By Marcus Uhe
Jeevan Mendis has won the 2022/23 Alan Wookey Medal as the best player in the DDCA Turf 1 competition in a thrilling vote-count on Sunday afternoon.
The Narre South Lion and former Sri Lankan international chased-down Springvale South captain Ryan Quirk, polling 31 votes from umpires during the season.
Quirk had made all the running earlier in the season, having flown out of the blocks with two half-centuries, a hundred and 46 not out before the Christmas break.
With six votes available per match, the count was up for grabs with Mendis on 27, Quirk on 26 and Hallam Kalora Park opener Leigh Booth on 25, all within striking distance with one round remaining.
Mendis polled four votes in the final round against St Mary’s, taking 3/45 off his 12 overs, to stretch his lead, while Quirk and Booth did not poll in round 14.
“I’m happy and grateful that the DDCA selected me as the best player for this year,” the 40-year-old said.
“I really enjoyed the people from Narre South, the players, supporting staff and the committee, they really give me a lot of support.”
95-year-old Alan Wookey himself was in attendance at the Dandenong Club on Sunday to present Mendis with the medal, as the second Narre South player to win it after Morteza Ali in 2019/20.
Topping the leading wicket-taker list with 25 at 16.6 and hitting 389 runs at 48.6, including three 50s and one hundred, Mendis was the only player to finish in the top five for both runs made and wickets taken in the Turf 1 competition.
His consistency was crucial throughout the year, taking a wicket in all 10 of his appearances.
Among Mendis’ stand-out performances were 6/27 and 116 in round six against Parkmore, 63 and 4/33 against ladder leaders Springvale South in round nine, and 56 and 2/64 in an upset win against North Dandenong in round 12.
He joined his former Sri Lankan teammate Nuwan Kulasekera as one of the major winners on the day, having won the Turf 3 MVP earlier in the afternoon.
