By JARROD POTTER
TWO years ago Cam Dinger wasn’t even a spinner.
But at the insistence of Cranbourne coach Brett Lewis he endured the necessary hard slog to become one.
He rattled off the overs throughout the years, even when the times were their toughest, and Dinger’s work-rate was rewarded in the biggest way possible on Sunday.
When his side looked down and out in the DDCA Turf 1 grand final, falling for 65 in the first innings chasing Springvale South’s 138, Cranbourne turned to the 22-year-old spinner and hoped for something big.
Dinger delivered in spades – the leggie flew through the Bloods’ middle order to claim 6/44 off his 16 overs. He took the crucial wickets of Nathan King and Craig Slocombe before slicing through the tail to keep Cranbourne alive and ready to hunt down the 161 runs needed.
He didn’t just contribute with the bowling though.
Dinger went out late in the day as Cranbourne started losing wickets and smacked 10 not out to support Matt Chasemore and win the rarest of all rare victories: a first-XI reverse-outright premiership.
Dinger was named Man of the Match and the magnitude of the Eagles’ achievements left him fairly speechless.
“I’ve still got no words for it – three and a half hours ago we weren’t even looking like we were going to go out and field,” Dinger said.
“Next thing you know we get a couple of quick wickets and the game was on – we rolled them and I still can’t believe we’re here.
“When I was sitting out there watching from the sidelines I was thinking if we’d even get close, but then I got out there and took the game on – Cheeks (Chasemore) took the game on and it paid off.”
With the chips down early on Sunday, Dinger stayed the course to take his first five-wicket haul and best bowling figures as he kept the ball up to trap the Bloods on the crease.
“From the start when I started it was spinning a lot and they weren’t using their feet, so I thought ‘why not flight it up, bring them in, put a bit of pressure on’ and it paid off,” Dinger said.
High-calibre young spinners don’t come along every day and Dinger said he’s weighing up whether or not to move into Victorian Premier Cricket.
“A couple of clubs have spoken to me, but as I’ve told them all I’ve only had this game on my mind and that was today, so I’ll have a good think about what I’ll do next year and go from there,” Dinger said.
He wanted to thank the club and especially Lewis for honing his skills and trusting him with the great responsibility in the grand final.
“Just the club – they’re a fantastic club and I’ve played all my juniors there,” Dinger said. “One bloke in particular – Brett Lewis – I’ve only been bowling leg-spin for two years and he stuck at me the whole way,” Dinger said. “I couldn’t have been anywhere near what I did today without him.
“Given me 100 per cent support and trust, straight out with each other and I think that’s part of the reason we’ve been so successful and won today.”
