By Marcus Uhe
Casey South Melbourne opening batter Ashley Chandrasinghe marked his 150th game in red and white in style with his second century of the Victorian Premier Cricket season.
The left-hander’s 104 included 16 fours as his encouraging run of recent form continues, following a tough first half of the summer.
After passing 50 just once in his first 16 innings across all competitions, the Victorian representative’s last four scores make for impressive reading, with 100, 61 and seven proceeding Saturday’s triple-figure score.
The performance formed the core of a very strong first innings total against Northcote at Bill Lawry Oval.
The Swans posted their biggest total of the summer, reaching 338 as they aim for a seventh consecutive win.
A trio of major partnerships was the key to their success, along with Chandrasinghe’s solo effort.
He and allrounder Jackson Isakka added 138 for the third wicket, with Isakka raising the bat for the second time this season with a score of 74, while important contributions from Luke Shelton (36), Nathan Lamden (30) and Vinu Mohotty (42) arrested a mid-innings stumble.
Beginning with Chandrasinghe’s wicket, the Swans lost Devin Pollock for 16 and Matthew Calder without scoring in a concerning three-over period of 3/0.
Shelton and Mohotty combined to restore order, adding 52 for the seventh wicket, with Lambden replacing Shelton in a 54-run stand following his captain’s dismissal.
Northcote has some strong chases under its belt this season, having reeled in 300 against Dandneong, 245 against Greenvale and 230 against Ringwood, but 339 would set a new benchmark.
With Dandenong on the back foot in its game against Ringwood, the Swans have a golden opportunity to leapfrog the Panthers and climb into the top four with two matches remaining in the home-and-away season.
Dandenong currently has a one-point lead over Casey South Melbourne on the table, but is defending just 174 against Ringwood this week.
