HE effectively won the match for Dandenong with a hand of 131 and a haul of 6-42 against Melbourne. And James Pattinson might just win the Ryder Medal.

Big cricket’s loss has been the Panthers’ gain this season.

As he builds for a return to state and national duties after injury, the Test man has been in imperious form for Dandenong.

RENEGADES STAR WHACKS PREMIER TON

On day one he smoked a century, his second ton of the season, to lift Dandy to 8-361.

Pattinson inflicted more damage on the Demons in their run chase at Shepley Oval on Saturday, removing openers Matt Brown and Peter Petricola in a pacy first spell, then returning after tea to round up Seb Gotch, Andrew Kent and Jackson Koop as the visitors went from 3-212 to 6-214.

From there it was about survival for Melbourne, but the Panthers worked their way through the lower-order to claim another six points.

media_camera James Pattinson at full ting with the new ball. Picture: David Crosling

They are third on the ladder with matches against out-of-the-running Frankston Peninsula and St Kilda to come.

The Demons were 2-90 at lunch, the impressive Meyrick Buchanan and Gotch stabilising them after Pattinson’s early incisions, Brown (15) neatly caught by Tom Donnell at slip, Petricola (17) LBW to a cracker that looked to swing into him late.

As Buchanan scored freely with his drives, Gotch kept a vigilant watch on the red ball, a different assignment for the little right-hander after his star turn with the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash. Then he had spank the ball. Now he had to stun it as Dandenong pushed for more wickets.

Gotch hit the first delivery he faced through cover for two. But, eschewing all risk against a strong attack, his next three runs took him 44 balls. He was 12 off 63 at lunch, but expanded his range after the break, with Buchanan making excellent progress for the Dees.

But with the score on 2-170 Dandenong first-gamer Pat Turner claimed a fine first wicket when he bowled Buchanan for 81 (off 125 balls, with 13 fours).

Blake Thomson, yet another emerging player in the Melbourne cap, joined Gotch and they batted through to tea.

The match turned minutes into the final session, with Pattinson gaining an LBW verdict against Gotch, whose 68 came off 149 deliveries and included 6 fours and 1 six. The paceman then removed the great Kent for two, caught by Donnell, and had the returning Koop leg-before for a first-ball blob.

That gave Pattinson five victims. He made it six when he picked up the final wicket, Pat Smith for a duck.

It was only his second five-for for the Panthers — and his first had come last week against Geelong.

The Ryder? With 502 runs and 18 wickets from 12 matches, he’d have to be a show. A teammate has him “leading by a fair margin’’.

Turner had an encouraging debut, taking 2-47 off 12 overs, and James Nanopolous (1-45 off 17) gave the batsmen no pace with his clever medium pace, posing more questions than Tony Barber.

Dandenong had hoped Peter Siddle would be available to bowl, but he was ruled out as he battles to come back from stress fractures.

media_camera Melbourne’s Meyrick Buchanan plays to mid-on. Picture: David Crosling

ST KILDA was well and truly in danger of folding its tent as the top-of-the-table Camberwell Magpies stormed to within sight of an outright win, Ross Couzens reports.

But Ben Davies and Josh Bartlett hammered in a couple of pegs as the home side held out until stumps in its second innings to finish on 7-127 at Harry Trott Oval.

The visiting Magpies, who had resumed at 4-116 in reply to the Saints’ paltry first-up tally of 126, eventually put 233 on the board before reducing St Kilda to 5-29.

That’s when Davies and Bartlett came together to salvage something from the wreckage with a 69-run sixth-wicket stand.

“For them to knuckle down was pleasing, but we shouldn’t have been in that position,” said Saints coach Glenn Lalor.

“They’re two young boys that have stood up at a moment in the game where people say second innings runs don’t mean a lot.

“Well these runs probably meant a fair bit, to be honest, as well as the time they batted.

“That’s what we’ve been struggling to do all year; occupy the crease.”

Davies soaked up 127 deliveries in 156 minutes while making 49 (eight fours) and Bartlett added 40 off 69 in 79 minutes (eight fours).

The only other bright spots for the young Saints line-up were bowlers Henry Hall and Blade Baxter, who returned figures of 4-59 and 3-48 respectively earlier in the day.

“We lost 6-9 last week and 5-29 this week,” said Lalor of the porous batting display. “But now we have to move forward and push that aside.

“The message is still that the guys need to take something out of every game. That’s the key at the moment.”

St Kilda remains alive in the finals race, but needs to win its last two matches — starting with Geelong.

“We need to beat Geelong this weekend; it’s a must win,” said Lalor of the clash, which will be played on consecutive days (Saturday-Sunday) to free up the Cats’ ground for an International Twenty20 double-header the following weekend.

“We’ll do our best and see what happens. That’s all we can do.”