With the half-way point of the season reached, Nick Creely has taken a look at the first six rounds of Turf 1 in the DDCA and come up with the top 10 individual performances so far this season…
Best Individual Performances:
1: Jurgen Andersen (North Dandenong) 9/79 against Narre Warren in Round 3 – The skipper of North had a match to remember against the Magpies, taking the first nine wickets of the innings before narrowly missing out on making Turf 1 history. The skipper goes from strength to strength, and will be vital for the Maroons in the second half of the season.
2: Steven Spoljaric (Cranbourne) 158* and 3/28 against North Dandenong in Round 4 – A classical innings from the DDCA legend. Played a near flawless and brutal innings, and formed a record-breaking partnership with his mate Chasemore. Just makes batting look timeless and bowls as consistently as anyone in the competition.
3: Steven Mullaney (Buckley Ridges) 77 against Lynbrook in Round 2. – In the Twenty20, Mullaney went berserk, hitting 10 sixes in just 26 deliveries in what was a breathtaking performance.
4: Steven Spoljaric (Cranbourne) 153 and 2/43 against Dandenong West in Round 3 – Another sublime all-round game for the champ, Spoljaric put the Westers to the sword in an epic display of batting.
5: Steven Mullaney (Buckley Ridges) 5/22 against Springvale South in Round 1 – Taking five wickets in a T20 is a remarkable achievement and the Englishman did it in style against a quality opposition featuring some quality batting.
6: Ian Daniel (Mordialloc) 102 and 5/18 against Narre Warren in Round 6 – What a day one performance from Daniel, who dismantled the Magpies in stunning fashion. Backed it up with another unbeaten 39 the week after.
7: Matt Chasemore (Cranbourne) 148 and 3/25 against North Dandenong in Round 4 – Combined with Spoljaric, ‘Cheeks’ put on a record partnership for the Eagles, as well as taking three wickets. Despite his quirky style with the bat, his ability to make runs is extraordinary.
8: Craig Slocombe (Springvale South) 41 and 5/7 against Dandenong West in Round 5 – The legendary cricketer bowled 15 overs for his five wicket haul, going at under 0.5 per over. He also made a valuable 41 that saved the Bloods from a lowly batting total. Just keeps on keeping on does ‘Slocs’.
9: Jarrod Armitage (Berwick) 113* against Narre Warren in Round 2 – The former Blood started at his new club in style, blasting an unbeaten century and quashing any notion that he can’t bat. Is now starting to warm into the year with the ball, and is one of the sneaky chances for the Wookey Medal.
10: Kaushalya Weeraratne (HSD) 5/15 against Narre Warren in Round 4 – Extraordinary figures for a T20 match, the Sri-Lankan was bordering on unplayable. Seems to relish the T20 format and a change of clubs in the off-season.
Some other brilliant performances include: Caleb Millman’s 112 on debut for North Dandenong against Mordialloc was a special, match-saving knock; Jordan Hammond making an unbeaten century and taking 4/26 for Hallam-Kalora Park; Manisha Dabarera’s 101 in Round 3 for Parkfield and Janaka Liyanabadalge’s 54 for Narre Warren in a total of just 74 for the entire team.
Alan Wookey Medal mid-season prediction:
1: Steven Spoljaric (Cranbourne)
2: Ian Daniel (Mordialloc)
3: Jarrod Armitage (Berwick)
