By JARROD POTTER
Premier Cricket – round 14 (week two)
DANDENONG (5/276dec and 1/44) made ground on the top of the Premier Cricket ladder with a clinical outright victory to dispatch Hawthorn-Monash University (128 and 191).
Starting the day in need of runs, with first innings points already secured, Andrew Gale (100) raised the willow for his first Premier century before hitting out after reaching the milestone. It left the young pairing of Cameron Forsyth (104 not out) and Jack Worrell (23) at the crease in search of a quick-fire partnership and a milestone on offer for Forsyth.
Dandenong blazed through the Hawthorn-Monash University bowling attack as Fosyth and Worrell ran the hard threes and rocketed boundaries on a slow outfield at Monash University. Worrell would fall to D O’Shea (1/67) before Forsyth continued his chase towards triple figures and the declaration. With a boundary cannoned through the off-side off a full-bodied cut shot, Forsyth reached the magic milestone – his first in Victorian Premier Cricket – with Tom Donnell calling the declaration immediately afterwards.Dandenong gave itself a chance to take outright points with exceptional bowling as Dan Doran (4/75) span his way through the middle order following the strong work of Justin Butterfield (2/33) and Nathan Lambden with the new nugget, before Matt Willcocks (2/12) took out the tailenders. Hawthorn-Monash University had defenders in David Alleyne (79) and Nathan Willoughby (37) and Daniel Rogers (30), but the rest of the attack failed to hold Dandenong out.
Five and a fraction overs were all Donnell (24) and Brett Forsyth (14) needed to chase the remaining runs and take the outright points. The win pushes Dandenong up to ninth on the ladder, only percentage outside of the top eight.
Dandenong hosts Melbourne Uni this coming round for a two-dayer at Shepley Oval.
