Premier Cricket 2024: Geelong wins seesawing affair against Ringwood after partnership comes to the rescue

Geelong looked to be no hope early in the match, and their opponents were cruising late in the piece. But the Cats managed to come away with yet another win.

Josh McDonald changed the game against Ringwood. Picture: Mike Dugdale

Geelong has pulled off an incredible turnaround to claim a crucial 46-run win in its seesawing one-day clash against Ringwood with coach Nick Speak describing the match as a “strange day”.

Ringwood had the Cats on the ropes at 4-33 in their first innings before the experienced Josh McDonald (76 off 91) and youngster Harry Hauenstein (44 off 74) came to the rescue.

The pair put on 97 for the fifth wicket in a game-saving partnership to help the Cats reach a competitive target of 184.

Ringwood then appeared to have the result in the bag cruising at 2-61, but there was another twist in the tail.

Geelong took 3-10 in a flash and claimed Ringwood’s last eight wickets for just 77 runs to see them bowled out for 138, with the Cats moving into third place on the ladder ahead of the Rams in fifth.

Josh McDonald helped turn the tide. Picture: Mark Wilson

Spinner Daanish Mehta did the damage late in the all-round bowling display, taking 3-8 from 4.3 overs, while Callum Stow finished with tidy figures of 2-21 from nine overs.

Ringwood gun Ian Holland was the standout for the Rams, taking a game-high four wickets and a team-high 44 runs.

Speak said the match was played in an hour and a half of rain of persistent rain – another bizarre quirk for the eventful match.

The Cats coach praised the work of former Geelong captain McDonald, who was moved down the order to No. 6, and Hauenstein for their defining knocks.

“That was really probably what closed the win, that partnership between Hauenstein and McDonald,” Speak said.

“(McDonald) batted at six and he played very well, very responsibly early and then scored freely as he does later. It turned out a good total.

“Daanish Mehta at the end cleaned things up. Cal Stow was very good again as he’s been all season.

“(Ringwood) started well, I mean it was so wet, we played through an hour and a half of rain and I couldn’t believe they stayed out there but they did.

“So it was pretty slippy when they started bowling and it kind of dried a little bit and we got some breakthroughs and ended up winning comfortably I suppose. It was a strange day.

“In 15-16 years of coaching Premier Cricket I have never seen play in rain like that for that extended period of time. But that’s what they chose to do and it kind of worked out for us in the end so I shouldn’t complain.”

A win over second-placed side Casey South Melbourne next week would strengthen the Cats’ chances of finishing inside the top-four with Richmond, Dandenong and Prahran to come in the run home.

A finish this high seemed doubtful at the beginning of the year as the Cats signalled a new era after losing Brody Couch, Tom O’Connell and Dom McGlinchey during the off-season and winning just four matches last year.

Speak said the young Cats side has exceeded his expectations in was expected to be a development year.

“We played all the kids we said we are going to play and they have just stood up and played really well,” Speak said.

“Not totally surprised but it is a nice position to be in. We thought it might take this year to kind of re-establish and push forward next year but you know Peake has been excellent, Hauenstein is improving all the time, Tom Neate is doing well, Callum Stow has been outstanding. So they have all come on really quickly which is why we are where we are now.”

Originally published as Premier Cricket 2024: Geelong wins seesawing affair against Ringwood after partnership comes to the rescue