By Marcus Uhe
Former Sri Lankan all-rounder Jeevan Mendis has recommitted to Narre South Cricket Club for another season of DDCA cricket in a blow for opposition clubs.
The 2022-23 Alan Wookey medallist starred in his first season in the DDCA, topping the leading wicket-taker list with 25 at an average of 16, while also finishing as one of the league’s highest run scorers.
With an eye to coaching when his playing days come to a close, Mendis secured an assistant coaching position with Premier Cricket club, Dandenong, but will continue to ply his trade at Strathaird Reserve on Saturdays, while offering his knowledge and expertise to skipper Kyle Hardy and the coaching panel.
Narre South coach Matthew Brooks said he was excited to have Mendis recommit to the Lions as they push to return to the top four.
“He’s got three kids at Narre South, he loves it, which was a big reason why he wanted to stay and play with us, and try to get better opportunities on the coaching front,” Brooks said.
“With two day cricket coming back, I think we’ll see more of how good a player he is.
“Especially with the ball, being able to attack with the two-day format, I think he might be a bit more of a handful, which is obviously a good thing for us.”
As part of a revamped bowling attack featuring former Beaconsfield quick Callan Tout, English import Alex Cruickshank and all-rounder Joel Zietsman, who featured sparingly in last season, Brooks expects Mendis to have more tactical flexibility at the crease this season, particularly in the longer format.
“I think that weapon we’ve got with him, not bowling the one-day 12 overs, he can bowl bulk overs and we can attack with him this year,” Brooks said.
“We’ve added some quicks around him that we didn’t really have the depth of quick bowling stocks (last year).
“When he was coming on to bowl, he was always having to defend, but this year we’ve added a few where we think we can really attack with him, which is only going to help us, which is a really nice luxury to have.”
The Lions’ season begins at Arch Brown Reserve when they face Berwick on Saturday 7 October.
