An enthralling two days of action at Mervyn Hughes Oval saw the qualifying final matchup of Casey South Melbourne and St Kilda come down to the wire in Victorian Premier Cricket.
The Swans had jumped into fourth after Cricket Victoria acknowledged a mistake in its ladder, and thus Casey South Melbourne was awarded with a double chance, but it meant a matchup with the minor premiers awaited.
Saturday began on the right note for the Swans, as they won the toss and decided to send the Saints to the crease.
And the table-leaders immediately felt the finals heat, losing three wickets in the first four overs, all of which were ducks, to be 3/1.
It started when Nathan Lambden struck James Seymour (0) on the pads directly in front, and the loud appeal was met with the finger being raised in the third over with St Kilda still yet to score.
Five balls later, Harry Hoekstra steamed in from the other end and delivered a jaffa, squaring up and tickling the outside edge of a defending Brandon Faber (0) through to keeper Devin Pollock.
And another five balls after that, Hoekstra nipped a pearler back in from over the wicket and bamboozled Jack Cunnington (0), who completely missed the ball and was hit on the back pad.
Hoekstra didn’t even turn around and appeal, running off in celebration as the umpire signalled out.
Desperate to wrestle back momentum, Harry Dixon started to hit quick alongside new man at the crease, skipper Ed Newman, and the pair looked to slowly dig their side out of the hole.
But Dixon (30) soon became Hoekstra’s third scalp, when he stuck the bat out and outside edged one to Jackson Isakka in the slips cordon.
It moved St Kilda to 4/38 in the 14th over.
But the Saints then showed why they finished five points clear on top of the table.
Newman and number six Thomas Russ repelled Casey South Melbourne’s pressure, navigating the tough period to form a 76-run partnership.
Ashvin Adihetty then provided the much-needed breakthrough, sending Newman (43) on his way when the captain inside edged one onto his pads and it went straight up, caught by a diving Pollock.
However, it was few and far between for the Swans, as Russ and Adam Crosthwaite provided more hurting by forming another 70-run stand.
Russ (72) was then dismissed by Finlay Gordon in the 71st over when he mistimed one and was caught by debutant Lenny Wilton in the deep.
But once again, St Kilda’s class was upstanding and the Saints brushed it off to pile on more runs.
By the time Adihetty got the wicket of Crosthwaite (78), St Kilda was well on top in the contest at 7/262.
And the trend continued.
The next man up mentality for the Saints rolled through their entire batting order, with Matthew Hennig (67 not out) and Luke Destito (54) combining for 92 runs and both raising the bat.
When Destito was run out, St Kilda’s innings concluded at 8/354.
The chase on Sunday was defined by one clear headline, the bravery of skipper Ash Chandrasinghe.
Gordon (9), Isakka (5), Yash Pednekar (3) and Chris Benedek (11) all fell relatively early in the innings to be 4/75.
Chandrasinghe remained, patiently and expertly guiding his team through the innings.
Wilton (35) showed plenty on debut with a 50-run partnership alongside his skipper, but was later undone by a Thomas Paddington delivery.
Pollock stepped to the crease and showed intent, hanging around with Chandrasinghe for 25 overs while the pair stacked up over 100 runs.
Casey South Melbourne got to 229 before Pollock (58) was knocked over by Seymour.
Chandrasinghe inched closer to a well-earned ton and brought it up with a single to the off side, marking his fourth century of the season, while Muhammad Irfan looked to support him.
Belief was building as the Swans managed yet another near 50-run stand, moving to 7/278 when Irfan (36) was caught and bowled by Russ.
Hoekstra (24) provided pivotal runs towards the bottom and Casey South Melbourne passed the 300 mark.
After Hoekstra was dismissed, 8/321 became 9/329 when Hennig castled Lambden (4) with an absolute thunderbolt.
Chandrasinghe (124 from 205) was the last wicket to fall two overs later, bringing his brave and brilliant knock and the Swans’ innings to an end, all out for 332, 22 runs short.
The skipper had spent 186.3 overs on the field across the weekend, a monumental captain’s effort that nearly willed his side to a famous victory.
Casey South Melbourne will regroup and head back to Casey Fields this weekend for a semi-final clash with fifth-placed Carlton.
VIC PREMIER SUMMARY
Results Finals Week 1: St Kilda (8/354) def Casey South Melbourne (332), Melbourne (3/315) def Footscray (9/311d), Carlton (8/361) def Richmond (125), Northcote (265) def by Prahran (7/268).
Fixture Semi-Finals: Casey South Melbourne (4) v Carlton (5) at Casey Fields, Footscray (3) v Prahran (7) at Mervyn Hughes Oval.
