Panthers suffering after second loss in a row

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG skipper Darren Dempsey has challenged his representative stars to prove their commitment to club cricket after Saturday’s batting capitulation against Footscray-Edgewater.
The Panthers, chasing just 196 for victory on day two at Shepley Oval, crumbled to be all out for 169 in the 81st over.
Dempsey blamed a handful of Dandenong batsmen – himself included – who threw their wickets away via some poor shot selection, excusing only top-order bats James Nanopoulos (42) and Tom Donnell (22) and young keeper Rory Collins (43 not out).
“It was really disappointing – and I take a fair bit of responsibility myself,” he said.
“If we were prepared to work hard we would have done it easy, but we didn’t show enough patience.”
The poor batting performance followed a similarly inept outing against Richmond in the previous match, prompting Dempsey to search for answers.
The ordinary club form of talented young opener Brett Forsyth (0) – who has been making consistent runs for Victoria’s second XI of late – is a major concern, and Dempsey believes Forsyth’s plight may be symptomatic of the star-studded Panthers outfit.
“We’ve got a few guys in our side whose cricket careers are elsewhere, which doesn’t help,” Dempsey said.
“Brett’s trying to make every post a winner in second XI cricket (for Victoria) and that same form isn’t transferring to district level.
“I think there’s just too many opportunities for him to play cricket, and maybe if he wasn’t playing second XI he might be getting some runs for us.
“But he’s very capable, and hopefully with three games to go he can turn it around.”
Forsyth is among five Panthers’ first XI regulars who have also played for their state this summer, including Darren and James Pattinson and young pacemen Jackson Coleman and James Wilcock.
Dandenong, currently sitting in 11th spot on the ladder, will play two-day games against Camberwell (15th), Hawthorn-Monash Uni (17th) and Fitzroy-Doncaster (eighth) in the run towards the finals.
“As bad as we’re playing at the moment, we’re still in the hunt (for a finals berth),” Dempsey said. “But if we don’t win this match it’d just about spell the end.”