The 2014-15 cricket season has been run and won, with premiership cups now in the trophy cabinets of a number of Brimbank-based clubs. While the winners have written themselves into the history books, there were plenty of other eye-catching efforts. Liam Twomey takes a look at 10 of the most spectacular individual and team efforts of the past season.
St Albans
With five rounds to go in the VTCA’s north A1 season, St Albans was on top of the ladder and eyeing off a home final. Within four games, the Saints were looking like they would be watching semi-final weekend from the sidelines after hitting a late-season slump. Needing a last round win to guarantee a place in the finals, St Albans appeared done for against Merlynston Hadfield, needing 49 runs to win with one wicket in hand. Enter Paul Hetherington and Andrew Pizaro. The tail-enders added a staggering 83 runs for the last wicket to give their side the win and its finals berth.
“It was amazing. We still needed 60-odd; for Andrew and Paul to get us over the line was fantastic,” said St Albans president Ian McKenzie.
Keilor
Keilor batsman Roshan Laksiri showed teammates he doesn’t need much sleep to have an impact centre-field. After arriving from Sri Lanka at 3am on the Saturday of his debut match, the all-rounder slept in the Blues’ change rooms for a few hours before the toss. His unusual first appearance did nothing to slow performance, with Laksiri going on to blast a stunning 142 with the bat against Royal Park/Brunswick. Not done yet, he also claimed three wickets to help lift Keilor to a win.
“To give him a bit of a rest, we batted him a bit down the order. It was an outstanding effort,” said Keilor coach Mick Andreadis.
Sunshine United
Quick runs are the main aim in batting for one-day cricket, but Sunshine United’s Mark Scott took it to another level when playing for the Tigers in the WDCA’s A-grade matting competition. Opening the batting against Point Cook in round five, Scott smashed a stunning 183. His innings included 25 fours and seven sixes. The knock helped Sunshine United maintain a run rate of 8.5 throughout its 35-over innings, which was easily enough to cruise to the win. Proving it was no fluke, Scott finished the season in second place on the A-grade matting leading run scorers list.
Deer Park
It’s not often an entire season can come down to one ball. However, for Deer Park’s WDCA B-grade matting XI, Karthik Sukumar proved just the man for such a job. Needing a six to win off the final ball of the home-and-away season against Charles Sturt University, Sukumar sent it sailing over the fence.
The win was enough to lift the Lions to fourth spot on the ladder. That was just the start of a fairytale finals. Deer Park went on to defeat top of the ladder Tarneit in the first week then beat second-placed Melton South by two wickets to be crowned premiers.
Caroline Springs
Caroline Springs middle order duo Burhan Butt and Liam Brown got their timing just right in round eight of the WDCA’s A-grade matting season. Set 207 for victory by Williams Landing, the run chase looked in all kinds of trouble at 3-17 and 5-56. Enter Butt and Brown, who combined for a 206-run partnership to bring up the win without losing another wicket. Both batsmen finished not out on 108 and their partnership remained an unbroken record for the sixth wicket in the division for the season.
St Albans
Seventy-five balls was all it look for St Albans to rip through Avondale Heights in the VTCA’s north A2 division in round eight. Having won the toss, the decision to bowl proved a masterstroke from Saints’ captain Michael Else.
The Heights were sent packing for just 20, in one of the lowest team scores of the VTCA season. Chris Hili was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4-0 while Dermott May and Rohan Mackenzie were also in the wickets. Not surprisingly, St Albans went on to cruise to the win, passing the target with 10 wickets in hand.
Kealba Green Gully
Kealba Green Gully has owned the North West Metropolitan Cricket Association in recent years and that dominance doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon. The club added even more silverware to its expanding trophy cabinet earlier this month when its first XI cruised to victory in the George Luscombe Shield. Kealba was far too good for Gladstone Park, winning by 115 runs on the back of an Evan Long century. Kealba has now won three of the past four first XI premierships, with its only blemish coming in the form of a runner-up trophy in 2013-14.
Deer Park
Dominating a competition in one skill is tough but Deer Park’s Ricky Suvada has made an art-form out of doing it with two. The star all-rounder was at times unstoppable during the VTCA’s west B1 season, controlling matches with both bat and ball. Suvada finished the year with 492 runs and 47 wickets. His outstanding individual effort helped Deer Park to a grand final in just its second season in the VTCA since crossing over from the WDCA. “He won two competition medals in the WDCA and is right on track to win one in the VTCA. He never misses a training session and is a great influence around the club. In 10 years, when we look back on it and what he has done, he will be a legend of the club,” said Deer Park president Steve Krstevski.
St Andrews Footscray
Brimbank-based St Andrews Footscray enjoyed a brilliant run in the VTCA’s west A1 competition, reaching the semi-finals. Helping his teammates get there was opening bowler James Draper. With his side needing a win against Newport Digman on the eve of finals, Draper delivered in the best possible fashion. The speedster took 9-35 from just 12 overs to leave the batting side in tatters. Draper’s efforts allowed St Andrews to set a huge lead, going on to claim the outright victory. He was the only bowler in the West A1 division to take nine wickets in one innings for the season. He finished with 11 for the match.
Sunshine United
Being the new kids on the block did nothing to phase Sunshine United this season. After being promoted into the VTCA’s west A1 division, the Tigers wasted no time making themselves at home in their new surroundings. Led by captain Ben Foster, United hovered around the top three for the first half of the season before hitting their best form after Christmas. From this point, the Tigers charged to the top of the ladder, carrying its momentum all the way to premiership success. As well as collecting some silverware, United will now be promoted for the second season in succession, this time into North A1 division. Daniel Pace led the charge with the bat, smashing 557 runs, while Michael Glowacki was outstanding with the ball, ending the season having taken a competition-best 48 wickets.
