Dempsey’s quiet achievement

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG skipper Darren Dempsey was typically oblivious to the individual milestone he was approaching against Prahran at Toorak Park on Saturday.
The 34-year-old master batsman notched up his 9000th Premier/District run en route to his 25th century, but was keen to shake the adulation that followed.
Dempsey’s unbeaten 121 saw him move above the great William Ponsford into equal fifth on the list of century-makers in Victoria’s top competition, but, more importantly in his mind, it guided the Panthers to a formidable total 5/306 at stumps on day one.
He was ably supported by first-year Panther Rees Thomas (57) in a 129-run fourth-wicket stand, while opener Brett Forsyth (46) and all-rounder James Nanopoulos (44) batted well without capitalising.
Make no mistake though, this was Dempsey’s day. The powerful right-hander was at ease throughout, pummelling a True Blues attack that included Test leg-spinner Bryce McGain (0/83 from 33 overs).
Dempsey, who now sits 10th on the list of all-time run-scorers, was quick to downplay the milestone.
“I wasn’t aware that I was that close to the 9000 mark, but it’s good to get a hundred, that’s for sure,” Dempsey reflected.
“During the week, we set ourselves as a top four that one of us needed to make a hundred. We all had starts and I was lucky enough to go on with it.”
The skipper has now made 523 runs in all forms of the game this season, responding to one of his poorer summers in 2008-09.
The 223-game veteran is yet to play in a premiership in Victorian grade cricket and knows that his time may be running out.
“I’d like to think I could still play for another few years,” he said. “With the group at Dandenong it’s going to take that long to get a premiership, because they’re all pretty young. I just have to think about whether it’s going to be me who takes them there or someone else, but hopefully it’s me and hopefully it comes quicker than the next two or three years.”
The Panthers, currently ninth on the Premier table, will be looking for quick runs when they resume this Saturday in a bid to put pressure on the Prahran batsman.
Dempsey reckons the Toorak Park strip was worth about 340 on Saturday, but the Panthers were tied down by some economical bowling from McGain and co.
McGain’s lengthy spells made for a testing debut for Dandenong all-rounder Tim Ford (11 from 54 balls), who will have his first chance with the ball this weekend.
Cameron Huckett was the most successful of the Prahran bowlers, claiming 3/51 for the afternoon.
The Panthers followed Saturday’s performance with a 47-run Twenty20 win over Frankston Peninsula on Sunday, with Donnell (53) and Nanopoulos (48 not out) leading the way.
They finished the preliminary round with a 3-1 record, but missed out on the semi-final stage on percentage.