DANDENONG fell agonisingly short of an outright victory over Northcote, whose last partnership batted out the tense last few overs.
With their captain Tim Monteleone sitting out, on account of a thumb injury sustained last week, the Panthers ripped shreds out of the Northcote batting line-up early.
James Nanopoulos’ (5/24) golden season with the ball continued as he roused the first five Northcote batsmen from the crease to have the visitors 5/79. The remaining bowling nuance came from the Englishman Steve Mullaney, who ran through the tail to force Northcote to bat again with a 288-run deficit.
James Wilcock (1/9) struck early in Northcote’s second dig, before some solid partnerships started to emerge and the match looked set to peter out harmlessly.
Dandenong refused to take their foot off the gas – Dan Doran (3/41) backed up his marvellous century with his leggies popping and fizzing all the way across Shepley Oval.
Dylan Grandell (39) held on for dear life to keep the outright victory out of Dandenong’s grasp, but Nathan Lambden (1/19) brought the game back to life, exposing the last two tailenders. Kyle Adams (15 not out) and Ben Holt (2 not out) prevented a complete loss occurring.
The win pushes the Panthers up to fifth on the VPC ladder, with their final match of 2012 against Camberwell this Saturday.
