Part 4: 'Jerry' Cassell gets the Demons rolling
With pre-season in the books, spring having made an appearance, and the AFL season concluded, it was time to get rolling.
I say this confidently—if you disagree, please let me know. For any clubperson, the most demanding nights of the year are the Tuesday and Thursday before round one.
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As a coach and selector, pin-the-donkey moments are unavoidable when picking teams at this time of the year. With little data besides a handful of practice games and historical form that not all players have, a round table back-and-forth starts Tuesday in the back room and rarely finishes before the chairman of selectors announces the XI's Thursday night.
Plenty is made of that Thursday night. Training runs its course—hopefully without interruptions. Then it's herding time, getting players into the clubrooms, with the promise of a free feed that might stretch to an accompanying drink. The volunteers gather with renewed purpose—give them time—running their own pre-season drills, ensuring the urn runs hot, the milk is fresh, and the bloody sugar hasn't crystalised after a winter hibernating in the jar.
The main action is always around the BBQ—the place of rusted-on volunteers or maverick Republican committee people. The sausages cook in a reservoir of oil with little attention from the chefs—the norm is to burn one side black because a recent footy story took hold. Then they get turned too often by a jonny-come-lately who sees an opportunity to salvage a situation. The footy story meanders without direction; diligent volunteers continue to spring clean while players decide where to sit based on a loose form of seniority. You could cook chicken sausages, and they wouldn't be any the wiser. Most have a single thought: will I be picked where I should play? Thirty-five rarely goes into eleven. It's always a night that drags on.
For us at the round table, the only head-scratcher for the Demons was who would play instead of Simon Dart, who was unavailable due to a two-week meeting with his accountant. That's not entirely true; there was also discussion on who would start as the front-line spinner—Justin Graham finished the 2008-09 season, although he wasn't a lock with left-arm leg spinner Sean Sturrock playing a role in white and red ball cricket. Graham was the finger-spinning banker (yes, banker), and Sturrock was the younger attacking option with his left-arm leggies. In Melbourne, predictably, the early rounds were the domain of the quicks while the wickets recovered from the winter rain, seeking some much-needed sunshine to harden the shell. Jussie Graham got the nod. And it was Jon Huddart for Dart.
Thinking now 15 years on, and many Thursday nights in the memory bank, there's a tried and tested message for a young player like Shauny Sturrock, who narrowly missed 1st XI selection:
"Not to worry, laddy, it's not where you start; it's where you finish that matters!" "Stick with it." I can't recall if the well-trodden piecemeal surfaced.
Finally, Saturday arrived, and we played Footscray at the Albert; the deck looked good, firm, and with a decent tinge of green. Doemer was a disciple of repetition: Spag Bol on Friday night, followed by a green deck Saturday morning. Thank you, sir.
The seam attack took care of business.
As expected, Captain Dale was miserly and dangerous up front, no doubt fuelled by his healthy intake of carbs the night previous. Big Bish banged his length, giving nothing away but an assortment of dismissive glares aimed at stuck-in-the-sand batters. Hilly's opportunistic mediums mesmerised the Doggie's middle order. Footscray found themselves suffocated by consistent corridor bowling, only managing to post 97, and this took the best part of 47 overs. It was the stuff Doemer had painted on the bedroom ceiling. He had 3-12, Hilly 2-16, and Bish 2-15.
But it was a returning Rob 'Jerry' Cassell who headlined. Seven overs (likely one spell), 4-16, the four being the top four, including the dependable Dean Russ, first ball, caught Ash Middlin—this would be a recurring and productive partnership. Jerry announced his return in the best possible manner. He was irresistible. Truth be known, he was too good.
Robert James Cassell (born 28 April 1983 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian cricketer and international coach who played first-class cricket for the Victorian Bushrangers and South Australian Redbacks and represented Australia in the 2002 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. "Not to mention his return to bowling fast away-swing at the Demons, 2009-10."
According to Barry Cassell (father), Rob, or Robert (as Barry called him), was merely a medium-pacer. "Nah, he's better when he slows down, bowls within himself, concentrates on his spots, rather than being that tearaway quick everyone wants him to be."
Barry always maintained he didn't know too much about the caper. I would never agree with this in his company, "but with respect, Mr Cassell, we do like the tearaway Jerry." As did many judges better than I!
I never saw Jerry's clocked speed that year, but then I watched him bowl at what felt like 150km/h more than once. A bustler rather than a glider, nonetheless, Jerry hit his gather at speed. Mostly, he had a mixed action—not great for the body, but very effective in propelling speedy away-swing. And in his case, it was late swing. There was a red-ball spell late on day one against Prahran that would have rocked any top-order. For six overs straight, only seven or eight guys were playing: Jerry, the striker (there was no strike-rotation here), Ash Middlin with the gloves, and the four slips and gully. The best seat was short leg. Absolute carnage.
The Demons easily completed a round one W, chasing down the required total one down. Andrew Kent finished 41* from 74, with Rob Cooper making 32 and Hilly 12*. Twenty-three overs batted equated to an early finish, with green cans supplied earlier than expected.
One of the Albert's unique quirks is, win or lose, a tray of assorted cans—as cold as a Halbish stare-down—finds its way into both the home and the visitors' rooms at the end of play—a tradition that still stands today.
It truly is a fantastic place to play cricket.
There was no reciprocal treatment in round two at the Camberwell Sports Ground after a squeaky run chase saw the Demons chase down 244 with a ball to spare. Rookie Matthew Brown guided his new teammates home with a well-made 61* from 78 balls. Jon Huddart—still covering for the under-siege Simon Dart—vindicated the pin-the-donkey selection policy with a timely 38 (30 balls). Just kidding, Jonny! There was also an encouraging contribution from a future "farmer who wants to meet a wife" batter, Ben Way, nicknamed Milky! Jerry Cassell was again the standout with the ball—3-37 (10)—including what looked like a hat-trick. Let me check with Bish!
So, three rounds in—after a comfortable win over Hawthorn East Melbourne Waverley Monash University Kingston Saints Hawks—the Demons sat 3-0 and liked their white-ball cricket. With Simon Dart (Darty) back from detention, at this juncture, everything looked rosy for the red, white, and blue.
I will be back with you soon.
