Behind the stumps: A look at cricket in south-west Victoria

Sri Lankan spinner Lahiru Fernando boasts the best bowling average in the South West Cricket competition with 4.78.

He’s taken 18 wickets, sharing the leaderboard with Heytesbury Rebels’ Bayley Thompson.

Pomborneit captain Grant Place said Fernando, who has taken at least three wickets in five of his six matches, had played a crucial role in the Bulls’ undefeated start.

“He’s been a great find for us,” he said.

“He bowls leg spin and with his wrong’uns a lot of opponents and even us at training find them hard to pick.

“When I first faced him myself in the nets at training at the start of the season, I was confident he’d take wickets this year.

“While taking wickets is great, he’s been hard to score off as well.”

Place said Fernando, along with fellow Sri Lankan recruit Tharaka Sendanayake, had settled in well at Pomborneit.

He expects Fernando, who has made a top score of 22 in his debut campaign, to contribute runs as the season progresses.

“He hasn’t really fired with the bat as yet but he looks every bit a batsman,” Place said.

Pomborneit plays powerhouse Mortlake in a top-of-the-table clash at D.C Farran Oval on Saturday.

It is the final one-day round before Christmas with the competition to switch to the twenty20 format on December 1 until January 12.

TEENAGE medium pacer Jack Lehmann credits Mortlake captain Todd Lamont for his form with the ball.

The emerging Cat took 4-4 against Camperdown on Saturday, to take his South West Cricket season total to 11 wickets from six games.

“I’ve been given a good go by Todd, so it’s been nice to get a few wickets so far,” Lehmann said.

Lehmann, 17, said he was happy to contribute in the Cats’ nine-wicket win over Camperdown.

“We were playing a half-decent team but got a few early breakthroughs,” he said.

“Camperdown was missing a few division one players and we ended up getting into the tail reasonably quickly, I came on and it went to plan.”

Lehmann, who lives on a sheep farm just outside of Mortlake, said the 4-4 was his best result in division one.

The Mortlake College student has cemented his spot in the Cats’ top team this season after playing intermittently the past two years.

Elijah Dawson is making a habit of retiring not out.

The West Warrnambool batsman has been unbeaten in four of his five visits to the crease in Warrnambool and District Cricket Association’s under 17 competition this season.

Three of the four not out ventures have been retirements, as per junior cricket rules.

The Emmanuel College student, who plays football for Hampden league club South Warrnambool, is averaging 175 and already has two half centuries to his credit.

Dawson, 16, leads the competition for runs with 175.

“It’s been pretty nice, making a few runs and not going out,” he said.

“I have been having a bit of a crack, trying to hit a few big shots. Because we play at Brauer, it’s a small oval and I like to hit it over the top.

“I come in around fourth or fifth and bat for a bit. We like to mix it up a bit though and give everyone a go.”

CAM Williams is compiling figures which would make any batsman envious.

The Russells Creek skipper, who guided his team to the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association one-day premiership on Sunday, has made 562 runs from eight visits to the crease this season.

He is averaging 70.25 and has whacked 63 fours and 14 sixes.

Port Fairy’s Jason Perera is next best with 279 runs from seven innings at an average of 46.50.

Perera leads the bowling with 18 scalps.

EVERYONE loves a noteworthy individual performance on the cricket pitch. We traweled through The Standard’s records to find a weekend choc-full of them. It was hard to pick a standout to lead with in the Monday, November 20 edition in 1989. West Warrnambool bowler Mick Rantall snared a hat-trick on his way to 5-41, Koroit’s Des Douglas made 107 not out and Nestles opening bowler David Herbert finished with match figures of 8-25.

CAM Williams 94, two stumpings, one run out (Russells Creek); Jason Perera 92 not out, 2-16 (Port Fairy); Jeremy Burgess 79 (Merrivale); Nathan Murphy 46 (Brierly-Christ Church); Chris Cheslin 44 (Dennington); Aaron Williams 38 (Port Fairy); Matt Petherick 4-22, 4-36 (Russells Creek); Rhys Davies 4-25 (West Warrnambool); Campbell Love 4-26 (Brierly-Christ Church); Mitch Clark 3-5 (Allansford); Tim Ryan 3-11 (Russells Creek).

SIMON Harkness 75 (Heytesbury Rebels); Gus Bourke 63 (Noorat); Jake Flynn 63 (Terang); David Conheady 59 (Noorat); Rohan Symes 54 (Bookaar); Tim Keane 42 not out (Terang); Isaac Wareham 50 not out, 2-8 (Mortlake); Shaun Moloney 5-56 (Bookaar); Jack Lehmann 4-4 (Mortlake); Brad Hillman 3-16 (Pomborneit); Thakara Sendanayke 3-16 (Pomborneit).