VICTORIAN PREMIER CRICKET
REVIEW – ROUNDS 10 and 11 (T20s)
By Nick Creely
TWO runs, one ball, and a memorable victory – the equation may sound simple enough, but no one biting their nails in the final moments at Casey Fields on Saturday could have imagined a finish so thrilling.
After six straight losses, the Swans hosted a highly-touted St Kilda line-up, featuring state representatives Michael Beer, Rob Quiney and James Muirhead.
Swans skipper Lachlan Sperling sent the Saints in to bat, and the side bowled with excellent control and aggression, setting the tone early.
After removing the dangerous Rob Quiney (22), the Swans had their tails up, as Nathan Lambden (2/25), Leigh Diston (1/30), Jackson Fry (1/21) and Dylan Hadfield (2/25) took control, restricting the Saints to just 6/134.
With the blade in hand, the Swans started with intent, as Luke Manders (50) and Devin Pollock (34) put on 77 for the first wicket, all inside the first half of the innings. It seemed that the total wasn’t too hard of an ask.
But a lull in the innings saw the game go down to the wire, as the Saints tightened in the field, and with it the chirp started.
It all came down to the final over, and with ten runs to win, the Swans simply had to take some risks.
But tight bowling from Saints seamer Jak Jowett (2/24) saw the game go down to the very last ball. It was two runs to win and one run to draw.
As Jowett steamed in and delivered the ball, Dylan Hadfield poked the delivery to Rob Quiney in the ring, who assessed the situation, before firing the ball at the stumps.
But for some unknown reason, no fielder was backing up, and the ball trickled past the stumps, through an unaware fielder’s legs, straight to the boundary for four overthrows.
With Quiney in utter disbelief, the Swans players streamed onto the field, hugging and shouting as the excitement took over.
Developing quick Jackson Fry said it was an amazing feeling, and has given the group some much needed joy in a tough month for the club, but concedes that they really shouldn’t have walked away with the points.
“It was just great to get the win and it was a great run chase – to get the win against a side that we haven’t beaten for 20 years, as South Melbourne was great,” he said.
“We knew it’d be hard to get Michael Beer away, but we targeted the quick bowlers, and we also knew James Muirhead would give us a few loose balls every over.
“I believe he (Quiney) could have walked the ball to the stumps – Dylan was long gone, at least half a pitch out, so it would have been a tie – he didn’t hit luckily for us.
“We were a bit relieved; we obviously had lost six in a row, so it was more relief then anything to be honest.
“We were pumped to win that game against a highly quality opposition.
“We know we can beat anyone when we play at our best.”
And play at their best they did, as the Swans followed on their stunning effort with another victory against Footscray Edgewater at Mervyn Hughes Oval the following day.
After restricting the Dogs to just 8/121, on the back of a solid effort from Fry (2/17) and Nathan Lambden (2/16), the Swans started disastrously with the bat, sitting at 5/43.
Enter the self-proclaimed “finisher” Dylan Hadfield, who played a match-winning knock, smashing two sixes on his way to 48 not-out off just 23 balls.
The Swans surpassed the Dogs with one over left in the game, capping off a memorable weekend for the club.
Fry said that the fielding was a key factor in the victory, but lauded Hadfield for his special knock.
“The key to winning on Sunday was three direct hit run-outs – they kept pushing quick singles and our blokes just kept throwing the stumps down,” he said.
“We also bowled and fielded well on a wicket tough to score on- we knew 120 would be a tough ask on that pitch.
“On the back of Dyl Hadfield who batted brilliantly, we got there in the end – he has been running the tag “the finisher” for about 12 months now, and he did the same thing last year against Melbourne, and we thought he had to do a little bit more than that to call himself that, but no doubt he can lay claims on that tag now.”
The Swans will play Monash Tigers in a two-dayer at Casey Fields on Saturday/Sunday.
Meanwhile, Dandenong has continued their strong hold on top of the Premier ladder, after a mixed weekend of Premier action.
The Panthers started their weekend against Northcote, batting their way to a defendable 6/131.
James Nanopoulos (38) continues to shine with the bat, while Ed Newman (25) and Brent Fairbanks (25) were solid contributors.
But it clearly wasn’t enough, as Northcote opening duo Solomon Mire (56) and Steven Taylor (61) stole the show, guiding them to the total only 12.2 overs into the innings.
James Pattinson (1/27) was the pick of the bowlers for the Panthers, while James Nanopoulos took a wicket.
With top spot relinquished, the Panthers hosted Essendon at Shepley Oval on Sunday, in a bid to reclaim their standing as the ladder leaders.
And if not for a remarkable bit of fielding by Lincoln Edwards, the Panthers may have gone away with a duo of losses.
The talented top-order batsman was fielding on the long-off boundary at the time, when Bombers skipper Aaron Ayre (63) launched a straight hit.
Edwards then flung into action, covering over 25 metres, before throwing himself at the ball in a full length dive and plucking it with one hand.
The stunning catch, which has been remarked as one of the greatest of all time at the level, would have made Steve Smith proud, and allowed the Bombers to finish on just 6/152.
And the Panthers rode the momentum, as James Pattinson (63) and Brett Forsyth (58) guided them home with one over left.
The Panthers will travel to play Carlton on Saturday, in a two-dayer at Princes Park.
