Zach Merrett had two sporting pathways when he was growing up in Cobden - football or cricket. In the end, football won out and he's now a two-time Essendon best and fairest and All-Australian. But he's not lost to cricket entirely. Merrett, 25, played for the Knights' division three side on Saturday, blasting an unbeaten 152. Cobden was 3-84 when Merrett arrived at the crease. It finished its 40 overs at 3-278. Mortlake was skittled for just 40 in reply. Merrett isn't the only south-west AFL player making the most of the off-season. Port Adelaide's Willem Drew and Essendon's Marty Gleeson (both Koroit) have hit the fairways at Port Fairy Golf Club while Collingwood youngster Jay Rantall (South Warrnambool), a relative newcomer to golf, is challenging himself at Warrnambool's course.
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Water works
Warrnambool City Council says it will reprogram the start time for an automated watering system at Walter Oval after a Warrnambool and District Cricket Association division one game was abandoned when the sprinkler system sprang to life on Sunday. The Wesley-CBC versus Russells Creek match was in the balance when the water switched on at 6pm. A council spokesperson said the sprinklers had been programmed to come on at that time since they were installed in 2018. It was re-programmed after Sunday's issue.
Premier debut for young Bull
Promising Brierly Christ-Church cricketer Hannah Rooke made her Victorian Premier Cricket debut for Essendon-Maribrynong Park on Saturday, lining up in the seconds. Rooke, 15, bowled two overs for 0-12 and contributed 11 with the bat from 35 balls, coming in at number six. Rooke had a familiar face alongside her, Western Waves coach Grace Lee, who hails from Terang. Lee, a school teacher, took 2-24 off her nine-over bowling spell and added two runs batting at number 11. Essendon-Maribyrnong Park lost its round one game to Melbourne by 64 runs. Victorian Premier Cricket men's competition, which features numerous Western District exports, starts this weekend.
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Waves' time to roll in
Western Waves under 21 coach Tim Bryce has picked a team to play at Wycheproof on December 6. Warrnambool and District association players Joe Nyikos, Alex Jennings, Jacob Hetherington, Damon Harrison and Nick Robertson will show their wares.
Masks off
Masks are now not required on field for matches as the sport trends towards normality. Cricket Victoria updated participants on Monday following Sunday's state government announcement on the further easing of COVID-19 restrictions. It stated masks need to be in the pockets of players and umpires on field and when off field, are only required to be worn (by those over 12) when inside or when unable to maintain social distance. A range of other updates were made, including the ability to now train in groups of up to 50 people. Indoor centres can also open.
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WDCA team of the week
Nathan Murphy (Brierly Christ-Church) 85; Ben Threlfall (West Warrnambool) 86; Luke Wines (Woodford) 67; Rukshan Weerasinghe (Russells Creek) 62*; Geoff Williams (Nestles) 59; Nick Butters (Woodford) 56; Max Green (Port Fairy) 47; Sam Worden (Dennington) 5-23; Tom Wright (Allansford-Panmure) 4-8; Blake Evans (Russells Creek) 4-24; Mark Pitt (Port Fairy) 4-27.
SWC team of the week
Gus Bourke (Noorat) 97; Tom Hunt (Heytesbury Rebels) 65; Darcy Leishman (Simpson) 63; Simon Harkness (Heytesbury Rebels) 56; Michael Pegg (Cobden) 64; Tom Place (Pomborneit) 49; Jack Lehmann (Mortlake) 45*; Matt Harkin (Cobden) 44; Todd Robertson (Mortlake) 3-20; Grant Place (Pomborneit) 4-46; Michael Vogels (Heytesbury Rebels) 3-15.
GCA team of the week
Chris Lenehan (Grassmere) 67, 4-20; Chamika Fernando (Wangoom) 69; David West (Hawkesdale) 59; Brent Fedley (Woolsthorpe-Mailors Flat) 5-35; Ben Julius (Hawkesdale) 3-6; Chris Wright (Killarney) 4-16; Louis Sharman (Hawkesdale) 3-18; Adam Chambers (Grassmere) 4-47; Connor Umbers (Yambuk) 3-8; Cam Cutler (Hawkesdale) 3-41.
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Justine McCullagh-Beasy
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
