Premier Cricket 2018-19: Northcote opener Mark Phelan enjoying career-best season
Mark Phelan has declared himself ready for a Victorian Futures League call-up after plundering more than 600 runs and three centuries to Christmas for Northcote.
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Mark Phelan has declared himself ready for a Victorian Futures League call-up after plundering more than 600 runs and three centuries to Christmas for Northcote.
The opening batsman has compiled hundreds against Fitzroy Doncaster, Greenvale Kangaroos and Geelong, amassing 574 runs at 63.8 to sit clear of Dandenong’s Brett Forsyth (563) and Casey-South Melbourne’s Luke Wells (529) on the First XI runs chart.
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“I think I know my game really well now,” Phelan said.
“I have been around and played near that 100-game mark and I have got a bit of experience now.
“I think the main thing is I have been really hungry to turn some starts into some big scores. “Last year I got quite a few starts and this year I have managed to kick on and get quite a few big scores.
“Just that real hunger to cash in on my starts and go big.”
The 25-year-old, a product of Diamond Creek Cricket Club, made 3450 runs at 30.3 during a seven-year career with Carlton.
Phelan crossed to Bill Lawry Oval last summer, finishing his debut campaign with the Dragons on a positive note with a maiden Northcote century against Prahran.
The right-hander had produced seven scores between 29 and 63 before a breakthrough knock of 117 against the True Blues.
“I know my gears quite well now, when to go for it and when to pull back a bit,” he said. “You do get smarter as you play a bit more and get a bit more experience. I think taking responsibility for the innings.
“I am one of the senior players in the team now. I know that when it’s my day, I have got to really go big and try and cash in on a start.
“As a top-order player you are not always going to get a start every time you bat. When you do, you have really got to take responsibility I think.”
Phelan has scored four hundreds in his past 11 innings, the highlight of which was a matchwinning 156 from 151 balls against Geelong in Round 9.
“That Geelong innings was probably a good example. I started off quite slow and then I got going,” Phelan said.
“We lost a few wickets, I had to pull myself back again and then at the death I managed to get a few away.
“It just comes down to, now that I am a bit older, learning my gears and when to cash in and go big.”
Phelan, who lives in Mernda, has enough experience to know not to take his golden run of form for granted.
“I am really just enjoying it each week, whether I make runs or not, and I am certainly not getting too far ahead of myself,” he said.
“As soon as you take your eyes off the ball, it’s too good of a standard and you will fall away pretty quickly.”
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Phelan has not received a call from the Victorian selectors, but has confidence he could make the jump in class if given a Second XI opportunity.
“I haven’t had any contact and to be honest, it’s something that is completely out of my control,” he said.
“I will just keep enjoying my cricket. If the opportunity came, I know I am definitely ready for it.
“But if not, so be it. I am going to keep enjoying my cricket at Northcote.”
Phelan would be etched into Premier Cricket history alongside greats such as Graeme Rummans, Ben Fletcher and Simon Hill if his form translates into a season of more than 800 runs.
That mark has only been reached 28 times in the past decade and no batsman has recorded a 1000-run campaign since former Victorian player Rummans in 2009-10.
Phelan has helped lift the Dragons within striking distance of the top eight after an indifferent start to 2018-19, sitting 11th ahead of their one-day clash with Melbourne on Saturday.
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