Panthers pound Prahran

By Paul Pickering
FIRST-gamer Tim Ford turned Dandenong’s two-day clash with Prahran on its head on Saturday, claiming three quick wickets after lunch to lead the Panthers towards an improbable 150-run victory.
That result seemed a distant dream at the lunch break, with True Blues openers James Wild and Ciaran Connelly unbeaten on their way to a first-wicket stand of 74 in pursuit of Dandenong’s 352.
The seven-wicket session that followed surprised everyone at Toorak Park, not least Panthers skipper Darren Dempsey.
“At lunch I said to the guys, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to take 10 wickets, but what we need to do is bowl to a plan and see what happens’,” Dempsey reflected.
“And in that first hour after lunch we took five wickets. It was just an amazing session, considering the wicket hadn’t changed from the week before.”
Dempsey, who was dismissed for 150 on Saturday morning before declaring, was delighted with the contributions from Ford (3/17) and promoted spinner Peter Sweeney (4/39).
Ford, whose selection was prompted by James Pattinson’s call-up to the Victorian team, dismissed Wild, Connelly and Ryan Heywood to expose the Prahran middle order, leaving Sweeney to clean up the tail.
Paul Boraston, Brent Fairbanks and James Nanopoulos claimed one wicket apiece.
The six-point result saw Dandenong move into sixth place on the Premier Cricket ladder ahead of Saturday’s one-day clash with Essendon at Shepley Oval.
“If we win this week then we are pretty well placed heading into the break,” Dempsey said. “We played Essendon about the same time last year (round five) and we were still battling for a win, but with a win (this weekend) we can firmly entrench ourselves in that top six.”
Dempsey and coach Warren Ayres spent the pre-season spruiking the need for a fast start to the summer and the importance of increased depth within the ranks. On both counts, they can be well pleased with the return so far.