ECA 2020-21: Peter Dickson plays match-winning hand for East Doncaster
Peter Dickson was East Doncaster’s star recruit of the off-season, and he stood tall when it mattered in a cut-throat semi.
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East Doncaster was staring at a shock semi-final exit for a second consecutive season on Saturday.
The Eastern Cricket Association club dominated the Dunstan Shield home-and-away campaign in 2019-20 before its premiership dream was shattered by eventual champion North Balwyn.
It has been a similar tale this summer, with East Doncaster finishing the regular season 18 points clear at the top of the ladder with an imposing 12-1-1 record.
But there is one difference – Peter Dickson.
The Premier Cricket champion landed at East Doncaster over the off-season and was the key man when his team slipped to 5-55 in response to Mont Albert’s 153 in the weekend’s cut-throat semi.
The result? Dickson showcased his enduring class and experience to compile an unbeaten 70 from 105 deliveries and guide his side to a four-wicket victory as it sealed a grand final berth.
He found a willing ally in Riley Jones, who contributed 33 from 64 in what proved a match-winning 86-run stand for the sixth wicket.
“It’s been spoken about a little bit what happened in that semi-final (last season) … and I know how much it means to the club,” Dickson said.
“From my point of view, I couldn’t have asked for a better club to go to. The way they’ve welcomed and accepted me into the club and looked after me, that was probably the most rewarding thing to get the win and help get us into the grand final.
“There’s a lot of good people at the club and it means so much to them.
“After the game, it was pretty rewarding to see so many happy faces and people in the rooms so excited about the win.”
Dickson’s third – and most important – half-century of 2020-21 took his season tally to 464 runs at 58.
Dickson and his ex-Fitzroy Doncaster teammate Matt Bremner (18) combined for a 32-run opening partnership before a collapse of 5-23.
Captain Matt Vaiano (0), Cameron Crowley (1), Mitchell Chappell (0) and Rob Sayer (8) came and went quickly, with Andrew Padbury (4-27) and Sam Taylor (1-14) doing the damage.
“They bowled really well early and we got ourselves into a little bit of a pickle, but fortunately Riley came out and batted really well,” Dickson said.
“I thought if we just hung in there long enough, the total was probably in reach if we batted our overs, so that was probably the plan.”
But despite Dickson’s vast experience in finals and his 10,000 Premier Cricket runs, all players feel pressure at finals time.
“Especially cricket finals, you always have moments where you doubt yourself or you think the game could turn the other way,” he said.
“There’s just more at stake than a normal home-and-away game, so there was definitely some negative thoughts going through my head, but you’ve just got to take each ball as it comes and the longer you stay out there, the more chance you are to turn it back your way.”
Earlier, Kyle Hoath (4-19) and Jones (3-18) grabbed seven wickets between them to restrict Mont Albert, with James Guley (50) leading the way with the bat for the visitors.
East Doncaster’s success sets up a mouth-watering grand final against rival North Balwyn next Saturday.
The Bulls advanced as the higher-ranked side after a tie against Canterbury in a memorable final.
“They’re the benchmark really,” Dickson said of North Balwyn.
“They’ve been in a lot of grand finals over the last seven or eight years, had a lot of success and won premierships.
“We’ve got the utmost respect for them and know they’ve got so many dangerous players and a good mix of youth and experience.
“We’re really excited about the game, but at the same time we respect how good they are and how good they’ve been.
“They’ve been in this position so many times as well, so they’re a really experienced finals team.”
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