By Marcus Uhe
A maiden five-wicket haul for legspinner Gehan Seneviratne was the bright spark on an otherwise disappointing day for Dandenong in Victorian Premier Cricket against Ringwood.
Seneviratne bowled 24 overs and claimed 5/65, his first at senior level for the Panthers, who surrendered their position in the top four as a result of the loss, having failed to defend 174.
Ringwood’s strong top order in David King, Tom Rogers and Lachlan Bangs made short work of the target, reaching it two wickets down before lunch.
Ringwood reached 7/274 before shaking hands.
Victorian-contracted Rogers was the aggressor of the trio, striking at 93, with 53 off 57 deliveries.
King reached 75 from 167, and Bangs 49.
Seneviratne took the final five wickets to fall, showing great resilience with the contest already decided on first innings points.
He was late to be asked to bowl, with six players rolling their arm over for the Panthers ahead of him.
Only James Nanopoulos and Matthew Wilson took wickets for Dandenong outside of Seneviratne, on a wicket that was said to be considerably better for batting than the previous week in which they posted 174.
Seneviratne and young legspinner Vishwa Ramkumar combined for 50 of the Panthers’ 82 overs.
There are two rounds remaining in the Premier Cricket season, with Dandenong fixture to face second-placed Richmond at Shepley Oval and 15th-placed Footscray away in the final two weeks.
They are not without a chance of reclaiming a spot in the top four and the all-important double chance, sitting just two points behind Camberwell, but Richmond will be a difficult assignment at home next week, having lost just one match this season.
They are tied for points with six-placed Casey South Melbourne, but the Swans have a major challenge in the last two rounds, with two top-four sides in St Kilda and Carlton on its docket.
