VICTORIAN PREMIER CRICKET
CASEY-SOUTH MELBOURNE – ROUND 12 PREVIEW
Casey-South Melbourne (16th) v Monash Tigers (4th)
Casey Fields – 10 December and 11 December from 11am
Current Form:
Round 10: Casey-South Melbourne 5/135 def St Kilda 6/134
Round 11: Casey-South Melbourne 6/125 def Footscray Edgewater 8/121
By Nick Creely
ONE thing that is definitely on Santa’s wish-list for the Swans is another crucial victory right before Christmas.
It seemed like the world was going against the Swans, who after starting the season in stunning fashion, fell away.
But the stars finally aligned, with a perfect weekend of Twenty20 cricket in Rounds 10 and 11.
From a heart-stopping win against St Kilda on the Saturday, to a shock win over Footscray on the Sunday, there were plenty of positives to take for Lachie Sperling and his emerging group.
But the focus now changes, with the Swans set to pull on the creams one final time before the break, and face arguably their toughest challenge of the season.
The Monash Tigers are flying, and currently inside the top four of the Premier table, despite a little bit of inconsistency.
But one lesson learnt from this season, despite sitting 16th, they are competitive right until the very end.
Last Saturday, it seemed as if the game had passed them by, before rallying in one of the games of the season, and then on Sunday, a Dylan Hadfield special saw them escape with the win.
But the Tigers won’t give the Swans much freedom, who are dominant with the bat and evergreen with the ball.
The Swans go in unchanged after the consecutive victories, in a good sign for the club going forward.
Seamers Nathan Lambden and Jackson Fry found some touch after a lean month with the ball, while with the bat; Luke Manders emerged in front of our very eyes.
Once again, the basics are important – it may sound simple, but that’s what has given the Swans success this season.
Batting, bowling and fielding are the key areas they need to get right if they are to enter the club rooms on Sunday evening singing Christmas carols with gusto.
Casey-South Melbourne
Round 12 1st XI 2016/17 statistics
Devin Pollock (wk) 10 matches, 255 runs, Avg 25.50, HS 43
Luke Manders 5 matches, 112 runs, Avg 22.40, HS 50
Lachlan Sperling (capt) 10 matches, 250 runs, Avg 25.00, HS 67, 1 wicket, Avg 95.00, BB 1/5
Ryan Eaton 10 matches, 232 runs, Avg 25.78, HS 64
Michael Wallace 10 matches, 192 runs, Avg 24.00, HS 39
Jordan Wyatt 5 matches, 8 runs, Avg 2.00, HS 6
Dylan Hadfield 10 matches, 227 runs, Avg 32.43, HS 48*, 9 wickets, Avg 30.11, BB 2/25
Brendan Rose 10 matches, 60 runs, Avg 15.00, HS 28, 11 wickets, Avg 30.91, BB 2/10
Nathan Lambden 10 matches, 62 runs, Avg 15.50, HS 38, 14 wickets, Avg 23.00, BB 3/40
Leigh Diston 9 matches, 4 runs, Avg 4.00, HS 3, 11 wickets, Avg 33.18, BB 3/46
Jackson Fry 5 matches, has not batted, 7 wickets, Avg 19.43, BB 3/34
Players to watch:
A massive positive to come out of the camp at Casey Fields is that Swans batsman Luke Manders can seriously bat. He was highly impressive in last Saturday’s win against St Kilda, notching his first fifty at First XI level. After starting the season making runs in the Second XI, Manders is a player to watch come red ball cricket. He will be an important scalp for the Tigers.
Tigers top-order bat Daniel Sartori is a gun. The aggressive batsman will be a vital wicket for the Swans. Getting Sartori early will be crucial, because if he is able to settle into his innings, can make the Swans pay on a ripping surface at Casey Fields. He has currently scored 383 runs at 34.82, with a century against Geelong showcasing his talents.
In the context of the season, it is truly an important contest. The Swans are just over a win outside the top eight, and the Monash Tigers…well a loss could be potentially costly.
There is a bit of rain about, and that could be a factor in the all-important toss of the coin, but regardless of who bats or who balls, one thing is for certain – the Swans must be on their game from ball one.
Everyone knows how well they went after Christmas last year, and maybe there was something different in their turkey, so a win would give them momentum to stage another fight into the second-half of the year.
And for the Swans, hopefully by the end of this weekend, they will be singing:
“Jingle Bells, jingle Bells – Casey won again!”
