ON THE RISE
THE Merrivale Cricket Ground was a hive of activity on Sunday morning with the next generation of cricketers showing their wares.
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It was the final day of the season for the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association (WDCA) under 11 competition.
All 18 teams played on Sunday, with Nestles defeating Merrivale Gold in the final.
West Warrnambool was the most represented club in the competition, fielding four teams.
WDCA president Gordon McLeod said the success of the competition was a huge boost for cricket in the region.
“There were five pitches set up and 180 boys and girls playing cricket, it was great to see,” McLeod said.
“The standard of the cricket played was outstanding.
“The aim is to get children playing the sport from a young age and we are making great progress on that front.”
WELL BOWLED
There was an unlikely name in the wickets column for West Warrnambool’s division one team on the weekend.
The most successful of the Panthers’ bowlers in their loss to Russells Creek was Ryan Youl, with 3-31 from seven overs.
The unusual thing about this is that Youl is the Panthers’ first-choice wicketkeeper.
West Warrnambool captain Alastair Templeton said giving Youl a bowl was not a flippant move.
“They had already passed our score so I thought it was a good chance to give Ryan a bowl,” he said.
“We had Luke Gannon in the team who is a keeper so he took the gloves.
“We have seen Ryan in the nets and he is a good bowler.
“He keeps telling us he can make the ball talk so we got him bowling with the wind and he sent them down at good pace.
“He’s a brilliant keeper but being able to bowl so well is another good string to his bow.”
WDCA TEAM OF THE WEEK
Chris Bant (Allansford) 50, Brad Sheen (Allansford) 50, Jeremy Burgess (Merrivale) 60*, Rukshan Weerasinghe (Russells Creek) 136, Jacob Hetherington (Nestles) 57, Paul Walker (Russells Creek) 49, Jason Perera (Port Fairy) 46, Hank Schlaghecke (Woodford) 7-19, Terry Beks (Dennington) 4-3, Mark Jones (Merrivale) 3-9, Xavier Beks (Dennington) 3-25.
GCA TEAM OF THE WEEK
Harrison Cozens (Hawkesdale) 63, Michael Mahoney (Woolsthorpe) 56, Shanaka Perumpuli (Mailors Flat) 65, Jamie Hetherington (Hawkesdale) 48, Phil Edwards (Mailors Flat) 44, Kristian Elliot (Purnim) 39, Tim Bryce (Panmure) 6-24, Kyle Patterson (Woolsthorpe) 5-33, Chris Woodbridge (Mailors Flat) 5-57, Anthony Martin (Killarney) 5-66, Nathan Shand (Panmure) 4-29.
He keeps telling us he can make the ball talk so we got him bowling with the wind and he sent them down at good pace.
- Alastair Templeton
SWC TEAM OF THE WEEK
Tim Place (Pomborneit) 30, Simon Baker (Bookaar) 100, Patrick Heffernan (Noorat) 58, Todd Lamont (Mortlake) 54*, Steven O'Neill (Pomborneit) 46, Eddie Lucas (Bookaar) 3-37 and 30, Neil Kelly (Mortlake) 4-4, Noah Ackerley (Heytesbury Rebels) 4-42, Paul Vogels (Heytesbury Rebels) 3-10, Brad Hillman (Pomborneit) 3-23, Nick Kenna (Noorat) 2-12.
REMEMBER WHEN
Past glories will be reflected upon when premiership players from the Grassmere Cricket Club come together on the weekend.
The club, which plays in the Grassmere Cricket Association (GCA), is holding a premiership reunion for the 1988-89 season.
It was a productive summer for Grassmere, winning the A grade one and two-day finals, as well as saluting in the B grade competition.
In the A grade, Grassmere defeated Purnim, with some big efforts with bat and ball.
Grassmere made 263, with Peter Sedgley making 72 and Peter McDonald 68.
Mick McKinnon was the star for Purnim, taking 8-83.
Grassmere then got the job done with the ball, knocking Purnim over for 158, with Darren Thomas taking 5-45.
It was an even more impressive display with the ball in the second innings, bowling Purnim out for 130.
Terry Beks was the go-to man, taking 7-51, while Laurie Lee chipped in with 3-31.
Grassmere then made 1-27 to seal the deal.
They had earlier in the season won the one-day final, also against Purnim.
Grassmere claimed the B grade flag after defeating Mailors Flat in the final.
The A grade team pictured above was: Back: A. McDonald (president), P. Johnstone, V. Walsh, D. Thomas, W. Johnstone, L. Lee. Front: P. Square, D. McDonald, P. McDonald (vice-captain), T. Beks (captain), P. Sedgley, P. Hetherington. Absent: T. Blackey.
REPRESENT
The South West Cricket Association (SWC) Melbourne Country Week team is deep into its preparations, with training tonight in Mortlake.
The SWC team will compete in division three in Melbourne.
Its first game will be against the Hamilton District Cricket Association on Monday.
Other opponents in its fixture include the Seymour and Warragul and districts cricket associations.
The team is: Todd Lamont, Tyler Schafer (Mortlake), Fraser Lucas, Eddie Lucas (Bookaar), Jeff Rosolin, Paul Vogels (Heytesbury Rebels), Jye McLaughlin, Steven Fisher (Camperdown), Angus Uwland (Cobden), David Murphy, Grant Place, Clinton Place, Tharaka Sendanayake, Lahiru Fernando (Pomborneit).
