Brierly-Christ Church captain Mark Murphy has taken out the Warrnambool and District cricketer of the year award.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Murphy credited his season with English club Hunslet Nelson in 2018 as being a major part of his success back on home soil.
"It's been huge," he said.
"Some of the wickets we played on over there were challenging.
"Coming back here to Australia, it's felt a lot more comfortable batting."
The Bulls' batsman was honoured to receive numerous awards at the association's presentation night but said his focus was firmly on this weekend's grand final against Russells Creek.
"I'll take these but I'm looking at the bigger picture this weekend," he said.
"It's a funny feeling because you're focused on the grand final."
Murphy had the best batting average in the league at 66.80, in a season that included three centuries.
He started the new year with a bang scoring 101 and 111 in consecutive matches in January.
Under 17 cricketer of the year Brierly's Campbell Love said Murphy had been a great role-model for him and other young players at the club.
"At the Bulls we've got a great junior program going at the moment and we've got good juniors coming through," Murphy said.
"I've just tried to pass on my advice and lead them in the right way and no doubt they will go onto bigger and better things as well."
Russells Creek all-rounder Nathan Divall and West Warnambool batsman Michael Edmonds shared the division two cricketer of the year award.
Edmonds had the best batting average and aggregate with an average of 74.83 and aggregate of 449 runs.
Divall said it was a welcome surprise to win the award after a consistent year.
"I'm excited, it's a bit of shock but always nice," he said.
Russells Creek's Andy Prisco was going to retire and miss this season but he ended up winning the division three cricketer of the year.
He scored his first double-century this season.
Port Fairy's Maddie Green won the Steph Townsend Award as the female cricketer of the season.
The 14-year-old wants to play for Australia and is inspired by one the region's most famous cricketers.
"Yes, Georgia Wareham is a big one, especially being from Mortlake just an hour away," she said.
"That was a big influence on me being from the country."
The youngster just played in the under 15 national championships held in Canberra.
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.