Footscray Edgewater will lock horns with St Kilda in a Premier Cricket final round showdown to determine who will finish the season as minor premier.
The Bulldogs cemented a top-two finish with a hard-fought 52-run win against Camberwell Magpies at the Camberwell Sports Ground on Saturday, with paceman Lucas Dredge the star through a career-best first XI haul of 5-31.
Bulldogs coach Steve Chapman said the result was in doubt until Dredge took charge late on the second day.
“The game never really broke open,” he said. “You would not have known who was second and who was 10th until the last four overs of the day when they lost four wickets in a hurry.
“It was a ripping win in as good a game outside of finals that I’ve been involved in during my time in Premier Cricket.”
The Bulldogs opted to bat in to the second day and it proved to be a wise decision.
They compiled 9-261 declared, a healthy total but one that didn’t totally snuff out the Magpies.
“There were two things to batting on,” Chapman said.
“One, we wanted to take between 10 to 15 overs out of it and we were conscious we’d lose three for the changeover. So we were only ever going to bat nine or 10 overs. And two, get 30 to 45 runs to make it a competitive total.”
Their efforts gave the Bulldogs enough of a score to defend and ample time to take 10 wickets.
The Magpies’ aggressive pursuit of the target would see them stumble to 5-123.
If the Bulldogs thought they would coast home, they were mistaken as Magpie lower-order batsmen Amrith Eldridge (57) and Jack McNamara (36) took up the fight.
“The ball was old and that partnership was hurting us,” Chapman said.
“They seemed like they could take it off us.”
Dredge allayed Bulldogs’ fears with a fiery spell to take the final three wickets.
The Magpies went from 7-207 to all out 209 in the blink of an eye.
It was a telling reminder of Dredge’s talents three weeks out from the finals.
“He’s as quick as anybody in the competition,” Chapman said.
“He’s got a devastating yorker and he has an action that allows him to reverse-swing the ball.
“The skill-set that he brings is unique; he’s got a few things that can change a game.”
Footscray Edgewater will host St Kilda in a top spot-deciding two-day match at the Merv Hughes Oval starting on Saturday.
