Dandenong seamer Paul Boraston launches into a delivery during the Panthers dramatic victory over Prahran on Saturday.By Paul Pickering
A LAST-BALL six from hard-hitting all-rounder Matt Chasemore guided the Dandenong Panthers to a dramatic victory over Prahran in their Victorian Premier Cricket one-dayer on Saturday.
Chasing Prahran’s total of 222, the Panthers slumped to 7/164 before Chasemore emerged to provide the late-over heroics, scoring an unbeaten 41 runs from just 24 balls.
At 9/213 and requiring 10 runs from the last over, Chasemore bludgeoned a six from the first ball to improve the equation for Dandenong.
But with two runs still to get from the final ball, the all-rounder landed another lusty blow, raising his arms immediately after the ball struck the middle of his bat.
Chasemore, who opened the batting with Kumar Sarna last year, has indicated a preference for the middle order this summer, and captain-coach Warren Ayres was happy to have him applying the finishing touches on Saturday.
“It was a great innings to watch,” Ayres said.
“A lot of times you see a batsman get their team back into the game but not finish it off, so it was great to see him actually win the game.”
Earlier, Chasemore had orchestrated Dandenong’s revival with the ball, breaking Prahran’s promising opening partnership of 64 on his way to figures of 2/20 from 10 overs.
While Chasemore played the starring role in the win, he received handy support from Paul Boraston, Tom Donnell and Dave Newman.
Despite taking some punishment from the Prahran middle order, Boraston claimed 4/62 from his 10 overs, while Donnell (42 runs) and Newman (31) built a solid foundation for the Panthers with the bat.
Dandenong, however, could not ride that emotional high into its clash with Essendon on Sunday, returning home to Shepley Oval with a lacklustre performance to lose by 67 runs.
Just as Chasemore’s versatility had secured Dandenong’s first points for the season on Saturday, it was Bomber double threat Aaron Mato (57 and 4/19) who thwarted the Panthers on Sunday.
Batting first, Essendon reached 7/236 from its 50 overs, with only Dave Newman (2/26) managing to stop the rot for the Panthers.
In pursuit, Dandenong opening pair Warren Ayres (93) and Brett Forsyth (23) again started steadily, but the loss of Forsyth sparked a monumental batting collapse – the team losing all its wickets for 98 runs by the 41st over.
While Ayres has started his 25th Premier Cricket season in fine style with the bat, he was less than impressed with his charges.
“I was pretty disappointed with the efforts of the rest of the batting group on Saturday,” he said.
“Hopefully they can improve on that in the next week or so.”
Darren Pattinson’s return with the bat was underwhelming, scoring just 18 runs in his two innings for the weekend.
Pattinson, who did not bowl, will have surgery on his troublesome ankle this week.
With just four points from three matches, the Panthers are in dire need of a steadying victory against Richmond at Shepley Oval on Saturday.
