DEVON Meadows’ finals hopes were shattered on Saturday when a disappointing batting collapse saw it fall 22 runs short of victory against Catani at the racecourse.
Resuming at 2/41 in pursuit of the Blues’ 191, the Panthers made a terrible start when Mick Floyd was trapped lbw in the second over of the day.
The home side was in further trouble when Bill Loudon’s fine knock ended on 38 and the side stumbled to 4/66.
Captain Travis Canavan (30) and coach Darren O’Brien resurrected the run chase, taking the score to 130 before the latter was dismissed on 30.
After Doug Loudon fell in the final over before tea, the Panthers never regained their composure, losing their last five wickets for 18 to be dismissed for 169.
The competition’s leading wicket taker Lionel Sexton was again the star for Catani, bowling superbly to finish with 5/47 off 17.1 overs.
C GRADE
Devon Meadows season also finished on a disappointing note, going down to Nar Nar GoonMaryknoll by 159 runs at Glover Reserve.
Chasing 308, the Panthers never threatened the target.
Luke Marrow (28) and Lincoln Hepburn (27) both got starts and Steven Hosking, Mick Cloutter and Luke Howard each made 15 as the Panthers were dismissed for 149.
E GRADE
A stylish 84 from Jim Howard guided the Panthers to an impressive 100run win over Merinda Park.
Set 220 to win, openers Steve Brewster (59) and Justin Mentiplay (56) got the pursuit off to a flying start before Howard’s sublime innings saw the Panthers to victory.
His innings included an allrun seven.
Ian Hopper (46), Chris Morrell (41) and Bret Vance (23 notout) moved the score to 5/320 when skipper Danny O’Sing declared.
Just Mentiplay (1/4) was the only Panther bowler to strike, the Cobras reaching 1/110 when the game was stopped.
Despite the win, the Panthers missed the finals on percentage after spending the entire season in the top four.
UNDER 15
The Panthers’ finals’ hopes were dashed when they went down by 42 runs against Clyde.
