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All set for tough chase

Casey-South Melbourne captain-coach Roger Sillence was pleased with his side's bowling performance and is looking for a strong batting display this weekend.Casey-South Melbourne captain-coach Roger Sillence was pleased with his side’s bowling performance and is looking for a strong batting display this weekend.

By Marc McGowan
CASEY-SOUTH Melbourne has a tough chase on its hands this weekend, after allowing Ringwood to muster a 64-run final-wicket partnership in their two-day clash at Russell Lucas Oval on Saturday.
Ringwood made a great start to its innings and at 4/206 looked set to inflict more pain on the Swans’ season.
Tom Stray (54 runs), Benjamin Osborne (51) and Hagan Shakespeare (35) all made strong starts, but Casey-South Melbourne’s in-form opening bowling duo of Troy Ryan (4/85 off 27 overs) and Matthew Hawking (3/59 off 25 overs) rapidly changed the complexion of the match.
With captain-coach Roger Sillence (2/67 off 24 overs) and Victorian under-17 left-arm orthodox spinner Clive Rose (1/57 off 21 overs) providing quality support, the pendulum dramatically swung in the Swans’ favour.
Ringwood lost five wickets for just 19 runs and found itself at a perilous 9/225 before the tenth-wicket recovery.
Steven Gilmour (44) and Drew McKay (15 not out) resurrected the Ringwood innings and managed to guide their side to a respectable 289.
With Casey-South Melbourne’s brittle top order batting, magnified by first drop Michael Hansen’s absence from the match, Ringwood will be confident of defending its total.
Despite the late-order let-off, Sillence was reasonably pleased with the score his side restricted Ringwood to.
“We should have finished them off earlier, but it was a good batting wicket,” he said.
“I told the guys that if we can bat for 100 overs, we should be up around their score. We will have to bat well, though, and we need someone to make a 100.”
Sillence was extremely happy with his opening bowling combination and defended his decision to give Luke Van Raay and Craig Entwistle just three combined overs.
“Troy Ryan is bowling really well and Hawking has found the form that I knew he could,” he said.
“With Clive bowling one end and me attacking from the other, that type of bowler (Van Raay and Entwistle) was not really required.”
Seventeen-year-old Rose was a bright spot for the Swans and his inclusion, on top of that of young left-handed opening batsman Brett Watkins in place of the unavailable Hansen, could be the dawning of a new age at the club.
“I wanted to give him (Rose) an opportunity and he did really well,” Sillence said.
“He has a great future and he’s a very mature young lad. I was very impressed. I want the young guys in the mix.”
Watkins will join regular opening batsman Stephen Nicholls at the beginning of the innings and Casey-South Melbourne will need to make a much better start if it is to reach the winning target this weekend.

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