Roger Sillence was at his swashbuckling best against Camberwell on the weekend, smashing 47 from just 28 balls.
By Marc McGowan
ONE week after announcing that his side’s season was over, Casey-South Melbourne captain-coach Roger Sillence played a pivotal role in the Swans’ seven-wicket annihilation of Camberwell at Camberwell Sports Ground on Saturday.
The final weekend of Victorian Premier Cricket before the Christmas break proved to be a fruitful one for Casey-South Melbourne, as the Swans ended their barren stretch of form to acquire their first two-day points of the season.
The problems that have plagued Casey-South Melbourne’s season were not apparent, as most players made strong contributions and the win was even highlighted by a stellar century at the top of the order by Michael Hansen (142 runs from 172 balls).
It was the veteran’s seventh ton at this level and was laced with 20 fours and three sixes.
Magpies’ captain Damian Shanahan won the toss and elected to bat, but would have been doubting his decision when two of his batsmen were sent back to the pavilion with just 24 runs on the board.
Shanahan (29) strode to the wicket and resurrected the situation somewhat by combining with opening batsman Sean De Kretser (62) for a 66-run alliance.
Off-spinning revelation Clive Rose (3/38 off 22 overs) nabbed both players, as Camberwell sank further into the mire.
The Magpies moved to 4/131, but lost four wickets on the same score and were staring down the barrel at a sub-150 total.
Thanks to some late hitting by all-rounder Jack McNamara (55 not out), Camberwell avoided that embarrassment and scrambled to 203 before being bowled out.
Sillence chimed in with four late wickets to head the bowling figures with 4/47 off 19.5 overs.
Former Cranbourne Meadows star Adam Thornton (11) made his two-day debut for the Swans and was thrust into the opening role alongside Hansen, but he was unable to have an impact.
Joel Leaver (seven) and Stephen Nicholls (16) also failed to leave their mark on the game, but when game-buster Craig Entwistle joined Hansen at the crease, the contest was turned on its head.
A barrage of fours and sixes followed, as Entwistle (82) and Hansen’s union ascended to 160 runs and they cruised past the winning target.
Their partnership was finally broken, but Sillence entered the arena and smashed a quick-fire 47 from just 28 balls to further enhance the score.
Some cameos down the order carried the total to 367 before Sillence called his troops in, so that his bowlers could have a crack at maximum points.
The Magpies managed to hold the Swans out, however and crawled to 122 for the loss of four wickets when play ended. Sillence was suitably impressed by his team’s performance.
“It was very good; the guys played really well,” he said.
“There have been a lot of individual performances, but this week everyone chipped in and did their job.”
Sillence hopes the form resurgence is a pointer towards the rest of the season and onto 2007-08.
“It will hopefully be the way we want to play our cricket in the second half,” he said. “We’ll be hoping for more of the same form we produced against Camberwell and if we can keep more of the key players firing, we’ll be challenging most teams.”
Casey-South Melbourne will return to the field on 6 January to face Geelong in a one-dayer at Terang Cricket Ground in the competition’s country round.
