By Nick Creely
Dandenong champion Tom Donnell has feasted on Casey-South Melbourne for the last decade, so it was only fitting he did it once again in a milestone match.
Playing his 200th Victorian Premier Cricket match after starting his career with the Swans, the unassuming Donnell thrilled his beloved Shepley Oval on Saturday with a wonderful half century to guide his side to a 4-0 record and on top of the ladder with yet another bonus point.
It was an innings that lifted his average to close to 50 against his former club since joining the Panthers at the beginning of the 05/06 season.
The game was always played in Dandy’s court as soon as Lachie Sperling and his Swans won the toss and elected to bat.
Two iffy calls gave the Panthers the opening scalps of Kasun Suriaratchie (0) and Lachlan Sperling (5), and before drinks, the Swans were hanging on by a thread at 5/37.
Veteran quick Darren Pattinson (4/19) was simply phenomenal in this period, winding back the clock in a stellar spell that saw him bowl his 10 overs straight and worry the Swans with his pace, bounce and relentless lines.
As they did last week, Chris Benedek (23) steadied the ship while Dylan Hadfield (43) played the aggressor, and it worked a treat, lifting the score just above 100 with a decent launching pad for the remaining 20 overs.
Hadfield in particular struck the ball sweetly, with a series of cracking cover shots bringing the Swans back into the contest.
But impressive left arm spinner Akshat Buch (2/24) ignited the flame once more with a clever quicker ball that saw Jacques Augstin stump Benedek, before slowing one up and forcing Hadfield to spoon a ball to Donnell at cover – it changed the game.
Brendan Rose (30 not out) and Leigh Diston (14) then lifted late with some smart shot selection, lifting the Swans to 9/155 off their 50 overs – a competitive, yet underpar score that would have had the Panthers licking their lips.
It didn’t take long for legendary openers Donnell and Brett Forsyth to take the fizz out of the contest, with Donnell cracking an early lofted drive straight to the boundary, before the pair brought up their customary 50 run partnership in less than an hour.
Forsyth was eventually run out 15 runs short of a half century with the score at 93, but it didn’t stop Donnell from aggressively sending the ball to every corner of the ground.
Donnell and Forsyth’s 93 run partnership was only their second highest in the opening month, with the pair now putting on 50 runs or more in three of the first four matches.
The skipper eventually fell for 56, but it simply didn’t matter, with Ed Newman (40) once again showing his abundance of class by playing a crafty knock, before LJ Edwards (12 not out) and James Nanopoulos (8 not out) eventually saw the home side to victory in the 32nd over and with only three wickets down.
Incredibly, still only five Panther batsmen have batted this season, such has been their complete dominance with the blade.
The win leaves the Panthers undefeated and atop the Premier ladder, ahead of a Round 5 clash with Melbourne Uni away.
Meanwhile, in the seconds, Comrey Edgeworth struck his second consecutive century to guide the Panthers to a comfortable win.
The top order bat struck a faultless 110, after scores of 110, 38 and 87 to begin the season, and will be pushing for a call up for his second first XI game in his career.
