By Marcus Uhe
Dandenong has fallen to 10th on the Victorian Premier Cricket ladder following a 37-run rain-affected loss to Melbourne at home on Saturday.
Chasing 189 in 37 overs, the Panthers reached 8-151 when the innings was declared closed on Saturday evening.
A ninety-run stand between high-profile Melbourne pair Will Pucovski (48) and Blake Thomson (55) did much of the damage for the visitors, who were beginning to wobble when the rain intervened.
Pucovski and Thomson lifted Melbourne from 1/40 to 2/130, but both departed in quick succession as the Panthers mounted a fightback, led by seamer Ben Allison.
Allison removed both players in consecutive overs to begin the charge, supported by wickets to Oliver Jenkins and Matthew Wilson, as Melbourne fell to 5/155.
It reached 188 when the innings came to an end, with Dandenong granted 37 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
Allison was the standout Dandenong bowler, taking 3/31 as the only multiple wicket-taker.
The Panthers’ reply could hardly have made a worse start, after Matthew Wilson was caught behind on the second ball of the innings for a golden duck.
Brett Forsyth and Dhanusha Gamage then added 51 for the second wicket, offering stability until Forsyth was caught on the boundary for an attacking 26.
Regular wickets fell there-after in the push for quick runs with a shortened allocation of overs.
Following Forsyth’s departure, the next seven wickets fell for just 81 runs, a series of single figures and scores in the teens doing little to challenge the Melbourne attack.
Gamage top scored for Melbourne with 32, closely followed by 26 from Forsyth.
Melbourne’s outfit boasted a handful of both current and former first-class cricketers, not to mention Pucovski, who owns a Baggy Green.
David Moody, the nephew of Australian World Cup winner Tom, starred with the ball for Melbourne, taking 4/31 from his eight overs.
Jack Prestwidge, meanwhile, has played professional limited overs cricket for a handful of sides in Australia, while Campbell Kellaway is a star on the rise in the Victorian setup.
The Panthers head to Melbourne University next week to battle the Students in a one-day match, before two-day games return the following round.
