Premier Cricket 2018-19: Fitzroy-Doncaster left to rue loss to Dandenong in grand final rematch
Fitzroy-Doncaster has slipped back into a logjam of teams jockeying for position with the finals looming.
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Fitzroy-Doncaster has slipped back into a logjam of teams jockeying for position with the finals looming after going down to Dandenong at Shepley Oval on Saturday.
Dandenong resumed at 4-102, chasing Fitzroy Doncaster’s day one total of 159. And while the Lions put in a creditable effort in the stifling heat — the Panthers at one stage tumbling to 7-145 — they were always a few runs short of a defendable total.
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James Nanopoulos (68) and Akshat Buch (41) steadied the leaking ship with a 56-run eighth-wicket partnership and Dandenong reeled in the required target before batting on to 231 all-out in the 74th over.
At the crease a second time, Fitzroy Doncaster had 13 overs of batting practise and reached 2-50 by the close of play.
Earlier Sam Elliott and Trent Lawford had threatened to bowl the Lions to an unlikely victory.
Elliott took his maiden five-for at First XI level, finishing with 5-58 off 13 overs, while Lawford, competitive as ever, took 4-65 off 23.
Skipper Ejaaz Alavi was miserly, sending down 11 overs of spin for just 16 runs.
“We gave ourselves a chance and we fought really hard in the field,” he said.
“We had them 7-145 and we thought we might be a chance. But, in the field, we probably gave them a few boundary balls.”
Dandenong had, arguably, the better of the conditions with Fitzroy Doncaster forced to contend with a softish wicket last week, the strip so soft the umpires ruled it unfit for the 11am start.
The curator had watered the wicket the day before and covered it with hessian. An absence of late-afternoon sun then hampered its preparation.
Alavi, however, said his side had failed to take its chances and Dandenong, hitting top form at just the right time of the summer, was always a difficult proposition
Just last week, the Panthers won the domestic T20 competition while Saturday’s win over last summer’s grand final opponent has lifted the reigning champs into the eight.
“They’re a very good team,” Alavi said. “When you come up against Dandenong it’s always a tough contest. They’re fierce and always play a tough game.”
Fitzroy Doncaster currently sits third, behind Carlton and Essendon, in what is developing into an extremely tight tussle for ladder positions come the finals.
“We’d built a bit of a buffer at Christmas, but now we’re back in the pack,” Alavi said. “Premier Cricket is at the best I’ve ever seen it. The evenness of the competition, if you’re not at your best you will get beaten.”
Next for the Lions is a two-dayer against the struggling Prahran at Schramms Reserve this Saturday and Sunday.
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