By Marcus Uhe
HALLAM KALORA PARK
2022-23 Finish: 3rd in Turf 1. Lost preliminary final to Springvale South
Coach: Matthew Cox
Captain: Jordan Hammond
Ins: Mahela Udawatte (Buckley Ridges), Charith Keerthisinghe
Outs: Sachith Jaysinghe (Doveton North)
Players to watch: Jordan Hammond, Lee Brown, Lauchlan Gregson
Home ground: Hallam Recreation Reserve
They were oh-so close in 2022-23.
A thrilling, nail-biting, heart-stopping four-wicket preliminary final loss against Springvale South was all that stood between Hallam Kalora Park and another shot at premiership glory last season, with a few minor decisions here and there threatening to haunt the group going forward.
But don’t mention the R word – redemption – around Hallam Recreation Reserve.
There’s no looking back for the Hawks, no dwelling on missed opportunities, only looking forward to what could be in a new season ripe with opportunity.
“We were up the top for a reason, we’re a pretty good side and we lost by a couple of dropped catches here and there, or someone having a better day than us,” playing coach Matthew Cox said of the conclusion to last season.
“That’s one day cricket.
“I think we’ve got a much better batting line up for two day cricket than one day cricket.
“There’s no redemption for us, we’ve got enough experience in the side to not worry about that stuff, we’ll just get on with the job.”
Strengthening the run scoring department in arguably the biggest in-competition switch of the off-season is Mahela Udawatte, who brings with him a wealth of experience at international level for Sri Lanka after plying his trade at Buckley Ridges for the past two seasons.
Next to Leigh Booth, who finished on the podium for the Wookey Medal having only made less runs than Ryan Quirk, a top order of Udawatte, Cox and Jordan Hammond is arguably as strong as you can get in the Turf 1 competition.
It was an area they felt needed addressing, and on-paper, it appears to be a perfect match.
Excited for the return to two-day cricket, the format the playing list is largely geared towards in the eyes of Cox, there could be some long days in the field when bowling to the Hawks.
“We’ve got pretty much the same team but we’ve added what we needed to add to play both one days and two days this year,” Cox said
“(We) can’t wait for two days.
“We played three years of one day cricket, everyone’s just ready to go back to playing proper cricket, I think.
“We’re all sick of white balls and one dayers, and we can naturally bat and bowl properly.”
With the ball, Sachith Jayasingha has flown the nest despite an excellent season last year, leading the wicket-takers column for much of the campaign thanks to 16 scalps in his first five matches.
In his place comes Chairth Keerthisinghe, fresh off finishing equal second for wickets in the Leongatha and District Cricket Association’s top division with 32 at 15 as a key member of Phillip Island’s premiership side.
Lee Brown, meanwhile, will impact as though he is new to the club, having missed much of last season’s Turf 1 campaign due to injury.
The success of the 2020-21 campaign are not that far-removed, and with much of that squad still at Hallam, led by star all-rounder Jordan Hammond, the idea of adding to their trophy cabinet is a distinct possibility.
Fixture:
Round 1 (one day): Saturday 7 October v North Dandenong (H)
Round 2 (one day): Saturday 14 October v Buckley Ridges (A)
Round 3 (two day): Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October v Berwick (A)
Round 4 (two day): Saturday 28 October and Saturday 4 November v Springvale South (H)
Round 5 (two day): Saturday 11 and 18 November v St Mary’s (A)
Round 6 (two day): Saturday 25 November and Saturday 2 December v Narre South (H)
Round 7 (one day): Saturday 9 December v Beaconsfield (A)
Round 8 (one day): Saturday 16 December v Berwick (H)
Round 9 (one day): Saturday 6 January v Springvale South (A)
Round 10 (one day): Saturday 13 January v Narre South (A)
Round 11 (two day): Saturday 20 and 27 January v North Dandenong (A)
Round 12 (two day): Saturday 3 and 10 February v Buckley Ridges (H)
Round 13 (two day): Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 February v Beaconsfield (H)
Round 14 (one day): Saturday 24 February v St Mary’s (H)
