Above: Enthusiastic Dandenong Panthers supporter twoyearold Kye Brandon was more upset over losing his hat than he was watching Dandenong’s batting struggle against Carlton on Saturday.By Glen Atwell
IN terrible batting conditions the Dandenong Panthers firsts were bowled out for a dire total of 100, 93 short of victory, against Carlton during the second day of their Premier League match at Princes Park on Saturday.
After a batting collapse late on the first day, Dandenong resumed at 4/50, but still had a chance chasing the 193 required for the win and the all-important six points.
But the day took a turn for the worse before the Dandenong batsmen had even faced the first ball of the day.
Arriving at the ground, the Panthers were stunned to find the pitch had been soaked and was almost unplayable.
Captain Warren Ayres said it was a disappointing situation.
“We had to sit around for four hours and wait to see if it could be cleaned up.
“They had the blowers on the pitch for the entire time,” he said.
Ayres said the choice to play rested with his side, but admitted there was little point in packing up and heading home.
“If we hadn’t batted, neither team would have collected the points, so we had a go and focused on winning the game,” he said.
Ayres resumed on 35 but failed to trouble the scorers before being bowled by Andrew Dickinson not long after play commenced.
Dandenong fast bowler and big hitter Peter Siddle was replaced by Tom Donnell after being called up to play for the Victorian Bushrangers in their one-day game against the Western Australian Warriors at the WACA on Sunday.
Siddle did not capture a wicket in his ING Cup debut, finishing with 0/31 from his eight overs.
He was Victoria’s 150th one-day representative and has been playing in Premier League ranks for four years.
The call-up came after Siddle collected 10 first XI wickets in the two- and-half matches he has played this season.
Unfortunately Donnell did not fire for the Panthers, out lbw to Dickinson after scoring just seven.
Panther 16-year-old Brett Forsyth was the only batsman to offer some resistance to the Carlton bowling attack, adding 24 runs before being clean bowled.
As the tail failed to wag and Dandenong slumped to defeat, attention turned to the pitch, which Ayres described as “an absolute gluepot”.
“It was very slow, it made things tough,” he said.
Ayres said clubs and curators should be able to ensure the playability of their pitch on a more consistent basis.
“They had the covers down the night before, but they didn’t seem to work.
“We would hope teams could keep their surfaces dry. This thing happens more often than it should,” Ayres said.
The Premier League seconds and thirds were washed out.
