Vines’ century gives Cats the edge against Casey
GEELONG has pulled off a defining win, claiming an 18run victory over Casey-South Melbourne in the final over of the match in dramatic scenes yesterday at Casey Fields.
The Cats were poised for an early finish when they reduced the home side to 9-177, needing a further 103 to win.
But Geelong was made to fight to the end after No.9 Nathan Lambden and No.11 Jackson Fry combined for a stunning partnership that got their side to 9-260 — needing 20 to win off the last over.
Cats leg-spinner Brenton McDonald then got the match-winning breakthrough with three balls to go, with Lambden (69) caught on the fence by Brody Couch to cap off a sensational victory.
“It was pretty well done by the boys, to be honest,” coach Liam Buchanan said.
“We probably let them have some runs at the end of the game so they didn’t shut up shop, so it was a little bit of cat and mouse really.
“We had four slips and a gully and let them go. We thought if they didn’t get about 10 or 12 an over, they were probably going to shut up shop, so that was good.”
Buchanan said his side never got in a losing position after declaring at 7-279, giving Casey 70 overs to get the target, but was at risk of running out of time.
“I don’t think we could ever lose the game,” Buchanan said. “I was nervous that we were going to be too tight and not let them keep going.
“But Vinesy (Eamonn Vines) was good, he’s probably never captained in a game like that before, so he did well to make sure they got enough runs that they were still in with a sniff.
“I think at any stage we could have closed the game down and not lost.”
Rain affected Saturday’s play after the Cats were sent in to bat, but skipper Vines (122 not out) got his side through to stumps, before pushing on yesterday morning to give Casey a score to consider chasing.
Dom McGlinchey (3-88), Couch (2-41), McDonald (3-61) and Nathan Alexander (2-51) shared the 70 overs between them, as the Cats closed in on third spot on the Premier Cricket table.
“Our batting group has been really good,” Buchanan said of the win.
“It was quite tough to get a result, so we’ve done well. I think there’ll be a few draws this week.”