Siddle’s Panther prowl

By Justin Robertson
AUSTRALIAN Test paceman Peter Siddle was a late inclusion for the Panthers 38-run win over Richmond at Shepley Oval on the weekend.
Panthers skipper Darren Dempsey said he found out late Friday that Siddle was made 12th man for Victoria’s T20 match against Tasmania and instead took the field for Dandenong in his first appearance at Shepley this season.
Defending 260, courtesy of a sensational hundred by opener Nick Thomas (140), the Panthers were able to get early wickets to halt the Tigers run chase and eventually bowl them out for 222 snapping a five game losing streak.
It was a good week to be on the winner’s list, as the top seven teams all had wins, but Panthers skipper Darren Dempsey said his team still needs to win two from the last three matches to lock in a finals berth.
“It was an important weekend to win for sure,” he said. “But we need to keep winning – two more wins will most certainly see us playing finals.”
It wasn’t an ideal start for the home side as Tom Donnell was judged LBW for a duck off the bowling from former Victorian left-arm seamer Alan Wise (3-38). Wickets fell at regular intervals and Dempsey said at 6-96 the mood from the sidelines wasn’t jubilant
“At that stage I thought 180 was what we were aiming at,” he said. “The deck wasn’t that great, a little bit two-paced with uneven bounce, which made it hard to bat.”
The last four wickets put on 164 to give the Panthers a decent target to defend. Nick Thomas gave his brand new bat a workout, with one of the best knocks Dempsey has seen.
Ben Hocking joined Thomas for an important 50-run stand that saw Hocking hold up an end making 13(94) in two hours at the crease.
“That partnership swung the balance back in our favour a bit,” Dempsey said. “Nick’s innings was fantastic, I’ve seen a lot of hundreds and I reckon that was probably in the top three purely based on the conditions.”
Since being made opener, Thomas has carved out a 49, 60, 48 and 140.
“He has a solid technique for district cricket and enjoys batting against the faster ball,” Dempsey said. “That was proven on the weekend.”
Early wickets put the Tigers on the back foot with tight line and length bowling from the 18-year old quick, Wilcock who bowled brilliantly taking 2/18(13) including seven maidens. Brett Fairbanks was the chief destroyer with 3/40 and had support from James Nanopolous (2/25) and Siddle (1/36).
Dempsey said even though Siddle had the impact he wanted him to have, the inclusion of his calibre alone lifted his young side to bowl out Richmond for a much-needed win.
This week the Panthers travel to Geelong and Dempsey said his team were expecting a tight match.
“Geelong are a good top-four side, so we just need to be competitive even though the forecast for this weekend is not brilliant,” he said. “It’s an important match for us, we have a tough run home, but we want tough games heading into finals.”