Caulfield champion Graeme Rummans wins Sub-District cricket’s Val Holten Medal
A former NSW and Victorian left-hander has joined a number of other players, including former Test player Adam Dale, in completing the Ryder Medal-Holten Medal double.
South East
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The great Graeme Rummans can add a Val Holten Medal to his slew of cricket awards and honours.
The 43-year-old Caulfield batsman was today crowned the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association’s champion player for the 2019-20 season.
He was the hot favourite for the Holten and polled 21 votes to win by two from Williamstown’s Brent McMinn.
Noble Park all-rounder and previous winner Issy Perera was third on 17 and Brighton captain Ricky Damiano was fourth on 16.
With the annual presentation dinner cancelled owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the result of the medal count was announced on the VSDCA website.
Rummans won three Ryder Medals in Victorian Premier Cricket, and he joined a good list of players to achieve the Ryder-Holten double, including former Australian swing bowler Adam Dale, Robbie Bartlett, Warren Whiteside, Mick Allen and Andrew Wildsmith.
In his fourth season at Caulfield, Rummans peeled off 883 runs at an average of 80.3, a club-record for the Fielders. And he might have given Allen’s VSDCA record of 957 runs a shake if the grand final against Oakleigh had gone ahead.
There were centuries against Ivanhoe, Elsternwick and Ormond, and six half-centuries.
During the season he gave bowlers the idea his bat was as wide as the Westgate Bridge. The gaps he found in the field were of a much smaller dimension.
He also picked up 15 wickets with his slowies.
The Holten Medal — named after the legendary Malvern and Oakleigh batsman and former Victorian representative Val Holten — has now been in Caulfield’s hands for the past five years: its captain Jacob Thorne had won the previous four awards.
Thorne finished down the list in this count but he did make the team of the year for the fifth season on the hop.
Rummans also won the media award for the south and was named in the team of the year.
Other media award winners were James Grubb (Altona, West Group), Mahesh Kodamullage (Preston, North Group) and Issy Perera (Noble Park, East Group).
Rummans’ s run-filled career took in 37 appearances — 19 for NSW and 17 for Victoria — in the Sheffield Shield, and heavy scoring in Sydney Grade and Victorian Premier Cricket.
He joined Caulfield after retiring from St Kilda, where in two stints he crafted 8644 runs, with 20 centuries and 54 half-centuries.
Former Saints captain Timothy O’Sullivan once called him “the best District cricketer in Australia’’.
Malvern’s Charles Journeaux won the James Earle Medal as best player in the Second XI; Bayswater’s Shane Gordon and Malvern’s William Kiernan shared the William Tucknott Medal in the Third XI; and Plenty Valley’s David Blackley (Plenty Valley) took the Ted Plant Medal in the Fourth XI.
Yarraville player Ashane De Silva claimed the Anthony Gale Medal as the best young players in the VSDCA.
Other awards: KG Fewster Club Championship – Werribee. Spirit of Cricket – Elsternwick. Pitch Awards – North/South: Moorabbin. East/West: Endeavour Hills.
VSDCA 2019-20 team of the year
Graeme Rummans (Caulfield)
Rick Damiano (Brighton)
Brent McMinn (Williamstown, captain)
Liam Murphy (Brunswick)
Kasun Adikari (Ivanhoe)
James Grubb (Altona)
Karl Carver (Moorabbin)
Issy Perera (Noble Park)
Jacob Thorne (Caulfield)
Michael Splatt (Oakleigh)
Alex Jones (Oakleigh)
Thomas Chalkley (Kew)
Val Holten Medal voting
Graeme Rummans (Caulfield) 21
Brent McMinn (Williamstown) 19
Issi Perera (Noble Park) 17
Ricky Damiano (Brighton) 16
Michael Splatt (Oakleigh) 15
James Grubb (Altona) 14
James Freeman (Werribee) 14
Kasun Adikari (Ivanhoe) 14
Karl Carver (Moorabbin) 13
Jacob Thorne (Caulfield) 12
Nathan Taylor (Melton) 12
Vishva Wijeratne (Moorabbin) 12
Liam Murphy (Brunswick) 11
Michael Rogneda (Plenty Valley)
Joshua Hahnel (Yarraville) 11
Brett Smith (Hoppers Crossing) 11
Somil Bandi (Box Hill) 11
Luke Walker (Malvern) 10
Matthew Dean (Werribee) 10
Ben Speake (Ormond) 10