By ROY WARD
DANDENONG Panthers captain Darren Pattinson used reverse swing to turn around his side’s fortunes in their must-win clash against Richmond at Shepley Oval on Saturday.
With the loser of the match almost certain to miss the Premier Cricket finals, the Tigers looked to get on the front foot by winning the toss and batting first. The Panthers struggled to make inroads and the Tigers batsmen reached 3-58 and looked capable of posting a difficult tally.
Enter Pattinson (5-13 from 15 overs), who took four quick wickets, including the scalp of Victorian batsman-keeper Ryan Carters, to tear through the Tigers’ middle order. The visitors were all out for 119 in 60.4 overs.
In their first innings together for this season, Panthers openers Brett Forsyth (35 not out) and Tom Donnell (46 not out) celebrated their reunion by putting on a quick-fire 0-82 in the final 26 overs to put their side within 38 runs of a first-innings win.
Pattinson said he had turned to using reverse swing after struggling to get edges with the new ball.
“We needed a few wickets. Luckily enough, I managed to get a few when we needed them. The ball was reverse swinging, so I was trying to use that.
“We went conventional and tried to nick them out but that wasn’t working, so I tried to hit the stumps and it paid off for us. We needed to get them out for under 200, so 119 was a bonus.”
Tigers coach Jarrad Loughman praised Pattinson’s performance as a sign of his class.
“Banjo [Pattinson] is far too good for this level and, to be fair to our guys, he was far too good today,” he said. “We didn’t quite apply ourselves and ended up with 119 runs.”
A first-innings win from Dandenong could be all the Panthers need to climb into the top eight and play finals cricket.
But with Melbourne University (sixth place), Fitzroy-Doncaster (eighth) and Carlton (ninth) all facing difficult run chases on day two of their final round games, the Panthers may even move higher should all three fail to take any points.
The Tigers (seventh place) may need to go for a near-impossible reverse outright result when play resumes this Saturday. They may also still make the finals if Fitzroy Doncaster and Carlton both fall short.
Pattinson said he was solely focused on making sure the Panthers passed 119, then he would survey his options.
“We will see what happens. We need to get the runs first and then look at it.
“We might need to go for the outright or Richmond might have to try and reverse it, so anything could be on the cards next Saturday.”
■ In the Victorian Sub District Cricket Association, Endeavour Hills confirmed its debut in the first XI finals after more than decade in the competition.
The Eagles earned a home qualifying final and host Coburg at Sydney Pargeter Reserve this Saturday and Sunday. Minor premier Oakleigh hosts Preston and Plenty Valley is at home to Brunswick in the other two qualifying finals.
The match resumes at Shepley Oval at noon this Saturday.
For all the latest breaking news, stay with this website. Also, follow the Weekly at facebook.com/dandenongjournal or on Twitter @DandyJournal.
