RECORD HAUL
He might have reached veteran status, but Killarney’s Jason Hutchins is still playing his part for the Grassmere Cricket Association (GCA) heayweight.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Hutchins led the Crabs to an outright victory on Saturday against Grassmere with a haul of 5-51. The win propelled Killarney to the top of the ladder after the opening four rounds of the season.
Killarney captain Brayden Buchanan was full of praise for what was a landmark Hutchins’ contribution.
“It was the first time Hutchy has taken a five-for,” Buchanan said.
“He bowls slow, swinging mediums and just drops them on the spot.
“On Saturday he was really consistent, it was just that hitting the top of off-stump length that is hard to get away.
“Hutchy has played in our last two grand finals and he is a really popular member of the club, everyone was rapt to see him land a bag of five.”
TRIPLE TREAT
A hat-trick is a cricket rarity, but when Russells Creek division one bowler Matthew Petherick achieved the feat on Saturday against Port Fairy, there were two extra factors that made it even more special.
It was Petherick’s second hat-trick in Warrnambool and District Cricket Association (WDCA) division one, his first coming against West Warrnambool in 2016-17.
While two hat-tricks are rare, Petherick’s latest triple-treat was even more exclusive given all three wickets came by hitting the batsmen’s stumps.
The 23-year-old, who begun his career at Merrivale, was modest about his achievement.
“I was a bit lucky,” Petherick said.
“I pride myself on bowling full at the stumps and everything just went right.
“The boys were pretty excited but I was just happy to be taking some wickets and helping us get the first innings points.”
WDCA TEAM OF THE WEEK
Mitchell Clark (Allansford) 37*, Cameron Williams (Russells Creek) 82, Zavier Mungean (Brierly-Christ Church) 49, Josh Stapleton (Merrivale) 48, Damith Ginimala Dewage (Dennington) 49, Dustin Drew (Dennington) 42, Darren Lloyd (Port Fairy) 27 and 3-50, Tyler Fowler (Woodford) 6-17, Matthew Petherick (Russells Creek) 6-38, Stephen Dwyer (Port Fairy) 5-36, James Dalton (Wesley-CBC) 4-33.
GCA TEAM OF THE WEEK
Stephen McGrath (Purnim) 43*, Steve Blacker (Woolsthorpe) 39, Lachlan Boyle (Mailors Flat) 78, Heath Anderson (Wangoom) 42, Ben O’Sullivan (Wangoom) 43, Jason Alberts (Woolsthorpe) 57, Duncan Craw (Woolsthorpe) 49, Patrick Mahony (Panmure) 3-24, Lachlan Glare (Hawkesdale) 8-74, Jason Hutchins (Killarney) 5-51, Lachlan Sinclair (Wangoom) 3-62.
SWC TEAM OF THE WEEK
Rohan Symes (Bookaar) 71*, David Murphy (Pomborneit) 48, Todd Lamont (Mortlake) 48, Tyler Schafer (Mortlake) 66, Martin Wynd (Noorat) 51, Tyson Hay (Terang) 50*, Hamish Huffadine (Heytesbury Rebels) 55, Brad Hillman (Pomborneit) 6-15, James Moloney (Noorat) 4-4, Brent Goonan (Cobden) 4-20, Shaun Moloney (Bookaar) 3-15.
IN THE RUNS
The old guard stepped up to help West Warrnambool’s division two team make a huge score on day one of its game against Wesley-CBC. Veteran batsmen Mick Edmonds (117), Ben Parkinson (74*) and Dean Hurford (66) were among the runs as the Panthers piled on 7-369. Luke Gannon returned from division one and made 67.
BACK IN THE DAY
We have found yet another example of a champion local footballer taking time during the summer to pull on the cricket whites. Brett Buckwell (pictured above bowling) was a brilliant defender for South Warrnambool in the Hampden league. Buckwell was also a very good WDCA cricketer, playing for Dennington. This photo of Buckwell was taken in February 1997, with the batsman next to him being Nestles’ Matthew Wilkinson. Buckwell had a day out, finishing with 4-65, as the Dogs restricted Nestles to 7-204.
BIG HIT
A move to Princetown from rival South West Cricket Association (SWC) club Heytesbury Rebels at the start of the season has worked well for Beavan Castles. From eight games, Castles has scored 429 runs at an average of 71.50. These impressive numbers include two centuries and a 91. The latest of his tons came on Saturday as part of the SWC division two Twenty20 competition. Playing against Boorcan, Castles smashed an even 100 opening the batting. His century came from just 51 balls.
Princetown teammate David Costin said it was an impressive display.
“Beavan isn’t a slogger by any means, he hits the ball pretty sweet,” Costin said.
“He times it really well and as a result scores quickly. Mortlake and Ecklin played the game before us at the same ground so those boys hung around and sat back and enjoyed the innings.”
FESTIVE FUN
WDCA club Nirranda will host a pre-Christmas Twenty20 exhibition game on December 22.
The Knights will play SWC club the Simpson Tigers at Nirranda Recreation Reserve. The game will begin at 6.30pm, with festivities off the field including a visit from Santa.
