The Camberwell Magpies' small run of victories came to an end at the hands of disciplined Dandenong outfit on Tuesday.
After overnight rain caused a delayed start at McQueen Park and reduced the game to a 29 over affair, the First XI lost the toss and were asked to bowl first by the Panthers.
Despite the overcast conditions, the prolific Panthers' opening pair of Tom Donnell and Brett Forsyth made a cautious but steady start. The duo pushed the score to 48, before Donnell fell skying a ball off youngster Will Townsend which was smartly taken by skipper Andrew Fekete.
James Nanopoulos joined Forsyth at the crease and the pair set about increasing the run rate. They made a quickfire partnership of 25 before Tom Russ castled Nanopoulos as he looked to send one onto Camberwell Road.
This wicket enabled the Magpies to put the clamps on Dandenong's scoring and get back into the contest through the agency of spin twins Russ and Ollie Jenkins.
In just his eighth Premier First XI game, Jenkins added a second Test cricketer scalp to his list of victims when he slid through the defences of the returning James Pattinson for 5 (Peter Handscomb in his Round 1 debut was his first).
Between Jenkins (2/35 off 6) and Russ (3/20 off 6), the Camberwell tweakers combined for five wickets to have the Panthers' innings in the balance at 6/125, before some late order hitting pushed the score up to 7/159 at the end of 29 overs.
Facing the prospect of a fired-up Pattinson returning from international duties, Camberwell's top order needed a good start to provide the platform for a successful chase. Unfortunately this was not how things panned out, as Pattinson's new ball partner Adam McMaster ripped the heart out of the Pies batting line up with three early wickets.
First he removed Adit Pawha and Akshay Kodoth for 2 and 13 respectively before also dismissing Simon Hill for 13; an over after the Magpies' champion wowed the large crowd at McQueen Park with a massive bomb over cover off Test star Pattinson.
At 3/30, the Pies were always facing an uphill battle to get back into the contest, particularly as wickets fell steadily through the middle. Hamish Burrill was the only Camberwell batsman to make it to 20 as the Magpies were bundled out for a disappointing 95.
The First XI will now be looking to rebound when they head down the Nepean Highway to take on Frankston Peninsula in a must-win match on Saturday. Their eagerness to secure a victory will be shared by the Second XI, who were unfortunately washed out for the second time in nine days when the overnight rain on Monday resulted in no play at Shepley Oval.
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