding.
The hometown Rams went on to post a formidable total of 306, thanks largely to a 126-run fourth-wicket stand between Tom Stray (91) and Joe Loorham (65).
Loorham was dropped by first-year Dandenong ’keeper Rory Collins on the first delivery of his innings, and again when he was in the 20s.
Stray was given a life shortly after notching his half-century and went on to punish the Panthers.
“A few missed opportunities might come back to haunt us,” Dempsey reflected.
“I think what they’ve made is about what the pitch was worth, but in saying that, it’s always pretty difficult to chase 300.”
Dandenong welcomed the return of young Bushranger James Pattinson, whose Champions League Twenty20 campaign was cut short when he broke his left thumb during a net session.
He was typically hostile – if occasionally wayward – in his 18 overs, taking 3/56 including the vital wicket of Stray as he approached three figures.
In-form paceman Brent Fairbanks (3/45) snared three wickets of his own, but it was swingman Paul Boraston (2/54 from 21 overs) and James Nanopoulos (0/32 from 14) who created the pressure.
Off-spinner Peter Sweeney – elevated from the seconds to provide some variety – bowled well despite limited opportunity. Dempsey and youngster James Wilcock claimed a wicket apiece.
“We bowled 27 maidens, so the bowling in general was pretty good,” Dempsey noted.
“It was just the catching that let us down.”
Stray and Loorham resurrected the innings, before Ben Osborne (55) and Daniel King (35) drove home the advantage.
And Dempsey, who made over 5000 runs in his 128 first XI outings with Ringwood, knows all too well that his adopted club is up against it heading into day two.
“We’ve just got to try and bat the whole day, and if we do that we’ll go pretty close,” he said.
As the Star went to print on Wednesday, the Panthers were preparing to face Melbourne at Shepley Oval in round two of the Twenty20 competition.