By Nick Creely
Few players in Victorian Sub-District cricket are held in higher esteem than Noble Park great Marasinghe ‘Issy’ Perera.
He’s a cricketer that commands respect – one in which can drag his team off the canvas and inspire those around him, as well as completely dominate the opposition.
“He’s probably one of the best players I’ve ever seen around Subbies to be honest , and I’ve been involved in Subbies for 22 years,” Noble Park coach Matt Crozier declared.
“He’s just an absolute superstar.”
Last Tuesday evening in the VSDCA’s opening round of Twenty20s, Issy put in one of the more memorable performances – snaffling mind-boggling figures of 7/13 from four overs to completely stun Box Hill.
It is in fact not a scoreboard error – he claimed a wicket almost every three deliveries in an effort likely to be spoken about for some time to come.
It’s also certain to be some sort of record with hauls of that magnitude very rarely seen in that format.
The spell included a double-wicket maiden in his first over, one wicket in his second over, three in his third and one in his fourth.
In fact, Issy actually took himself off after his first over before bringing himself back on to spin his side to victory.
Crozier said that it was not just the number of wickets that were impressive, it was the fact that he came on and completely changed the course of the match after setting Box Hill 102 for victory.
“Box Hill were 0/40 odd and he came on and just completely broke the game open,” he said.
“But the fielding really did back him up.
“There was some decent catches taken, whether it was on the boundary or at cover.”
His career at the club has been nothing short of remarkable.
In 155 games (including Twenty20s) since arriving at the club in 2010/11 he has done it all – premierships, club champion, VSDCA awards, and a mountain of wickets and runs.
From a statistical point of view, he has belted 4546 runs at an average of 32.94 which includes five centuries and 36 half-centuries, and jagged 307 wickets at 16.04 – quite telling numbers.
But its really no surprise to Crozier that Issy has added yet another remarkable tale to his Noble Park career on Tuesday night, praising him for his skill in all formats of the game.
“If there is going to be a guy, especially at our club to do it (taken seven in a Twenty20) it’s going to be him,” he said.
“It is a surprise to get seven in 24 balls, it is pretty rare but when he’s on song, he can do anything.
“His flight, his spin, his wrong-uns, his natural thinking about how to get the bloke out is amazing.
“In two day cricket, he’s the guy that comes on to stop the rot and put the brakes on and get the crucial wicket.
“This year with the one-day cricket its been a bit different, he bowls late, gets hit around a bit, but he’ll still take three or four wickets.”
Crozier said that Issy couldn’t be held in higher regard at the club, describing him as a guy that just wants to help everyone improve their game, and admits that sometimes you can’t help but watch him go about his business.
“The guys at the club just look up to him – all the juniors at the club know who he is, our thirds and fourths all know him too,” he said.
“There’s times where he’s batting in the nets and we’re all just standing around and watching him.
“As a person, I’ve played with him and now I’m coaching him – you can just stand their sometimes and be in amazement about what he can do on the ground.
“When he gets going, especially with the bat, he’s unbelievable to watch.”
In the regular home-and-away season, Noble Park sit 10th on the table with a 2-4 record, and Crozier’s group will take on Endeavour Hills this Saturday ahead of a string of winnable games.
“I’m pretty confident if we can get three of the next four, we’re right in the hunt,” he said.
“It’s a hard group, the south group is probably the hardest one in the competition.
“But the boys are really confident for the next few weeks of cricket, that’s for sure.”
