Premier Cricket 2018-19: Prahran’s Lachlan Bangs shines in loss to Dandenong

Debutant Lachlan Bangs provided the positives on a forgettable day for Prahran as the Premier Cricket outfit was on the receiving end of an eight-wicket one-day hammering.

Prahran’s Will Sutherland hits a delivery through the on-side. Picture:Andy Brownbill

DEBUTANT Lachlan Bangs provided the positives on a forgettable day for Prahran as the Premier Cricket outfit was on the receiving end of an eight-wicket one-day hammering.

Bangs topscored with 40 at No. 9 and claimed the key wicket of Tom Donnell lbw in the True Blues’ eight-wicket loss to reigning premier Dandenong on Saturday.

His 62-ball knock featured six boundaries before the left-arm paceman showed off his skill with the ball to remove Panthers champion Donnell.

“He’s an absolute beauty,” Prahran assistant coach Justin Graham said of Bangs.

“He just attacks the game with a smile and with energy.

“He’s only played one Third XI game, one T20 game and then to come into Premier Cricket and do what he did … it was a breath of fresh air.

“While it was a day to sort of forget result-wise, to see a young kid come in and do what he did was very impressive. He’s an exciting talent, that’s for sure.”

Jacob Serry goes on the attack for Prahran on Saturday. Picture:Andy Brownbill

After winning the toss and opting to bat at Shepley Oval, Prahran had a disastrous collapse with just two of its top-seven batsmen reaching double figures.

The True Blues were 6-44 at one stage and then 7-68 before Bangs, Steve Seymour (31) and Matt Wilcox (17 not out) offered some resistance in the lower order.

But the 147 the visitors posted proved insufficient as Dandenong raced to 2-148 with 12.2 overs to spare.

“To be honest, there weren’t a lot of loose shots,” Graham said.

“We were up against a very well-drilled and disciplined bowling line-up.

“While there’s no real tearaway quick there to put the fright up blokes, they really were relentless in their line and length.

“If we were trying to score or score boundaries, we had to take a risk and sometimes you do that in one-day cricket and it doesn’t fall your way.”

The result left Prahran in 16th position on the ladder with a 2-2-4 record.

It will next tackle Northcote in a two-day fixture at Toorak Park starting on Saturday.

“This year with (coach) Julien (Wiener) and myself coming in, it’s a completely new coaching staff,” Graham said.

“You want to get the points every time you play, but it’s not always the be-all and end-all.

“Apart from (Saturday), we’ve been playing some really, really good cricket.”