Premier Cricket: Prahran pacemen Wilcox and Perrin run through Casey South Melbourne
Prahran opens the Victorian Premier Cricket season with a thumping win over Casey South Melbourne at Casey Fields.
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Prahran could not have started the Premier Cricket season more perkily.
Casey South Melbourne could not have started it more poorly.
The True Blues handed the Swans a humbling defeat in the Round 1 match at Casey Fields on Saturday, knocking them over for 45 and replying with 3-46 off 15.1 overs.
It was all over by just after 2pm.
Prahran sent in Casey South Melbourne, and needed only 31.1 overs to have it all out.
Paceman Matt Wilcox removed openers Devon Pollock (bowled for 1 by a beauty that hit the top of off-stump) and Ryan Quirk (caught behind, slashing away outside off-stump for 8).
Just to make things harder for themselves, the Swans gifted Prahran a wicket in the form of the run-out of Joel Mitchell (2), who had a terrible mix-up with Nathan Freitag.
That brought in Michael Wallace, who was caught behind for a duck off spinner Sam Grimwade.
The Swans were now 4-16 and became 5-21 when Wilcox won an LBW shout against Jordan Wyatt (3), hitting him high on the back leg.
The dismissal of acting Swans captain Freitag (9) was more definite, bowled by Wilcox as the right-armer advanced to figures of 4-8 off 10 overs, four of them maidens.
They call Wilcox “Bomber’’, and he bombed the life out of the Casey South Melbourne top-order.
Dylan Hadfield, with 14, was the only Swan to reach double figures, his innings ending when he hit a warm-up half-tracker from Steve Seymour straight to Will Sutherland at cover. It was that sort of day for CSM.
It was left to ex-Swan Andrew Perrin (3-19 off 8.1 overs), playing his first match for Prahran, to dock the tail and leave the hosts short of 50 and well short of batting out their 50 overs.
In Prahran’s reply, Adam Bull had the misfortune of making a duck in his 200th First XI match, defeated by a good ball from Casey South Melbourne quickie Nathan Lambden (1-8 off five overs).
Bull started at Dandenong in 2001-02, joined Prahran in 208-09 and has made more than 5000 runs in Premier Cricket, a fine achievement for the former Gippslander.
His opening partner James Billington (26) was quickly into stride and a couple of his drives suggested he was a player to watch this season.
Aside from Perrin, Prahran had two other players making their first appearance for the club, wicketkeeper Elliott Bradley, who took three catches, and tall young Englishman Tom Loten, an all-rounder.
Bradley was recruited from South Caulfield, apparently on the recommendation of former Prahran captain Sam Coates.
The Swans were missing captain Luke Wells, who is yet to have his visa approved for 2019-20. It’s proving a frustrating exercise for new president Shaun Petrie and director of cricket Craig “Doc’’ Lambden.
Before play the club paid tribute to former president Ross Hibbins, who died earlier in the year after a battle with cancer. He was 55.
His family, Cricket Victoria officials including former CEO Tony Dodemaide and stalwart Premier Cricket administrator Peter Binns, and past and present Swans players, officials and supporters attended the unveiling of the Ross Hibbins Room in the Lindsay Hassett Pavilion.
Players and umpires also observed a minute’s silence on the ground.