Dandenong seamer Dave Newman took a wicket with the first ball of the day at Schramms Reserve on Saturday, before going on to record figures of 4/50 in the Panthers’ easy win over Fitzroy-Doncaster.
By Paul Pickering
HAVING rattled Fitzroy-Doncaster with a memorable middle-order uprising the previous week, Dandenong proceeded to roll the Lions at Schramms Reserve on Saturday.
The Warren Ayres-led revival allowed the Panthers to post a formidable total of 369 before Dave Newman’s first ball secured the vital wicket of Peter Dickson as dusk fell on day one.
Day two started in almost identical fashion, with Newman bowling Gavin Kellar on the first delivery of the morning.
It didn’t take Bushranger paceman Peter Siddle long to get among the wickets on returning from a shoulder injury – he had Lions’ number four Tim Sheehan caught in slips without scoring.
Only Siddle’s state squad team-mate Lloyd Mash (85) could keep the Panthers at bay during a fierce morning session, and with the Lions’ seventh wicket falling moments after lunch it was left to Mash and Darren Motschall (45) to pad out a barely respectable total of 186.
Newman – who has rediscovered the form that earned him the Panthers’ club championship last summer – finished with 4/50 for the day, while Siddle (2/32) and Brent Fairbanks (2/38) also impressed.
After being 7/98 midway through day one, few would have believed the Panthers could have claimed a 183-run first-innings victory by the same stage of day two.
But that was the equation as openers Brett Forsyth and Matt Chasemore padded up for some batting practice in Dandenong’s second dig.
For Forsyth, it proved to be valuable time at the crease ahead of this week’s Under 19 National Championships in Tasmania, with the diminutive right-hander scoring a handy 54 as the Panthers moved to 4/125 before an early end to play.
Forsyth and Dandenong opening partner Kumar Sarna led the Vics out in their first match of the under-19 carnival against the Northern Territory on Monday, combining for 49 runs to provide a solid foundation for the runaway victory.
In characteristic style, Sarna smashed five fours and a six in his 35, while Forsyth was caught behind for 12.
Meanwhile, the Apple Isle was also the scene for Siddle’s Pura Cup return, with the dangerous right-armer claiming 3/33 as the Bushrangers skittled the Tigers for 168 on the first day at Bellerive Oval.
All three state representatives will be missing for Dandenong’s two-day encounter with Frankston Peninsula at Shepley Oval this weekend.
Having ascended to 12th on the Premier Cricket table, the undermanned Panthers will be hoping to put in a good showing for playing-coach Ayres’ 100th match for the club.
