By JARROD POTTER
VICTORIAN PREMIER CRICKET – ROUND 15 (Day 1)
THE downward decline towards the end of the season might have begun, as Dandenong (191) valiantly battled in an up-hill fight.
Facing top-of-the-ladder Fitzroy-Doncaster (0/45) is headache enough for most sides, but with the Panthers also needing to look for outright victories – as the gap to the top-eight sits at 10 points – it made the weekend particularly challenging at Shepley Oval.
A tough task was made all the more difficult early as the skipper Tom Donnell (0) lost his pegs instantly, scarcely troubling the scorers.
With Fitzroy-Doncaster’s man mountain Trent Lawford (3/57) bowling hand-grenades from his cannon-like arm, the Panthers’ top order had to brace itself for chaos.
Brett Forsyth (49) countered the barrage with an onslaught of his own – picking off Lawford, Chris Moore (2/37) and Matthew Frith (1/23) as he got his eye in.
But the problem plaguing Forsyth’s season to date – plenty of uncashed starts – continued as he struck out against Steven Duckworth (2/40), the fifth time this season the Dandy opener has fallen in the 40s.
Thankfully for Dandenong the next mainstay was ready to get stuck into the Lions.
Star all-rounder James Nanopoulos (55) resumed the challenge Forsyth first undertook and struck his way into his second half ton of the season.
The middle order folded around Nanopoulos as the side’s youth couldn’t cement themselves to the crease, but thankfully a wiser head was on his way.
The renewed fight-back came from David Alleyne (32), who stuck fast to Nanopolous to add 47 for the sixth scalp.
Nanopoulos held on as long as he could to guide the side towards 200 as some waging from James Wilcock (7no) put the last few scores onto the board.
The Lions batted out the last 20 overs comfortably, leaving plenty of time to chase down the Panthers and all but lock in the minor premiership heading into the final round.
