By Nicholas Creely
With Dandenong starting the season like a house on fire, one man in particular continues to steer clear from the limelight but accumulate runs at a rapid rate.
Panthers skipper Tom Donnell, 30, continues to be one of Premier Cricket’s most consistent and exciting batsmen and is now getting closer and closer to edging his way into the all-time run-scorers in the competition’s illustrious history.
A lot of wonderful cricketers have graced the field in Victoria’s strongest club competition, but few have flown under the radar quite like Donnell.
In terms of Dandenong, the skipper currently sits as the leading run-scorer in the club’s history, surpassing Tim Hooper’s record of 5580 in November 2015.
But in the overall spectrum, Donnell is now one of only 100 CV Premier players of all time to surpass the 6000 runs mark.
And he makes runs even at higher levels, having represented Victoria’s Second XI and performing consistently, and he also played the touring West Indian team last summer, making 34 at the top of the order.
Some legends of club cricket, such as Warren Ayres, Darren Dempsey, David Robinson and Matt Chasemore have all played cricket with the Panthers, but Donnell’s loyalty to the club will see him go down as the greatest player to ever don the whites at Shepley.
His statistics are mind-blowing – 6559 runs at an average of 35.45, a highest score of 139*, 10 centuries at First XI level – and all batting in the hardest position of them all, opening.
With only a decade into his premier cricket career, the possibilities for further records to be broken are endless, but Donnell remains team orientated and focused on leading the Panthers to the ultimate prize this season.
“We are going well, but it’s only early on in the season, and it’s a long season, so we know we need to play our best each week to keep winning,” he said.
“The ladder is so tight and it’s so important we keep on winning and not drop off at all.
“We will just keep trying to play good positive cricket.”
But despite the mountains of runs made over a long period of time, Donnell isn’t overly happy about his personal start to the season.
“It’s been average really – I had one decent knock which was nice, but I need to get a little more consistent and help the team out a bit more,” he said.
And what a knock it was. It was perhaps even a masterpiece from Donnell.
The skipper destroyed Melbourne University in Round 3 of this season, blasting 114 off just 60 balls.
Along the grape-vine of Premier Cricket’s avid followers, it has been remarked as a knock that defied belief and was almost too good to be true.
In the days following the whirlwind knock, Donnell remarked that it was a “blur” and that he was just “happy the team got over the line”.
But over the journey, Donnell has feasted on the bowlers. In fact, he hasn’t missed out on making a century in six years – highlighting his immense consistency at a high level.
And despite shouldering a heavy load, as the Panthers have gone through a tough transitional phase and not making finals for three years, it seems the skipper is now reaping the benefits of his loyalty to the club.
Throughout this testing period, Donnell has shone, leading the club’s run tally in three of the last six seasons.
But now the Panthers are ready to repay the faith, and are setting themselves up for a tilt at the flag, and in the process, even more runs are coming for the modest left-hander.
The club will also be running a past players and family fun day on Sunday 4 December.
Those interested can contact Liz Williamson on 0409 184 277 or lizwilliamson@hotmail.com.
