By JARROD POTTER
PREMIER CRICKET – ROUND 17 (day 2)
CULTIVATING the next generation of Casey-South Melbourne (209 and 6/98) talent was the aim of the final few rounds as the Swans claimed the 2014/15 Victorian Premier Cricket wooden spoon with a loss to St Kilda (6/341dec).
Lewis Mildenhall (108 not out) ravaged the Casey attack alongside Josh Manning (53) and spinning all-rounder James Muirhead (46 not out). Casey’s shining light came from Simon Black (4/82) who claimed wickets to keep the St Kilda batsmen rotating through the wicket.
Throwing the ball around, Casey’s young brigade also lined their pockets with overs as Lachie Sperling (1/51), Leigh Diston (0/35) and Rob Fisher (0/36) all savoured their opportunities in the top flight to gain experience.
Not much else was on the line as St Kilda comfortably stitched up first innings points with 341 runs against its name after only 77 overs. A quick declaration left Casey to go around again as St Kilda aimed for outright victory. The visitors would get close, but Michael Wallace (39 not out) remained unbeaten at the end of the season while Shane Maggs (21) and captain Chris Hall (14) kept plugging away up til the final over to stop any further debacle from coming to light.
Casey-South Melbourne finished its season with two wins and 14 losses while their best batsman and bowler were one and the same – Daniel Watson 364 runs at 26 and 20 wickets at 24.25.
DANDENONG v NORTHCOTE
SUCCESS finally greeted Dandenong (238) as it sealed off its season with a resounding win over Northcote (90 and 3/162).
Carrying on from Tom Donnell’s 99 last week, this week’s standout effort would come from James Nanopoulos (5/12) – who speared through the Northcote tail after taking the crucial wicket of Eric Ghasperidis (22) – the only Dragon to get off the ground against the Panthers’ attack.
Justin Butterfield (3/28) and James Wilcock (2/19) would also line their pockets with Northcote victims as the home side failed to show any tangible fight against the visitors.
Sending the opposition back in to bat out their second innings, Dan Doran and his men didn’t fare as well after the resumption as Ben Abbatangelo (70 not out) ensured there would not be a repeat of the first innings.
Buttefield (2/10) and Adam McMaster (1/26) were the leading wicket takers in the second innings.
The last season of Dandenong Cricket Club – before their scheduled merger with Hawthorn-Monash University next season – will not be one for the record books as the Panthers slumped to a seven-win, nine-loss season, finishing 12th on the Victorian Premier Cricket ladder.
A late-season revival boosted the Panthers to 12th, but finals were off the table after a horror start had Dandenong 2-7 before picking up five wins in the second half of the season.
Tom Donnell (667 runs at 39.24) and James Nanopoulos (23 wickets at 18.78) led the club’s 1st XI in batting and bowling.
