By Marcus Uhe
The never-say-die spirit coursing through the veins of the current Casey-South Melbourne Cricket Club squad was on full display once more on Saturday, completing a stunning turnaround against Prahran to sneak home by 10 runs in Victorian Premier Cricket action at Casey Fields.
In taking the final eight True Blues wickets for just 100 runs, the Swans dug themselves out of major trouble to preserve their undefeated streak to open the season and bag vital points against a likely finals contender once more this summer.
The varied bowling attack shared responsibilities with the ball and took vital wickets to drag themselves back into the hunt, having posted 310 in the first innings of the contest.
Prahran made a blistering start to the reply, scoring at better than a run-a-ball for the first 20 overs with a massive task on their hands.
Halfway through the overs allotment, the visitors were more than on their way to a win, bringing up the 200-run milestone in the 43rd over at a run rate of 4.65.
The next handful of overs changed the contest, however, with a double-strike from Nathan Lambden giving the Swans hope.
The spearhead removed the two set batters in Damon Egan and Max Delaney, ending a 64-run partnership in the process.
Important strikes in quick succession from Harry Hoekstra and Vinu Mohotty then took the Swans into Prahran’s middle order, and when Ruwantha Kellapotha bowled the final remaining batter in Brodie Symons for a dogged 47, the visitors were now in trouble at 7/262.
The Swans’ squeeze was on, with maidens now coming just as frequently as boundaries as the chase slowed to a crawl, and the hosts attacked.
Kellapotha’s third reduced Prahran to eight wickets down with a further 29 for victory.
A second for Hoekstra put the game on a knife’s edge at 9/289, before Kellapotha’s fourth sealed the result, with Mohotty holding a sharp catch at first slip.
The leg-spinner finished the contest with 4/48 from 26.3 overs in a masterful display of control and attack, with Lambden taking three wickets and Hoesktra two.
A tough test awaits next week with a trip to Richmond, sitting pretty at the top of the table as one of three sides on 14 points.
Casey-South Melbourne is fifth.
