Fading attack a concern for Panthers coach

By Justin Robertson
ALMOST half way through their match at the industrial Merv Hughes Oval on the weekend, Dandenong Panthers had every right to believe a win over Footscray-Edgewater was achievable.
After being well placed at 2/87 from their first 20 overs, they then tightened the screws with the ball and had Footscray reeling at 4/67, approaching the end of their first innings.
But errant bowling on a slow and fading wicket cost the young Panthers line-up in the second innings, losing their fifth game straight by two wickets, which has skipper Darren Dempsey concerned.
“We didn’t start brilliantly in the second innings – Hales went first ball – that halts momentum, and I missed a straight one.
“We seemed to lose consistent wickets, but in the end I thought 189 was enough – being 120 in front with four wickets down on a slow outfield,” he said.
“It should have been closer than it was, but we weren’t able to put the ball in the right spots.”
The Panthers got off to a flyer through Tom Donell and Alex Hales, being 0/47(6) and notched up a respectable score at the halfway mark.
But it was the second innings where the wheels started to fall off the wagon from the loss of regular wickets. Hales (50) rued a perfect start and was out first ball after the break. He was soon followed by Dempsey (9) with the score at 4/111.
But a middle order collapse saw the Panthers lose 3/1 – Nanapoulos (9), Thomas (26) and Fairbanks (0) – and were hanging by a thread at 7/133. Peter Sweeney (32 not out) and Dylan Quick (13) shared a 37-run stand, but in search for quick runs, the last three wickets fell for 19.
Dempsey said he thought 189 was enough to defend on a ground that was soft and slow and hard to score on, but conceded his bowlers didn’t execute their plans as best they could resulting in a comfortable win for Footscray with 16 balls to spare.
Footscray’s last three wickets conjured up partnerships of 24, 20 and 28 and proved invaluable.
For the Panthers bowlers, Butterfield continued his rise to into the 1st XI with a disciplined 3/38(9). Wilcock bowled with control and variety picking up 2/36 (9.5) while Peter Sweeney claimed 2-24(5).
“Both bowlers (Butterfield and Wilcock) are doing really well, but because of the shortened versions of the game, they are only bowling short spells,” Dempsey said. “Butterfield is swinging the ball and bowling well and I’m sure him and Wilcock can’t wait to bowl decent spells in the two dayers.”
The Panthers take on Richmond this weekend in their first two-dayer in eight weeks. Dempsey said he is looking forward to the change of pace.
“It feels like we’ve played one day games all year. It’s annoying because you are always looking to score, which isn’t always the best way to go about your batting,” he said. “ I’m hopeful that our two-day form is going to be better than what we’ve been showing and we’ll need to start winning again otherwise we’ll be in a position where we could miss out on playing finals which would be devastating.”