Geelong cricketer Grant Dew puts the opposition in a spin at the Over 50s World Cup

A veteran Geelong all-rounder has put the opposition in a spin at the Over 50s World Cup, after the Aussies discovered local conditions were far from what was expected in Sri Lanka.

Geelong cricketer Grant Dew (centre) with other members of the Australian Over 50s team. Picture: Australian Over 50s Cricket.

Veteran Geelong cricketer Grant Dew has shone on the international stage with his wily off spinners, taking several key wickets at the Over 50s World Cup with the Aussies to face the host country in a semi-final on Thursday.

Thomson stalwart Dew, who plays GCA3 with his sons Xavier and Seb, is currently representing the country in Colombo, Sri Lanka with the competition kicking off on February 9.

It comes after Dew played for the Aussies in a tour of the UK last winter.

Australia has gone through the competition undefeated, downing India, Pakistan, South Africa, Wales, Canada and the West Indies on Tuesday en route to the semi.

Grant Dew bowls against the West Indies in Colombo. Picture: Australian Over 50s Cricket.

At the centre of that success has been the bowling form of Dew, who has taken five wickets from four games at 30 apiece, plus a handy 10 not out against the Windies.

However, Dew said the squad had adjusted to quality batting decks and not the bunsen burners they had been preparing for.

“It’s actually different to what we thought it would be,” Dew said on Wednesday.

“We thought that it would be big spinning (wickets), this part of a world has a reputation.

“But we’ve actually found it to be not like that.

“They’ve been really good quality batting wickets, we’ve had to adjust how we thought we’d be able to bowl.

“Lengths has been a big thing for us. It’s really been learning on the run to be honest.”

Dew started his campaign on February 10 against Pakistan with 1-41 off nine overs helping turn the tide as the Aussies won by eight wickets.

With Pakistan humming at 1-116, Dew trapped first drop Irfan Khan leg before — he had belted 63 off 51 balls to that point with 12 boundaries and a six.

“They were flying,” he said.

Dew previously toured the UK with the Australian Over 50s team. Picture: Grant Dew Facebook.

“We were in a bit of trouble, so I felt like I bowled pretty well in the Pakistan game.

“I feel like my bowling has gotten better as the tournament’s gone on.

“The grounds are very fast and hard. If a ball misses a fielder by a metre, it just goes to the boundary.”

Two days later, Dew took 2-55 off nine overs against South Africa on February 12, bowling their first drop batter Craig Lyons on the way to a four-wicket win.

The South Africans had been 0-95 before Dew and co pegged them back.

Reaching the target of 265 in the final over, Dew said it was a “really special win”.

“It got up to about 10s an over (in the runchase), and then we needed more than 50 off the last five,” he said.

Dew bowling for Thomson against Bell Park in a preliminary final in March, 2023.

“To be able to do that and do it in the last over was fantastic, that was a really special win.”

Dew also produced the extremely economical figures of 0-30 off eight overs against Canada on February 17, sending down the most dot balls of any bowler in the Aussie team.

Then, on Tuesday, Dew made 10 not out off five balls and took 2-26 off nine overs against the Windies — opening the bowling for the first time since the Aussies’ tour of the UK last year.

Dew started with a particularly tight spell of 1-11 from his opening four overs, as the Aussies won by 51 runs.

The Aussies are now eyeing the hosts in the semi, having played them in a practice match before the tournament began: “We’ve got a bit of momentum and we’re confident in our game.”

Originally published as Geelong cricketer Grant Dew puts the opposition in a spin at the Over 50s World Cup