Jacques Augustin makes snappy return to Dandenong team

It’s been a testing season for Jacques Augustin but the wicketkeeper has forced his way back into Dandy’s First XI.

Jacques Augustin made a snappy return to the Dandenong team.

There were two notable occurrences in Dandenong’s victory over Northcote at the Bill Lawry Oval last Saturday.

Openers Tommy Donnell and Brett Forsyth were back in three-figure run-scoring territory, peeling off their 19th century opening partnership in Victorian Premier Cricket.

And Jacques Augustin was back behind the stumps.

It’s been a difficult season for a wicketkeeper commonly regarded as one of the best in the state.

At the start of it, coach Warren Ayres and his match committee made the tough call to overlook Augustin in favour of newcomer Aaron Fernando.

No one doubted his ability with the gloves, but they’d assessed his performance with the bat last season as inadequate, particularly for a player with a Premier Cricket century (for Fitzroy Doncaster) to his name.

With a season of one-day matches, the selectors were looking for more runs from the keeping position; it was out with Augustin, 31, and in with Fernando, 21, a right-hand batsman who had paraded some promise at Casey South Melbourne.

Augustin, a premiership player, was frustrated and so were his supporters. He has quite a few of them – especially among bowlers grateful for his support standing up and back.

Jacques Augustin took two catches in his return, one of them a blinder.

But he kept up his standards in the Second XI and cracked a few runs when he got his chance with the bat.

Ahead of the match against Northcote the match committee decided to give Fernando a spell – he’d had a run out of outs with the bat – and bring back Augustin.

When news of the selection appeared on social media, former Fitzroy-Doncaster captain Peter Dickson tweeted: “Class is permanent. Best gloveman in the state.’’

“Dicko’’, it’s fair to say, has stuck by his little mate all season, while at the same time acknowledging Ayres’s willingness to make a tough call if he deemed it in the best interests of the team.

Dickson himself had done the same, dropping Augustin for Liam Banthorpe for a final. He knows selection is always up for dissection.

Augustin took two catches on Saturday, the first a blinder as he dived in front of Suraj Randiv at first slip to remove Josh Sundberg for a duck off James Nanopoulos.

The scorebook carried a familiar line: caught Augustin, bowled Nanopoulos.

The same combination accounted for Jack Lalor as the Dragons wobbled to 4-33 and were eventually all out for 139.

Augustin was sharp, as was the fellow next to him: Randiv snaffled four catches.

In helpful conditions, the Dandenong seamers split the spoils. Nanopoulos grabbed 3-15 off his 10 overs to go to 26 wickets for the season; Adam McMaster took 3-43 off 8.5; Peter Cassidy picked up 2-21 off nine; and Jake Thomas had 2-25 off 10.

Randiv missed out – 0-27 off his 10 – but his catching made up for it.

In the run chase, Donnell and Forsyth again extended their opening stand to three figures, easing to 0-140 in the 38th over, Donnell unbeaten on 82 (110 balls, with 10 fours) and his partner on 54 (115 balls, 5 fours).

“Clinical … same old, same old,’’ Augustin said of his captain and Forsyth.

“I think they’re the best opening combo in Vic Premier Cricket history … I don’t know if there’s anyone above them in terms of stats … when you watch them bat, you have a heap of confidence in them doing a good job to take you home. It’s a fair old record they’ve got, and obviously they’re not getting any younger.’’

As for his own cricket, August said he was pleased to be back in the First XI.

He said he’d wondered if he would get the chance.

“Obviously I’ve got a heap of mates in that team and it was good to be around them again,’’ Augustin said.

“The good thing about playing in the twos was I got to play with a few different blokes, some of the younger kids coming through, Jarryd Wills and Andrey Fernando and Angus Newman. But it was sort of hard, a bittersweet pill to take, to go to the twos and work on a couple of things.

“Getting more of an opportunity with the stick was good. One-day cricket is hard at times … you can come in when you’re in a bit of trouble or come in towards the end and I’ve probably had some of those innings, coming in late … but, yeah, good to get back into the team and watch someone like ‘Nano’ or ‘Cass’ go about their business.’’

The 10-wicket win put the Panthers fifth on the ladder with three rounds remaining.

They host table-topper Carlton on Saturday.