Vic Super Slam: Dandenong crowned champions after seven-run win over Carlton
Dandenong reaffirmed its status as Victoria’s premier club by claiming the inaugural Vic Super Slam title on Sunday.
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Dandenong reaffirmed its status as Victoria’s premier club by claiming the inaugural Vic Super Slam title on Sunday.
Little over nine months after romping to victory in the First XI decider against Fitzroy-Doncaster, the Panthers battled to a seven-run triumph over Carlton in the Twenty20 final at the MCG.
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There were clear similarities between both victories.
A Test bowler was a pivotal figure, Lincoln Edwards (20) and Ed Newman (18) played important middle-order roles and Peter Cassidy stood tall with a four-over spell of miserly mediums.
In April it was Peter Siddle tearing through Fitzroy Doncaster’s much-vaunted batting line-up.
On this occasion it was former Sri Lankan Test spinner Suraj Randiv, now plying his trade in the DDCA with Heinz Southern Districts, who did the early damage.
The tall off-spinner drew danger man Brayden Stepien from his crease two balls into Carlton’s chase and Jacques Augustin completed a routine stumping to give Randiv (3-21) the first of his three scalps.
The Panthers faithful gathered in the Ponsford Stand were in full voice when Randiv breached Tom Smyth’s defence, leaving the Blues reeling at 2-2 in pursuit of Dandenong’s 9-122.
Randiv is causing all sorts of trouble here. Carlton has crashed to 3-8 after another Augustin stumping to remove Matthews. Randiv has 3-7 off 1.5. @VicSuperSlam
— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) January 27, 2019
Opener Anderson Matthews lost patience as the dot balls mounted and charged at Randiv, only to be stumped by Augustin as Carlton’s calamitous start got even worse.
“If anything that won us the game,” Dandenong captain Tom Donnell said.
“They have got some really good players up the top and (Randiv) is just such a class act.
“We’re just so lucky to have him for this tournament and really good for all the young guys to learn off him at training. He’s been fantastic.”
Randiv finished as the T20 tournament’s leading wicket-taker, snaring 16 scalps in eight matches.
The Blues made a steady recovery to be 4-28 when Donovan Pell (13) joined skipper Nick Ross for the best partnership of their innings.
With Ross in firm command, Carlton progressed to 4-70 and needed a difficult, albeit achievable, 43 runs from the last five overs.
Ross tried everything to trim the deficit, clubbing a rare boundary through the covers and twice lifting Randiv over short fine leg for boundaries with inventive strokes.
The match was still in the balance with two overs left when spinner Karl Carver (1-21) restricted Carlton to only four runs off a pressure-packed 19th over.
From a manageable 9.5 runs an over, the required rate ballooned to 15 with six balls remaining and the Blues bench was suddenly more hopeful than optimistic.
The match was effectively decided when Ross was run out for a game-high 71 with four balls remaining and Carlton still needing 11 runs.
The Blues finished with 8-115, suffering their only loss of the tournament in the final.
“The club has got a great culture with winning big games,” Donnell said.
“It helps us hold our nerve in the big games and it helps having guys like (former English Test bowler) Darren Pattinson and Suraj Randiv playing today.
“Their experience really showed in the end I think.”
The Panthers lost three of their first four matches in the Vic Super Slam but found form when it mattered to add another trophy to the cabinet at Shepley Oval.
“It has all come pretty quickly. We started the tournament really poorly,” Donnell said.
“We played a lot of different players, tried to play a lot of young guys.
“It came to that last round and we knew we had to win. We had a pretty good side in … we were lucky enough to get over the line in the next two finals and here we are.”
While Dandenong is 10th on the Premier ladder as it seeks to defend its 2017-18 flag, only the most pessimistic of observers would be willing to write off the competition’s finals specialists.
The Vic SuperSlam triumph also came only days after the Panthers’ women’s team routed Essendon-Maribyrnong Park to win the Women’s Premier firsts final.
They just know how to win! @DandenongCC claims the inaugural @VicSuperSlam title with a seven-run win over @CarltonCCScores. The Blues finished 8-115.
— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) January 27, 2019
Carlton can console itself with the prize of entry into the national twenty20 finals in March, after it secured its passage by winning the Renegades conference.
Earlier, Donnell (25) topscored to ensure his side set the Blues a target of greater than a-run-a-ball for victory.
Tom Smyth (2-16) was the best of Carlton’s bowlers.
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