By David Nagel
Pakenham (2/160) has washed away any lingering doubt that it is a legitimate title contender in the WGCA Premier Division with a thorough and ruthless eight-wicket victory over ladder leaders Kooweerup (159) on Saturday.
The Lions rubbed away the stains from their early season performances and now need to only fine tune and polish their machine in a tough run home to this year’s finals series.
But whatever happens over the next three weeks – against Tooradin, Cardinia and Merinda Park – the Lions are now a proven commodity after taking their first top-three scalp for the season.
Their bowling attack was steady as a rock, causing the usually unflappable Demons to make some untidy errors towards the latter overs of their innings.
Opener Rob Elston (42), skipper Dale Tormey (55 not out) and the rejuvenated Zac Chaplin (54 not out) then batted with a great mix of flair and responsibility to guide the Lions home with 13 balls and eight wickets in hand.
After winning the toss and batting, Kooweerup had the better of the early exchanges.
Paul Bright (20) and Luke McMaster (28) put on a 48-run stand before both fell quickly to the accurate medium pacers of Tom Brennan (2/23).
Mitch Davey (7) came and went cheaply, adding to the Lions’ fightback, before last week’s saviours – Chris Bright (51) and Chris O’Hara (21) – combined for a 59-run stand.
The Demons looked dangerous, but at no stage did they really threaten to blow this game apart. O’Hara sensed the urgency of trying to lift the tempo and trapped himself in front against the nagging seamers of Tormey (3/29).
The Lions’ skipper bowled full and straight, with the wickets of O’Hara, Chris Bright – who appeared to twinge a calf – and John Bright (0) proving just rewards for his efforts.
The Demons’ finish…well it looked ungainly and certainly not executed with the clinical precision that you would expect from a premiership favourite.
Stumpings, run outs and stumps being disturbed by the bowlers, all came via some cow-corner’ish shots or through confusion.
It almost had a feel of the next man will do the job – and that’s most un-Demon-like.
Spinner Matt Bright – eight overs, four maidens, 1/9 – then held the Lions early, before the class of Elston, Tormey and Chaplin steered the Lions to their most impressive victory of the season.
Tormey, well he was understandably rapt with the performance.
“Any time you knock off the top team you’re going to be happy, but the way we did it was really good,” Tormey explained.
“Keeping them to 160 was a massive win for us, because we know how dangerous they can be, with Wombat (Chris Bright), Tubsy (O’Hara) and the others.
“They started really well, they were none for 40 odd, but we knew if we kept bowling in our areas we were in it for the long haul.
“And with our batting, Rob (Elson) was super at the top.
“We were never really flustered, we knew what we needed to do, and we thought 160 wouldn’t be enough on our ground…although cricket can be a funny game.”
The Lions – despite a great record in recent seasons – have had to work this season to finally earn back respect.
Three early losses, followed by six consecutive wins – against the bottom teams in the competition – still left some questions unanswered.
But Saturday’s win…that was the shackle-breaker…the Lions are back and firmly in title contention.
“We’re in a good space, we’re enjoying what we’re doing and we know when we play our brand of cricket it’s good enough to compete with any team in the competition,” Tormey said.
“I think we’ve still got improvement to come as well, which is a nice position to be in when you’ve won seven on the trot and we’ve just knocked off the top team with our best player not available.”
With star opener Chris Smith set to return, after attending a wedding on the weekend, the Lions will go into this week’s blockbuster against Tooradin with a high degree of confidence.
Tormey said Saturday’s win was important, but didn’t necessarily dictate the belief levels within the group.
“Yes and no, because we think we’re good enough and we know we’re not just making up the numbers and we’re good enough to compete with those teams,” Tormey explained.
“We’re not just there to do our best, we’re there for the end of the year…that’s our aim and has been all along.
“We’re still one of the top teams, we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and see where that takes us.”
The Lions appear to be timing their run perfectly, with the inclusion of Chaplin, and the return to form of Tormey, coming at precisely the right time of the season.
“When I got told he (Chaplin) wanted to play lower grades I touched base with him a few times because he’s obviously too good to be playing lower grade standard,” Tormey said.
“From the first night he came back it looked he had done five pre-seasons on the bounce, the ball hasn’t missed the middle of his bat from his first session back.
“He’s been massive for us.
“He’s a great bloke, he’s a great fielder, and obviously what he’s doing with the bat is pretty special at the moment.
“I had front-row seats on Saturday, watching from the other end, and it was ridiculous how clean he was hitting them.
“I’m batting at three, in the middle of Chris Smith at the top, and Zac Chaplin at four, there’s not many better places for a number three to be right now.”
The Lions have washed away the stains…it will now be enthralling to see how far the polish will shine!
