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LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
LEADING EDGE
 VICTORIAN TURF CRICKET ASSOCIATION (VTCA) - OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER

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Issue 118 : Presentation Edition   Editor : Daniel McNamara     Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

   FROM THE
    EDITOR

                                                     *Senior Division Back to Back Champions Yarraville
                                                     Club.

                                                     The Kookaburra Sports Senior Division
                                                     Team of the Year is published, numerous
                                                     GF articles from local news outlets are also
                                                     great reading and give’s those teams who
                                                     won the grand finals a wonderful record to
                                                     remind them of their achievements.
                                                     Included is an in-depth end of season review
                                                     and sign off from VTCA President Steve
WELCOME to the 118th issue of the                    McNamara, there is also some insightful
Leading Edge, the official Newsletter of the         Question and Answer interviews with
Victorian Turf Cricket Association.                  premiership hero’s.

In this issue you will find all Grand Final          To the all-conquering team at Yarraville
Scorecards, Best Player Medal voting                 Club, congratulations on winning back to
details are included for all seven First             back Senior Division flags, very well
Eleven Grades, as well as the Final Ladders          deserved.
of every Grade.
                                                     I wish all players and officials an enjoyable
                                                     off season we’ll be back in no time.
                                                     Enjoy the publication.
                                                     Daniel McNamara – Editor
LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
Issue 118: Presentation Edition     Editor : Daniel McNamara       Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

                                                                              .
                                                      The Tigers have a talented young side and they
   FROM THE DESK OF                                   should be competitive in the top division
     THE PRESIDENT                                    immediately, particularly if they can recruit a
                                                      player with recent senior division experience.

                                                      Again, credit to the might of Yarraville Club
                                                      on claiming their tenth flag in a dozen years.
                                                      These guys have a phenomenal record and
                                                      clearly set the benchmark for all of our clubs
                                                      to follow in their professionalism, their
                                                      fighting spirit and their tightness in playing for
                                                      one another and their ability to share in each
                                                      players individual success.
                                                      I take my hat off to them, they never seem to
                                                      tire of success and always play their best
                                                      cricket with their backs to the wall.
                                                      Well done to Doutta Stars and their skipper
         By Steve McNamara                            Brenton Parchment, they pushed that game to
                                                      the limit and not for a match winning century
Another season has come and gone in a flash           to former Victorian allrounder Will Sheridan
and already preparations are underway for             would have won his game.
season 2018/19.                                       Congratulations to all other premiership
Having now put Presentation Night behind us,          winners on your team’s success this summer,
it is full steam ahead for finalising Division        congratulations also to those players who have
structures for next summer.                           been nominated in Team of the Year sides and
The circulation of surveys to both club               to all award winners throughout all grades.
administrators and players has been a very            My sincere thanks to those people who have
valuable tool for planning and restructuring for      worked so hard for the association throughout
next season.                                          the past year.
Thank you to all of those who responded, your         Our executive of Secretary Deanne Trewin,
input has been extremely invaluable. Some             Treasurer Zoran Havrenek, Grounds Manager
interesting observations out of the surveys has       Josie McNamara have all worked very hard to
been the different views by players to bonus          maintain the high standards we continue to set.
points and this will be an area to be again           Two great additions to the board this year have
looked at.                                            been Joe Polzella and Neil Howard. Both these
It was pleasing to see relative newcomers             guys have come in with some great ideas and
Sunshine get up and win a flag after some lean        have been keen to contribute their vast
years for their club in the VSDCA.                    knowledge and experience. Similarly the old
It was also good to see Seabrook have some            stager, Bill Wringe.
success in both 1sts and 2nds after some tough        Well done for the outstanding work put in by
years.                                                our Umpires Department this year led by
Westmeadows and Deer Park have been                   Umpires Director Stuart Edwards and his
threatening and on the verge for a while now          sidekick Gary Houston. We still need to do
and have enjoyed some premiership success. It         more with our umpires, but we are getting
will be interesting to see how these teams            there.
progress in the higher divisions.                     May I finish by wishing everyone an
Sunshine United have enjoyed a season to              enjoyable, safe and restful off season.
remember, not only claiming the North / West          Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Division premiership but also the Association
wide T/20 Kookaburra Cup.
LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
Issue 118: Presentation Edition         Editor : Daniel McNamara     Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

                                                         So that was the VTCA 2017/2018 season done and
         From The Secretary’s                            dusted. Enjoy your off season.

         By Deanne Trewin
During the season we have had ball tampering,
players gone with 12-month bans, people called                     SENIOR DIVISION
cheats, public outcry and players crying crocodile
tears – NO wait that was the Aussie players and                     FINAL LADDER
Cricket Australia not the VTCA.

We had players front the tribunal – wouldn’t it be       Yarraville Club            121.20
nice if we could go a whole season where no one
gets reported. Umpires wearing the wrong shirt,          Seddon                     120.90
clubs wearing colors instead of whites. Bonus
points and whether we should or shouldn’t have           Doutta Stars               115.04
them. Discussions, opinions and comments on
Facebook about start times, covers and weather. In
some divisions the final 4 was not decided until the
                                                         Keilor                       85.88
last home and away round. We had the umpires
show their support when one of their own was dealt       Spotswood                   82.44
some bad news. Clubs again were happy to support
Pink Stumps Day. Weather also played a part in           Strathmore                  73.55
some rounds not going ahead either too hot or too
wet.                                                     Greenvale                   64.57
One thing that was fantastic to see was our
Inaugural Women’s Division, proudly sponsored            Tullamarine                 44.51
by Deer Park Club get under way this year. The
Ladies wore colors, some used their kids gear,
some of the ladies had been the mum on the side
                                                         Kookaburra Senior Division
lines whilst their kids played and had never played      @ Donald McLean Reserve
before, by all accounts the ladies have had a blast
playing. With three clubs being able to field 4          Yarraville Club 6/226 (cc)
sides, hopefully a few more clubs can get on board
                                                         DEF
next season.

Overall, I think our season went well. We had the        Doutta Stars 10/222 (cc)
T20 finals at Laverton which was a great day,
                                                         B Tupper 50* BA Parchment 4/76
weather gods were nice to us and congratulations to
Sunshine United in taking out the VTCA/T20               S Wigmore 69 BA Parchment 66
Kookaburra Cup. Apart from one day of not so
good weather during the course of the Grand final
                                                         W Sheridan 112*
weekends all games got a result, so congratulations      L Ingram 52 ES Bronca 7/50
to the clubs that are Premiers for season 17/18.

For those club officials that are stepping down, it
has been a pleasure. To my family – thank you for
your support.
LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
Issue 118: Presentation Edition            Editor : Daniel McNamara       Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

                                                            probably the most amount of balls I’ve faced in my
  CLUBBERS DOWN                                             life.
 DOUTTA ON WAY TO                                           “But it was very, very satisfying.
BACK TO BACK FLAGS
                                                            “Backs against the wall and any time you perform
                                                            in a final or any game at all for this club, it’s
WHERE there’s a will, there’s a way.                        special.”

Without Will Sheridan, powerhouse Yarraville
Club might not be celebrating its eighth Turf
Cricket Senior Division premiership in the past 10
seasons.

It’s a remarkable record, and former Victorian
player Sheridan delivered a remarkable match
winning innings under immense pressure in the
decider against Doutta Stars.

The 30-year-old took 266 balls to craft an unbeaten
112 after the decider stretched into the fourth day         * Emmett Bronca and Yarraville Club celebrate a
after rain forced play to be abandoned without a            wicket.
ball being bowled on Saturday.
                                                            It was also Sheridan’s maiden century for the club
The Clubbers resumed at 6-155 on Sunday in                  and came after Stars captain-coach Brenton
pursuit of the Stars’ first-innings total of 222.           Parchment had destroyed the top order.

Sheridan and Ben Tupper (50 not out) steered their
team to 6-226, combining for an unbroken 131-run
stand.                                                      “I wasn’t thinking much to be honest,” Sheridan
                                                            said of the Clubbers’ top-order collapse.

                                                            “I was just trying not to get out and playing like it
                                                            was any other game.

                                                            “The ball was reverse swinging quite early and we
                                                            were able to combat that and put on a couple of
                                                            good partnerships.

                                                            “Our mantra throughout the year has been we can
                                                            win from any position. Everyone in the team is
                                                            really competitive.”

* Will Sheridan produced a superb knock in the
decider.

When you consider five of Yarraville Club’s top-
six batsmen contributed single figures and they
were almost beaten at 5-39 and still struggling at 6-
95, Sheridan’s performance — and the support he
received from Tupper — will not be forgotten in a
hurry.

“We were obviously under a fair bit of pressure,”
Sheridan said.                                              * Emmett Bronca celebrates wicket for Yarraville Club.

“I couldn’t believe last week that I was on 70-odd
not out. It just felt like I was blocking them and it’s
LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
Issue 118: Presentation Edition          Editor : Daniel McNamara       Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

Yarraville Club could have been left to chase a
greater target had it not been for another virtuoso         DOUTTA WILL USE
display from Emmett Bronca, who snared 7-50.
                                                            PAINFULL LOSS AS
Bronca also claimed 12 wickets in the 2016-17
grand final, confirming his status as a big game
                                                           DRIVING MOTIVATION
player.
                                                          DOUTTA Stars captain-coach Brenton Parchment
                                                          says he hopes the hurt of Sunday’s Senior Division
“I think he deserves man of the match, personally,”
                                                          grand final loss will drive his side to glory next
Sheridan said.
                                                          season.
“I know how hard it is to take wickets and he does
it in the big games. He bowled beautifully.”              The Stars went down by four wickets against
                                                          powerhouse Yarraville Club, which claimed its
                                                          eighth flag in the past decade.

                                                          Former Victorian all-rounder Will Sheridan was the
                                                          difference, compiling an unconquered 112 after the
                                                          Clubbers were on the ropes at 5-39 on day two.

                                                          In partnership with wicketkeeper Ben Tupper, who
                                                          made an unbeaten 50, Sheridan steered Yarraville
                                                          Club from 6-95 to its 222-run target and Turf
                                                          Cricket’s ultimate prize.
* Adam Contessa bends his back for Yarraville Club.
                                                          Parchment gave his all, delivering 36 overs and
Sheridan joined the perennial contender on a three-       claiming 4-76, while Lorenzo Ingram (1-33) and
year deal as a playing assistant coach in 2016-17,        Damian O’Brien (1-26) were the other wicket-
and he is not planning on leaving anytime soon.           takers.
He finished the season with 490 runs and 16               After a washout on Saturday, the third day proved
wickets and played a key role with bat and ball           fruitless for the Stars as Sheridan and Tupper
during the finals.                                        dominated proceedings.
“It’s a pretty good place to play — beautiful pitch,      “We probably still think we should have won. We
great club, really great blokes,” Sheridan said.          just didn’t have enough in the tank come the final
                                                          day,” Parchment said.
“The club has had success over a long period of
time.                                                     The Stars skipper said his side toiled on a pitch
                                                          which offered little for the bowlers.
“People think we just rock up and win games, we
don’t. Every single time we play, you’ve got to           “It certainly had a lot less grass and it was two
scrap and scrap to win.                                   different wickets,” Parchment said.
“We just fight and it’s bloody good to play for a         “But credit to them, they batted well.”
team that plays like that.”
                                                          Parchment said he hoped the defeat will increase
                                                          his side’s desire to go one better next summer.
By Luke D’Anello                                          “Hopefully this will make them a bit more hungry,”
                                                          he said.
Leader News
                                                          “We are still a very young group, still learning the
                                                          craft.

                                                          “A lot of the guys are just starting to understand
                                                          their games. The prospects are good.
LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
Issue 118: Presentation Edition        Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

“All these guys have got a lot of room to improve.
Hopefully we get more hungry, work harder next            DOUTTA’S STAR DUO
season and
                                                            SHARE PAXINO
“I am sure we can push them even further and get
one up on them.”
                                                               MEDAL
                                                        The dynamic duo from Doutta Stars have shared
Parchment, who has re-signed with the club for
                                                        the 2017/18 Senior Division Paxino Medal. When
2018-19, said he was confident most of the grand
final side would return for another flag tilt.          you mention Doutta’s dynamic duo you
                                                        immediately think of inspirational skipper Brenton
“That’s the plan. At the moment I don’t think           Parchment and fellow West Indian teammate
anyone is going anywhere,” he said.                     Lorenzo Ingram.

                                                        This time however it is Ingram and first year
“We will be a fairly competitive group next year,
fingers crossed.”                                       English import Aron Nijjar.

                                                        The Douuta Stars pair took out the prestigious
By Tim Mitchell                                         award with 24 votes, just one vote clear of
                                                        Yarraville Club’s Konrad Kurta.
Leader News
                                                        Third place was shared by Seddon teammates Ben
                                                        Speake and Lahiru Jayaratne with 17 votes apiece.

    SENIOR DIVISION
   TEAM OF THE YEAR
Ben Speake             Seddon
Will Sheridan          Yarraville Club
                                                        * Lorenzo Ingram sends one down.
Konrad Kurta           Yarraville Club
                                                        Ingram the 35 year old Jamaican allrounder
Lorenzo Ingram          Doutta Stars                    had arguably his most consistent year in the
                                                        VTCA leading the batting aggregate for the
Aron Najjir             Doutta Stars                    competition with 695 runs at 63.18, with a top
Brenton Parchment Doutta Stars                          score of 114 no and 23 wickets at 15.91 with a
                                                        best bowling of 6/31.
Andrew Cullen ©         Yarraville Club
                                                        Nijjar the 23 year old from Essex enjoyed a
Sam Davies              Keilor                          wonderful season in Melbourne with 26
                                                        wickets at an average of 15.54 and a best
Ben Tupper (WK)         Yarraville Club
                                                        bowling of 5/60.
Tim Moses                Seddon
                                                        Unfortunately, Nijjar had to return to the UK
Alan Wise                Spotswood                      after the Semi-Final, had he been available for
                                                        the Grand Final, the result may have been
                                                        different, given his form throughout the
                                                        season.
LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
Issue 118: Presentation Edition         Editor : Daniel McNamara       Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

With the bat Aron was most productive with
518 runs at the healthy average of 51.80 and a
top score of 146 no.
Konrad Kurta can consider himself unlucky to
miss out on a medal with 636 runs and 8
wickets for the season.
Seddon pair Ben Speake and Lahiru Jayaratne
tied for third place.

                                                               PAXINO MEDAL
                                                                VOTES 2017/18
                                                         Player                 Club              Votes
                                                         Lorenzo Ingram        Doutta Stars         24
                                                         Aron Nijjar           Doutta Stars         24
                                                         Konrad Kurta          Yarraville Club      23
                                                         Ben Speake             Seddon              17
                                                         Lahiru Jayaratne      Seddon               17
   *Essex and Doutta Stars young gun Aron Nijjar.
                                                         Sam Davies             Keilor              16
                                                         William Sheridan       Yarraville Club     14
                                                         Tim Moses              Seddon              14
                                                         John Taylor            Seddon              13
                                                         Brenton Parchment      Doutta Stars       12
                                                         Alan Wise              Spotswood          11
                                                         Anthony Barton         Greenvale           11
LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
Issue 118: Presentation Edition          Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

                                                          Relief and then elation that we’d pulled off
Q & A with Yarraville                                     something pretty special.
Coach Justin Baker                                        You have had much success throughout your
                                                          career, where does this win rank amongst
                                                          your achievements?
                                                          Right up there. It’s up there, we’ve been in some
                                                          positions in grand finals and the greatest
                                                          achievements have been when we have been backs
                                                          to the wall, 9 down with 30 runs to get, this game
                                                          5/35. There the games and the wins in a career that
                                                          rank up there pretty high and are the most
                                                          enjoyable because it’s a collective, it’s 11 people
                                                          contributing to it.
                                                          In 30-40 time if I’m still kicking, you’ll run past
                                                          that bloke you played in the grand final with and
                                                          you’ll always have that bond, you’ve always got
*The coach can now put his feet up and relax.             that time together that’s special and that lives on
                                                          forever.
Congratulations on your Grand Final win,
                                                          How many flags is that for you now at
did the game play out as you had planned
                                                          Yarraville Club?
despite missing the first two days’ play?
                                                          10 flags from 12 grand final appearances. In my
                                                          fourteen years here, we lost two semi-finals to
Not exactly, it was a hard decision to have a bowl        South Caulfield and Greenvale and two losses
first given it was 30*C. We thought bowling first         which were my first two years at the club.
on the Spotswood wicket would give us the most            I count myself extremely lucky, good timing and
assistance because we know it’s going to flatten out      the great personal at the club over the fourteen
to be a good batting deck.                                years – the strength and character of these people
Things probably weren’t going to plan at the end of       have been pretty good.
day one when Wigmore got runs. Then on the
Sunday to be 5/35 we were looking at each other           On a personal note, how would you rate your
rueing the decision not to bat first, we thought we
                                                          own season?
were in a bit of trouble.
                                                          Inconsistent I think. I suppose a little bit
To be honest with hindsight that days play lost on
                                                          disappointing for myself. As you start to get to the
day three was probably a blessing in disguise, it
                                                          end of your career you start wondering jeez have I
gave us time to regroup, we then knew it was going
                                                          lost it, what have I changed, what am I doing
to be a one innings game, so we had to play
                                                          different from what I did five or six years ago.
appropriately.
                                                          Little disappointing but everyone has chipped in
So, to answer your question no it didn’t play out as
                                                          throughout the year, the Greenvale game I got 70.
we planned.
                                                          Obviously, I’ve been able to contribute in my own
                                                          way; 1/ with the coaching side of things seeing
What was your immediate feeling after                     players come through and improve. That’s where I
winning the Grand Final?                                  can hang my hat on, but it hasn’t been a season up
Relief. At 5/35 I didn’t like our chances but in          there with my best but like they say, there’s always
saying that the players we still had to come are          next year.
experienced, they’ve played a hell of a lot of
cricket and we knew the deck was good.                    Who amongst your teammates have
The ball was still moving around a bit, but they          impressed you most this season?
seemed to have got used to it by the end of day           There’s been a lot. I stand next to Benny Tupper in
two, so relief.                                           slips, at 41 years of age we share the same
I was still a bit shocked when we left the ground         philosophies on fitness, but it amazes me week to
and went back to the club and thought, jeez we’ve         week how he get’s through. Towards the end of the
had a good win here.                                      season he could hardly move and then in the grand
We have such self-belief, never did anyone utter          final his performance was second to none. When
we’re not going to get out of this. The guys knew         it’s time to stand up, he stands up and his
what they had to do and executed it very well.            competitiveness and the way he goes about it is
                                                          fantastic.
LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
Issue 118: Presentation Edition         Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

Bronc’s with a full-on work load with his CFA            Of some of the quality young players coming
stuff limits what he can do at training but can still    through, who will be the next big thing at
pull out those performances shows his character          Yarraville Club?
and the way he approaches things.                        There’s a number of these guys, Kev Peiris, he’s
Andy Cullen and Konrad Kurta had great starts to         played a number of games in the ones, there’s Raj
the year and looked like never getting out.              Nand who’s coming through and he’s only super
Joey Blake is one of the younger guys, he’s fielding     young but showing super maturity for his age.
has gotten a lot better and his bowling is a lot more    Aaron Cheesley he’s another who’s played ones,
consistent and his batting, he’s seems not to be too     we through these guys in at the deep end and get
fussed out there and James Damjanovski started off       them used to it, let them understand it.
the season brilliantly with the ball.                    Understand what’s needed so they can go back and
I could seriously name every player in the side,         work on their game and the next time they get
something that has impressed me by them in some          called up they’ll be ready. I could name so many
part of the year.                                        others, there’s so many kids that’s coming through.
Sherro’s performance in the grand final was one of       We have a really good base now of young talent
the best innings I have seen, it just show’s how         coming through that we are super excited about.
much he has matured in the last two years he’s
been with us. Overall he’s probably impressed me
the most just on that mental stage which I think is a
part of cricket which a lot of people really struggle
with.

Has anyone decided to retire on the back of
claiming the flag?
We all ache about how sore we are, but no one
seems to want to move on. No one seems to want to
leave this group so from all reports nobody will be
moving on at this moment.
We’ll have a chat in May to plan, but I don’t expect
any changes.                                             *Justin Baker sweeps to the boundary.

Do you need to temper the enthusiasm                     Which opposition player gave you the most
sometimes of passionate players like Adam                trouble this summer?
Contessa and Benny Tupper?                               Obviously Parchy. He’s a great competitor and
Not so much Adam, he’s played enough sport to            very skilful cricketer. He showed that in the Grand
know when it’s time to mouth off and when it’s           Final, he doesn’t mind getting in your face. He let’s
time to shut up, he’s been around the game both          the bat and ball do the talking, he’s always a
cricket and footy for a long period of time, he’s        challenge.
won two Paxino’s so he’s smart enough and ugly           Alan Wise these sort of guys, you’ve got to show
enough to work it out for himself.                       them the respect they deserve, their all fantastic
Tupps on the other hand, he’s one of those guys, he      cricketers.
does get fired up. I suppose it’s that adrenalin and     The Poms from both Seddon and Keilor were good
competitive spirit which get’s him up each week          bowlers this season, who troubled us a bit.
and helps him preform at his best but there’s times
in the year when each player you have to say boys
don’t worry about it, move on.                           Which bowlers have troubled you most in
Everyone’s had their moments but yeah Benny and          your distinguished career?
Adsi, their great characters and the one’s you need      At the start Darrel Brown, it took me about three
to get you out of situations like we found ourselves     seasons to work him out, that might have coincided
in in the grand final.                                   with him slowing down a bit.
There are times when you need to have a bit of a         Ian Hewitt got through me a bit and it took me a
word, but we’ve always prided ourselves on the           few seasons against him to leave the ball, he could
way be portray ourselves out on the ground in a          work you out pretty quick and is probably the one
professional manner and I think the boys do it well.     I’ve had the most trouble with.
                                                         Chachie from Greenvale with his left arm ortho’s,
                                                         we’ve had some good battles over the years. He’s
LEADING EDGE - Victorian Turf Cricket Association
Issue 118: Presentation Edition         Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

probably the biggest challenge I have had from a         He stood up, gave us a five-minute chat saying I
spin perspective.                                        need you guys to be with me and keep the voice up
For in your face, Jeremy Brown was one I enjoyed         and I’ll go through these guys and he did getting 7
mixing it with.                                          for and we won reverse outright.
Each of those guys are fierce competitors but            If you speak to the guys at South Caulfield they
would enjoy a beer at the end of the game.               couldn’t believe what he was doing the ball that
                                                         day.
Who is the biggest pest in the change room?              His efforts over the years in grand finals has been
Without a doubt Emmett Bronca. Without a doubt           phenomenal. He just leads from the front and takes
he’s a serious pain in the arse. The amount of years     the onus on himself to map out how the game goes.
he’s led from the front and I suppose the size of        Both Tocha and Bronc’s, they are the best I’ve seen
him, there’s not too many people who are going to        leading from the front.
take him on. He’s always playing pranks, I won’t
go into some of the things he gets up to but there’s     What does the off season hold for Justin
forever things going on, there’s forever things          Baker?
going missing, things get planted in people’s bags,      At the moment I’m doing up the fishing lines
it’s an interesting place to be.                         getting ready for a fishing trip I go on with the old
James Damjanovski is another, there’s never a            man and about fifteen mates off to Bemm River in
moment he hasn’t got his phone out catching you          East Gippsland.
doing something stupid and posting on Facebook or        Obviously with coaching and committee
Messenger amongst the boys.                              commitments at the club it doesn’t really stop for
It’s actually quite fun in the rooms with these sorts    us, planning for next season, assessing my own
of blokes around. Bronc’s and James would be the         game, assessing others.
biggest pests.                                           Spend some time with the missus, I’ve banked up
                                                         six months’ worth of jobs around the house. The
                                                         missus is keen for Saturday and Sundays to spend
You have played with some great players,                 some quality family time with the kids. Tick of
who is the best you have seen?                           those jobs on the list to get done around the house.
It seriously pains me to say it but the best from a      Thanks Grub, great talking to you as usual,
batting perspective would have to be Michael             enjoy your off season.
O’Keefe. I’m not just saying that because I played
with him but he got to a point in his career where       Thanks Macca, great talking to you too.
he had done some fabulous things, made some
brilliant hundreds in finals but he hit a low point
where he got only 200 runs in a season, he come to
me and said I think I’m done, my achilles is gone,
I’m in pain all the time, I’m not loving it anymore.
I managed to talk him around, I think that was the
season we played Youlden in the first round. I think
he made a thirty and then proceeded to make a fifty
of more in every innings for the rest of the season.
That was easily the most impressive thing I have
seen on a cricket field and over a season.
To make over a thousand runs in the old format of
a 11-game season, was in my eyes one of the most
amazing things I’ve seen and to get pipped at the
post for a Paxino by Scotty Porter was hard to
believe.
For a bowler has to be Bronc’s, the amount of pain
I see him go through , his work ethic, the way he
goes through it at training and in a game, his
excitement around the boys, his leadership skills
and his obvious skill with the ball, you always feel          Proud Sponsors of
your in the game when Bronc’s is bowling.
He’s pulled out some of the best bowling spells                 VTCA U/21’s
I’ve seen, the one against South Caulfield you’d
remember, you saw it, our backs against the wall,            Representative Squad
we were all dejected.
Issue 118: Presentation Edition   Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

        NORTH WEST                                    SUNSHINE UNITED
         DIVISION                                      DIG IN FOR FLAG
     FINAL LADDER                                            WIN
- NORTH WEST DIVISION -

Druids                100.72
Altona North          100.69
Sunshine United 92.60
Haig Fawkner           89.11
----------------------------------
Aberfeldie             88.84
West Coburg            88.61
St. Albans             83.33
Craigieburn            73.32
AWSC                   71.34
PEGS                   67.48
Keilor Park            55.98
Laverton               47.25

                                                   * Tigers skipper Chouhan plays forward
      North West Division                          Sunshine United produced a gutsy final day effort
                                                   to secure the draw it needed to clinch the Victorian
@ Laverton Park                                    Turf Cricket Association north-west division
                                                   premiership.
Sunshine United 3/219
Drew                                               Set a massive 414 for victory, the Tigers were
                                                   robbed of a full day’s play when Saturday was
Haig Fawkner 8/413 (dec)                           washed out.
                                                   But that meant they needed only to avoid losing 10
                                                   wickets on day four to be crowned premiers.
N Chouhan 79                                       The Tigers had no issues on the final day, finishing
W Parker 159 D Soysa 67 ID Gange 43                on 3-219 off 96 overs.
                                                   Tigers captain Neeten Chouhan said two factors
S Dalrymple 56                                     worked in their favour – a pitch that aided the
S Abeyruwan 54 D Priyadarshana 38                  batsmen and a positive mindset.

SS Nandhalal 46                                    “The wicket was slightly dried, which made it a bit
                                                   more harder to play shots, but … it was still a good
L Sheridan 4/97                                    batting wicket and they had to grind really hard to
                                                   get any wickets,” he said. “We made sure we
                                                   stayed positive.”
Issue 118: Presentation Edition          Editor : Daniel McNamara       Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

Chouhan played a captain’s knock of 79. He
combined with Scott Dalrymple (56) and Sangaran              Q & A with Sunshine
Nandhalal (46) to frustrate the life out of the Haig
Fawkner bowlers.                                             United Opener Scott
“It was important we didn’t expose the tail to the
nervousness of just trying to block out,” Chouhan
                                                                 Dalrymple
said. “It was hard going – they bowled really well
and they had a second new ball, which got                 Congratulations on your Grand Final win,
wickets.”                                                 must have been tough in the field for two
                                                          days?
Sunshine United’s batsmen were under siege all            Yes, it was they took advantage of the good
day.                                                      conditions and kept us out there. It was tough on
                                                          the second day but my thoughts were they would
The Haig Fawkner players were lippy and fielded
                                                          declare late in the day which they did with 15 overs
around the bat, and their bowling was spot-on for
                                                          to go.
the most part.
                                                          It was good for me as I’m a bit of a plodder but
But the Tigers blocked out the noise, played their        would have been a bit outside Neets’s comfort
game and got the desired result.                          zone, but he led from the front.

“They were pretty boisterous and had six or seven         What was your immediate feeling after
guys around the bat,” Chouhan said.                       winning the Grand Final?
“It was a typical, hard four-day type of cricket, but     For the blokes that played in last years game, it was
that made the win very sweet.”                            a bit of relief, but it was a different feeling for me.
                                                          I was just happy to play in another premiership.
It was a redemption game for Sunshine United. The         Having won against the top team in the last round
Tigers wanted to avoid at all costs the feeling they      to even make the finals gave us the feeling we
experienced in losing a grand final to Seddon last        deserved to be there.
summer.                                                   Our goal over the last five years has been to get
                                                          back into Senior Division having not been there for
“We’ve known the other side of the coin – losing in
                                                          about 15 years so it’s a relief getting there.
a game when the opposition scored over 400 runs,”
Chouhan said.
                                                          After having to chase a huge score in last
“This year, we made sure we stayed focused                season’s GF, was there a feeling amongst the
throughout the four days.”                                group of here we go again?
                                                          Yes, there was, it was a bit of a feeling of Déjà vu.
The flag win has secured promotion to the VTCA’s
                                                          It was a great batting wicket, so we said we will
top division for the Tigers.
                                                          give it a crack and see how we go.
For coach Terry Nicholls, that is mission                 Having beaten them in the last round gave us some
accomplished.                                             confidence against them so we backed ourselves
                                                          and we came through.
The Tigers will celebrate the success, but it will not
be long before Nicholls is back in planning mode
for their return to the senior division.

                                                          *Neeten Chouhan (left) & Scott Dalrymple heading out
                                                          to open the Tigers innings.
Issue 118: Presentation Edition         Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

On a personal note, how would you rate your              Druids were obviously the toughest, but Altona
own season?                                              North were really tough as well. Druids are very
I would have liked more runs obviously but having        complete, they have a couple of quality allrounders
come up from the two’s I anchored a bit having           and Altona North are a young side but were well
nothing really to lose.                                  led by Hayden Wilkinson and their coach Murray
I was fortunate one of our stalwarts Daniel Pace         Ring, they were really good and knew how to
ripped his Achilles off in a practice game, so I         compete, so yeah, those sides were very hard.
came up I thought I’ll take the opportunity and play
to my strengths. I was lucky to have good guys           Which opposition player impressed you most
around ne.                                               this summer?
                                                         Nathan Patrick (Altona North) he’s a pretty good
Who amongst your teammates have                          bowler, he’s pretty sharp so he did and obviously
impressed you most this season?                          Leigh Wilson (Druids) he’s been a great allrounder
I’d have to say our captain Neets, he’s been with us     for years now, he steps up he makes runs, he takes
now 3 or 4 years, I think he played first class          wickets, so they’d be the two.
cricket in Zimbabwe – he really stood up for us this
year, especially after Christmas. He’s a confidence      Are you looking forward to the challenge of
player, when he’s going well we tend to lift a           Senior Division?
notch.                                                   Yes of course, we look forward to playing the best
We knew what he was capable of, but he really            of the best, it will be a big challenge, but we’re
impressed me.                                            looking forward to the challenge.
Another was our keeper Sanga, his batting
improved our side this season and he’s obviously         Who is the biggest pest in the change room?
                                                         Probably Nick Millar, he’s one of my good mates
one of the best gloveman in our division.                in the side but I’d say he’d be more of a pest to the
As you know when your keeper is going alright, it        opposition than us.
lifts everyone up around him.
                                                         Any big recruits on the horizon?
You guys had an amazing run of form post-                We’ve spoken to a few players but it’s early days
Christmas, what was the catalyst for that?               so nothing firm yet. We hope to keep all our
We’d lost two games before the break and Terry           players so that’s about it at the moment.
our coach said this is it, you should be in the four
going into Christmas and we weren’t, so he said we       How big were the celebrations after the
have the talent let’s have a real tilt.                  Grand Final?
We lost the make up game to Airport West which           Yes, it was pretty big, we went back to the club. A
put the wind up us a bit, but we settled and played      few of us took the Monday off and we went into
good cricket after that.                                 full om party mode.
                                                         We went out to the centre wicket at the ground and
Of some of the quality young players coming              sung the club song and partied all night pretty
through, who will be the next big thing at               much.
SU?                                                      How do juggle a role on the committee with
I’d have to say Thomas Duxson, he’s a young raw          playing?
talent, he’s got a lot to offer, we sometimes forget     It’s not too bad, we have a great committee and
he is only 19. He has good knowledge about the           great supporters who are always helping me out.
game and played 1sts, 2nds, 3rds at Footscray. He’s
very mature and we have great hopes for him going        In a club environment someone is always there if
forward.                                                 you ask for help, so I get a lot of support which
                                                         makes my life easier.
What does this flag mean to the club?
It’s a great privilege to get back into Senior
Division. Terry, Neets and the people behind the
scenes have done a great job and it’s a real reward
for them to get back up there, so it really means a
lot.

Who was the toughest team you faced this
season?
Issue 118: Presentation Edition   Editor : Daniel McNamara       Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

HOORAY, HOORAY
COORAY CLAIMS
ISAACS MEDAL
         By Steve McNamara
Prolific Airport West / St. Christopher’s top      *Cooray hits out.
order batsman Dinesh Cooray has claimed the
2017/18 Tony Isaacs Medal for the best player
in North / West Division edging out perennial
favourite Leigh Wilson from Druids and Geeth
Alwis from St. Albans by just one vote.

Cooray’s season included 418 runs @
                                                             TONY ISAACS
34.83, with a top score of 82 including five                 MEDAL VOTES
half centuries and 11 wickets @ 22.50.
                                                                2017/18
Cooray’s consistency was what appears to
have attracted the umpires votes but               Player                 Club            Votes
multiple Isaacs Medal winner Wilson was
                                                   Dinesh R Cooray        AWSC               24
unlucky to not win the award again.
                                                   Leigh Wilson           Druids              23
Wilson topped the run aggregates with 597
runs at an average of 45.92. The high              Geeth Alwis            St. Albans          23
standards he has set over many years may
                                                   Sanka Abeyruwan        Haig Fawkner        21
have clouded the umpires voting this
season.                                            Amit Chaudhary          Haig Fawkner       20

Alwis also had a very good season which            Michael Hay             Druids             19
included 387 runs and 36 wickets and               Matthew Frydas          Altona North      16
would also consider himself unlucky not to
be a recipient of this award.                      Nathan Patrick          Altona North      16

I believe Alwis will be plying his trade in        Harsha De Silva        West Coburg        16
country Victoria next season, his all-round
ability will be a big loss for St. Albans if
this is correct.
Wilson can take some solace in being
nominated as captain of the North / West
Team of the Year as voted by his peer
captains.
Issue 118: Presentation Edition     Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

    NW Division Team of                              North/ West A1
           the Year
    Leigh Wilson - Captain        Druids             @ Hanmer Reserve
    Warren Parker                 Haig Fawkner
    Harsha De Silva               West Coburg        Westmeadows 181 & 8/159
    Michael Hay                   Druids             DEF
    Sanka Abeyruwan               Haig Fawkner
                                                       St Francis De Sales 158
    Dinesh R Cooray               APWSCC
    Sangaran Nandhalal -                             D Law 69* S McKay 31
    WK                            Sunshine Utd       B Harding 68 AJ Evans 2/21
    Geeth Alwis                   St Albans          G Lambeth 25 G Widdicombe 4/61
    Amit Chaudhary                Haig Fawkner       SK Kamburugamuwa 4/24
    Michael Pratt                 West Coburg        KP O’Halloran 3/53 B Harding 2/21
    Nathan Patrick                Altona North       C Jayasinghe 2/11
`
                                                     AJ Evans 50 D Law 36 L Smith 2/9
                                                     MD Costetello 2/25 B Harding 2/32

         FINAL LADDER                                      BY LAW,
       - NORTH WEST A1 -                              WESTMEADOWS EARN
                                                      PROMOTION TO NTH
Westmeadows                125.15
                                                        WEST DIVISION
St. Francis De Sales 115.01
Royal Park Bruns’k 106.67                            WESTMEADOWS was forced to dig deep by a
Altona Roosters             93.58                    gallant St Francis de Sales to clinch the North West
                                                     A1 premiership on Sunday.
----------------------------------
Glenroy                      89.89                   The Warriors cantered through the second half of
                                                     the Turf Cricket season, stringing together six
Pascoe Vale Had’d            89.59                   consecutive wins on their way to the decider,
Werribee Centrals            77.34                   including a nine-wicket victory over the Saints.

Kingsville                   53.28                   The competition’s most-aggressive batting line-up
St. Andrews                  51.60                   displayed its fighting qualities in the grand final,
                                                     ultimately outlasting rather than blasting their way
Footscray United             44.62                   to the title.

                                                     St Francis resumed at 6-122 when play restarted on
                                                     a rain-shortened third day at Hanmer Reserve.

                                                     Three early blows from Sathpath Kamburugamuwa
                                                     (4-27) threatened to flatten St Francis de Sales
                                                     before No. 3 Ben Harding and No. 11 Kane
                                                     O’Halloran dragged their side to within 23 runs of
                                                     Westmeadows’ first-innings total of 181.
Issue 118: Presentation Edition            Editor : Daniel McNamara       Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

Harding was the last man out for 68, bowled by
Kamburugamuwa, as St Francis de Sales was
dismissed for 158.

                                                            * Clayton Campbell clips a ball off his pads during the
                                                            North West A1 decider.
                                                            “It was pretty much bat for as long as we could, but
                                                            bearing in mind we had to score at a better rate than
* Man of the match Danny Law digs in for                    we did in the first innings,” he said.
Westmeadows.
At 4-64, Westmeadows was in danger of letting the           “Just in case we lost some wickets, so we had a
Saints back into the contest on Sunday.                     total to defend.”

No. 5 Aaron Evans held the Warriors’ second                 The Warriors will be promoted to North West
innings together, sharing a 45-run eighth-wicket            Division next season, the second tier of Turf
partnership with Kamburugamuwa (17) to lift their           Cricket.
side from 7-114 to 8-159.
                                                            “More than half the side has played in that division
The contest was called and Westmeadows declared             or higher previously,” Moughanie said. “With most
premier when Evans fell to Marcus Stubbs for 50             of the players, the better standard they play, the
and the Warriors held a lead of 182 runs with less          better they actually play.
than 15 overs to play.
                                                            “I think we almost needed to go up to get more out
“When we looked at the team and the talent, we              of ourselves.”
thought definitely a flag was realistic and probably
the expectation,” captain-coach Tarek Moughanie             Danny Law was adjudged man of the match after
said.                                                       making 69 not out in the first innings and 36 on
                                                            Sunday.
Moughanie praised the patience shown by Evans,
who thwarted St Francis de Sales’ attempts to               By Tim Mitchell
produce a reverse outright result.
                                                            Leader News
Issue 118: Presentation Edition         Editor : Daniel McNamara     Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

    MOUGHANIE
CLINCHES McNAMARA
    MEDAL WITH
     BATTING
   MASTERCLASS
Westmeadows Captain / Coach Tarek Moughanie
has stormed home to win the North / West A1
Steve McNamara Medal in his first season playing
in that division.

After taking over the reins at Westmeadows this
season after a prolific career in Premier and Senior
Division cricket, Moughanie took the early part of
the season adjusting to the tempo in the division
with lean returns including three single figure
innings before hitting his straps in Round 4 with
92.

Once in the groove the veteran opening batsman
piled on 708 runs at 47.20 and included two
centuries and three half centuries. His best was 174
against St. Andrews in Round 12.

Moughanie also chipped in with 16 wickets at
16.60 to remind opponents that he could still
effectively roll the arm over as well.

The Westmeadows Premiership captain won the
                                                         *Westmeadows Captain / Coach Tarek Moughanie
award with 30 votes, just one vote ahead of
                                                         celebrates the Warriors Premiership win.
Glenroy’s previous medal winner Steven Goodwin,
who was rather unlucky to not win the award again
with an unbelievable haul of 61 wickets for the
season at an astonishing average of 6.18.

This is the second consecutive year Goodwin has
taken more than 60 wickets after last season’s tally
of 69 on his way to winning the McNamara Medal.

In third place was Altona Roosters allrounder
Ashleigh Peters with 25 votes.

Moughanie’s season was undoubtedly topped off
with his team overcoming Altona Roosters to win
the North / West A1 grand final and gaining
Westmeadows promotion in to North / West
Division next summer.

To add to Tarek’s accolades for the season he was
named captain of the North / West A1 Team of the
Year.
Issue 118: Presentation Edition       Editor : Daniel McNamara     Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

       STEVE McNAMARA                                                   FINAL LADDER
                                                                      - NORTH WEST B1 -
         MEDAL VOTES
            2017/18                                         Deer Park                  105.65
     Player                 Club             Votes
                                                            St. Andrews PV              99.14
                                                            Williamstown CYMS 97.07
     Tarek Moughanie Westmeadows                  30
                                                            Sunshine Heights             94.93
     Steven Goodwin      Glenroy                  29        ----------------------------------
     Ashleigh Peters     Altona Roosters          25        Newport Digman              92.70
     Aaron Maynard      St. Francis De Sales     22         Point Cook                   90.61
     Daniel Hasenkam     Royal Park Bruns         19
                                                            East Keilor                  71.18
                                                            Williamstown Imps            70.77
     Dean Pitts          Pascoe Vale Had’ld       17
                                                            Wyndhamvale                   70.31
     Luke Smith        St. Francis De Sales      17
                                                            M.P.S.M.                      62.13
     Ben Harding       St Francis De Sales       16         West Newport                  56.46
     Aaron Evans       Westmeadows               16         Sunshine YCW                 52.87

             NORTH WEST A1                                  North / West B 1
           TEAM of the YEAR                                 @ Ainsworth Reserve

Tarek Moughanie - Captain          Westmeadows
Joshua Trembearth                  Pascoe Vale Hadfield     Deer Park 10/217 (cc) & 118
                                                            DEF
Aaron Maynard                      St Francis De Sales
Luke Smith                         St Francis De Sales      Williamstown CYMS 167 & 153
Ashleigh Peters                    Altona Roosters
George Panayi                      RPBCC                    T Collins 87 J Bonnici 31*
Tharanga Indika - WK               Altona Roosters          S Rajakaruna 94 & 48
Ben Harding                        St Francis De Sales      R Suvada 30 T Jeffrey 6/60
Akila Isanka                       St Andrews Footscray     B Gorton 30 J Bonnici 3/20
Sathpath Kamburugamuwa             Westmeadows
                                                            G de Dilva 3/63, & 7/62
Steve Goodwin                      Glenroy                  NP Vedagedara 3/48 & 5/73
                                                            R Suvada 31* AR Walshe 3/51
                                                            R Suvada 2/36, 5/48
                                                            A Emmanuel 26
                                                            S Jilani 33
Issue 118: Presentation Edition             Editor : Daniel McNamara       Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

                                                             The Lions could not capitalise, though, with
    LIONS BURY 2014/15                                       Kingsville chasing down the 195 target.
      HOODO WITH                                             One of the most heartbreaking days in Lions’
                                                             history has stuck with the players ever since.
     BREAKTHROUGH                                            In this season’s decider, Deer Park had a more
          FLAG                                               significant lead of 50 after the first innings against
                                                             Williamstown CYMS.
The ghosts of March 22, 2015, have finally been
                                                             But the Lions’ poor batting in the second dig,
cast aside for Deer Park with the seizing of the
                                                             scoring just 118 for a lead of 168, left the door ajar
2017-18 Victorian Turf Cricket Association north-
                                                             for CYs.
west B1 premiership.
                                                             The CYs appeared to be marching to victory in a
The bitter memories of that fateful day three years
                                                             similar fashion to Kingsville three years ago – but
ago came flooding back for the Lions on the final
                                                             this time Deer Park found a way.
day of their thrilling 15-run grand final win over
Williamstown CYMS at Ainsworth Reserve last                  The Lions managed to take the last four CYs
week.                                                        wickets cheaply to hold on for a famous victory.
                                                             Lions president Stephen Krstevski was relieved to
                                                             see the tide of the game turn – but it was far too
                                                             close for comfort.
                                                             “We looked gone for all money at one point,”
                                                             Krstevski said. “I had a chat to [all-rounder] Ricky
                                                             [Suvada] and we could see they were six down and
                                                             only needed like 25 runs.
                                                             “He said to me, it was like a flashback to the
                                                             Kingsville grand final, it was all coming back to
                                                             me. That still was really hurting us, so I think the
                                                             boys were keen to make amends.”
                                                             The fourth-day heroes for Deer Park were club
                                                             stalwart Suvada and Sri Lankan import Nilanka
                                                             Vedagedara, who performed a late rescue mission
                                                             with five wickets apiece.
                                                             In Vedagedara’s most impressive game for the
                                                             Lions, he took 5-73 in the second innings to finish
                                                             with eight wickets for the match.
                                                             “He sort of saved his best until the grand final,”
                                                             Krstevski said. “He was really bowling with some
                                                             heat in the second innings.”
                                                             Having been part of that 2014-15 grand final side,
                                                             it must have been soothing for Suvada to play a
                                                             match-winning role this time around.
                                                             “He really is the heart and soul of our club, the
*Tim Collins hits out on his way to 87 in the first          spiritual leader,” Krstevski said. “He just loves the
innings.                                                     club and wants it to do well. He’s a hard trainer,
                                                             never misses a training session, so he’s a real
The two grand finals were eerily familiar, but poles         leader.”
apart when it came to the emotions of the Lions
players post-game.                                           In a grand final in which runs were hard to come
                                                             by, Tim Collins’ knock of 87 on day one will be
In the 2014-15 decider, Deer Park held a first-              remembered at Deer Park as one of the great big-
innings lead, albeit a narrow five runs in a low-            occasion innings in the club’s history. It combined
scoring game.                                                with 30 from Suvada and 31 not out from James
Issue 118: Presentation Edition         Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

Bonnici to allow the Lions much-needed breathing
space.
“Tim took it to the CYs bowlers,” Krstevski said.
“He went at it and really set it up for us on day
one.”
No longer will that Kingsville game linger in the
back of the minds of Deer Park people.
The Lions got their redemption and will now have
some hazy celebrations to remember.
Deer Park will move up to the north-west A1
division, where it will once again come face to face
with Kingsville.

By Lance Jenkinson
Star Weekly

JONATHON GRANT
WINS PICONE MEDAL                                        *Marby Park’s Roy Picone Medallist Jonathon Grant.

Maribyrnong Park St. Mary’s allrounder Jonathon
Grant has won the Roy Picone Medal for the best           ROY PICONE MEDAL
player in North West B1 for season 2017-18.
                                                            VOTES 2017/18
Grant won the award with 23 votes, one ahead of a
logjam three-way tie for second place which              Player                  Club               Votes
included Tarek Jeffrey (Williamstown CYMS),
Lewis Roberto (East Keilor) and Matthew Mason            Jonathon Grant M.P.S.M.                       23
(Newport Digman).
                                                         Tarek Jeffrey        Williamstown CYMS 22
Third place went to Angelo Emmanuel from Deer
Park a further vote back on 21 and fourth place was      Lewis Roberto        East Keilor               22
his Deer Park teammate Ricky Savada on 20 votes.
                                                         Matthew Mason        Newport Digman            22
Grant’s season included 316 runs at 22.60 with a
highest score of 96 mainly opening the batting and       Angelo Emmanuel Deer Park                      21
was even better with the ball claiming 30 wickets at
                                                         Ricky Suvada          Deer Park                20
an average of 12.80 and a best bowling effort of
8/45 in the last home and away round against
Sunshine Heights.

Had Grant got one vote less, it would have been the
first ever four-way tie in a medal count in VTCA
history.

The North West B1 Roy Picone Medal was the
closest margin among all association medal
winners in 2017-18, we could have thrown a
blanket over six players, each having reasonable
claims on the award.
Issue 118: Presentation Edition   Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

          NORTH A1                                   33 YEAR DROUGHT
                                                         OVER FOR
      FINAL LADDER                                   SUNSHINE CROWS
       - NORTH A1 -                                The premiership drought is over for Sunshine.
East Coburg             105.66                     The 1983-84 champions will get to hand over the
                                                   tag of the Crows last first XI premiership-winning
Caroline Springs 104.97                            team to a new batch of heroes.
Moonee Valley           102.63                     The new murder of Crows secured a long-awaited
Sunshine                 97.51                     flag with a grand final win over Moonee Valley on
                                                   first innings at Kinder Smith Reserve at the
----------------------------------                 weekend.
Sydenham Hillside 89.99                            Crows captain Troy Stone has seen the ups and
Jacana                   74.75                     downs in his time at the club, but this will go down
                                                   as one of its finest moments.
Aberfeldie Park          62.57
                                                   “It’s been a long time coming,” he said.
Barkly St Uniting 36.25
                                                   “The club hasn’t won a first XI premiership since
                                                   1983-84.
                                                   “We were on our knees a couple of years ago and
                                                   didn’t know where to go and what to do, but we
North A1                                           made a good decision to leave [sub-district cricket]
                                                   and come back to the VTCA, so it’s onwards and
@ Kinder Smith Reserve                             upwards now.
                                                   “We’ll go up a division next season and prove our
                                                   worth up there.”
Moonee Valley 124
DEF BY
Sunshine 178 & 5/177
CE Silva 39
C Fernando 44* S Magnano 25
A Zaheer 6/15
A Dasanayaka Aluthge 31*
C Fernando 3/25
N Wolland 5/27 CE Silva 2/32

A Dasanayaka Aluthge 69

S Magnano 42* N Wolland

2/23 J Newman 2/61                                 *Sunshine’s Sam Magnano beats the field.
Issue 118: Presentation Edition           Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

Sunshine looked a bit shaky early in the grand
final. The Crows had a stop-start innings to finish                  RAY SCRIVEN
with 178 off 64 overs.
Opener Sam Magnano (25) and top order batsmen
                                                                     MEDAL VOTES
Stone (19) and Asela Dasanayaka Aluthge (31)
fought hard, but it was bowling allrounder Cherith
                                                                        2017/18
Fernando who gave the Crows a chance with 44 not           Player                   Club              Votes
out.
Twice in Moonee Valley’s innings, it appeared as                                          Caroline
                                                            Gayashan Weerasekara                            29
though it was beginning to get on top.                                                    Springs
The Valleys made a positive start, advancing to 28
before the loss of the first wicket and were still in a     Sameera Vithana               Jacana            25
strong position at 4-96.
                                                            Kaluwahandi Prasad            Syd / Hillside    25
That was before medium pacer Altamash Zaheer
unleashed havoc with 6-15 off 18 overs, including           Amila Mendis                  East Coburg       22
nine maidens.
Zaheer left a trail of destruction through the              Siddamarakkalage De
                                                                                          East Coburg       20
Valley’s batting line-up to be the key reason why           Silva
they could only muster 124 in 67.1 overs.
                                                            Aluthge Dasanayaka            Sunshine          20
“He stepped up in the key moment and pretty much
bowled us to a flag,” Stone said.
“He made the ball talk.”
Fernando was also important with 3-25 off 17.1.               CAROLINE SPRINGS
Sunshine comfortably batted out the final day,
finishing on 5-177 and dashing any hope Moonee
                                                             700 RUN HERO TAKES
Valley had of an outright.                                     SCRIVEN MEDAL
Magnano was unbreakable, batting the full 75 overs
to finish with 42 not out.                                 Caroline Springs top order batsman Gayashan
                                                           Weerasekara has won the 2017/18 Ray Scriven
Dasanayaka Aluthge rounded out a strong summer             Medal in North A1 by four votes over second place
with 69 in the second dig to finish on 758 runs at         getters Samera Vithana from Jacana and
58.3.                                                      Kaluwahandi Prasad from Sydenham Hillside.
In the north west B1 grand final, Deer Park
survived a scare on the final day to be crowned            Weerasekara took out the vote count with 29 votes,
premiers with a 15-run win over Williamstown               Vithana and Prasad on 25, Amila Mendis (East
CYMS at Ainsworth Reserve.                                 Coburg) on 22 and Sid De Silva (East Coburg) and
                                                           Aluthge Dasanayaka (Sunshine) each on 20 votes
The CYs needed 168 for an outright victory, but
fell short to be all out for 153.
                                                           Weerasekara batting predominately at four all
The stars with the ball for Deer Park in the second        season compiled a handy 711 runs at an average of
innings were Nilanka Vedagedara (5-73) and Ricky           71.10 which included three centuries, four fifty’s
Suvada (5-48).                                             and a highest score of 119 in the final home and
                                                           away round against eventual premier, Sunshine.
Tim Collins’ knock of 87 back on day one was the
key to the Lions victory.
                                                           Weerasekara has made Caroline Springs a
In the west A1 grand final, Grand United went              significantly higher scoring side this summer
down outright in a thriller to Seabrook at Crofts          culminating them qualifying for this season’s finals
Reserve. United needed 142, but were agonisingly           in second place. Both player and club would have
bowled out for 130 in their second innings.                been disappointed at getting bundled out of the
                                                           finals by losing grand finalist Moonee Valley,
By Lance Jenkinson            Star Weekly                  given the club’s dominant year in this division.
Issue 118: Presentation Edition         Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

The VTCA are hopeful Gayashan returns next
summer, if he does you would expect Caroline                               West A1
Springs to be right in the mix for next season’s
finals.                                                  @ Morris G McDonald Oval
                                                         Seabrook 175 & 117
                                                         DEF
                                                         Grand United 151 & 130
                                                         WA Eranga 67 J Collins 26
                                                         D Hinge 60 M Kinjevic 29*
                                                         A Hodgart 26 B Doll 2/13 & 2 /14
                                                         VM Weerakoon 4/57 & 5/42
                                                         W Donaldson 3/68 & 4/30
                                                         H Bavarva 3/32 D Patel 2/9
                                                         M Konjevic 2/42, 2/30
                                                         M Rayner 2/10

                                                             41 YEAR WAIT FOR
   *Scriven Medal winner Gayashan Weerasekara
                                                                 SEABROOK
                                                                 FAIRYTALE
                                                         Seabrook was on edge until the very last ball of its
            WEST A1                                      drought-breaking Victorian Turf Cricket
                                                         Association west A1 grand final win over Grand
                                                         United at Crofts Reserve on Sunday.
                                                         The Saints clinched their first 1st XI flag in 41
       FINAL LADDER                                      years, but were put through an emotional roller
                                                         coaster before delivering the knock-out blow on a
         - WEST A1 -                                     stubborn United late on the fourth day.
                                                         Saints captain Leigh Edwards was already mentally
Seabrook                  115.05                         worn out after a gripping opening weekend, but
                                                         that was further heightened on days three and four
Grand United             105.46                          when wet weather played havoc on Saturday and a
                                                         fierce final day’s play on Sunday took a mental and
Williamstown Congs 95.61                                 physical toll.
Gellibrand                 86.94                         Edwards was just ecstatic to finish on the right side
----------------------------------                       of the equation, winning outright by 11 runs.
Melton South Royals 74.79                                “It was won, it was lost, it was won, it was lost and
                                                         then it was won – somehow we came out on top,”
Williamstown Colts 73.23                                 Edwards said.
Melton Centrals            64.96                         “That’s been the most mentally and physically
Bellbridge                 54.20                         draining game I’ve ever played in.

Footscray ANA              53.76                         “It was on for every single ball and you didn’t
                                                         know what the outcome was going to be
Flemington                 48.13                         throughout.
Issue 118: Presentation Edition          Editor : Daniel McNamara      Email : leadingedge@vtca.asn.au

“There were ups and downs for the whole four              United was coasting at 2-73 and seemingly in
days.                                                     control but lost 5-25 in quick time to be 7-98 when
                                                          the tail arrived at the crease.
“It was just unbelievable, the most challenging
game I’ve been involved in.”                              United’s hopes rested on the shoulders of middle
                                                          order young gun Ryan Comensoli, who fought
Seabrook held a 24-run lead after the first innings,      bravely while the wickets fell around him.
but that was merely loose change in a four-day            Comensoli, who made 24 off 70, eventually ran out
contest.                                                  of support and would be the final wicket to go as
The Saints needed to back up in their second dig          United was all out for 130.
and try to bat Grand United out of the game but           Vishva Weerakoon took the premiership clinching
failed to do so.                                          wicket of Comensoli, finishing the innings with 4-
A stop-start innings saw Seabrook post 117 – a            57 and the match with nine wickets, sealing man of
flimsy lead of 141 runs.                                  the match honours.

Only Jake Collins (26), Walgama Eranga (23) and           Edwards praised both Weerakoon and the entire
Andrew Hodgart (26) offered up any kind of                Saints bowling unit.
resistance in the top order.                              “It was a well-deserved award,” Edwards said. “He
It could have been worse for the Saints, a lot worse,     was just a class above and proved it with nine
had it not been for a stoic 31-run ninth wicket           wickets in a grand final.
partnership between Casey McNaught (13 off 78)            “My bowlers all year have done the job for me.
and Hitesh Bavarva (16 off 57).
                                                          “It’s a five-person attack and it doesn’t matter who
“When I look back at that partnership, it’s probably      I throw the ball to, I know I’m going to get results.”
the thing that has won us the grand final,” Edwards
said.                                                     Edwards was delighted to see the reaction of the
                                                          older members of Seabrook, who have waited four
“Rather than being all out for probably 90, it’s got      decades for this moment.
us over that 140 lead and made it a challenging
score.                                                    The Saints did it in style, finishing the summer
                                                          undefeated.
“If they were only chasing 100, I don’t think we’d
be premiers.                                              “I’ve got older generations thanking me and the
                                                          players, so we know how much it means for the
                                                          club,” Edwards said. “You see what it means to the
                                                          club when you actually deliver a premiership.”

                                                          By Lance Jenkinson
                                                          Star Weekly

*Seabrook batsman Andrew Hodcart.
                                                               Proud Supporters of
Grand United made a promising start to the run
chase on an enthralling final day.                                VTCA Cricket
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