Noble Park captain Luke Wintle retires from Sub-District cricket
The Parkers are counting the loss of some of their leading players, including class batsman and skipper Luke Wintle and all-rounder Robbie Johnston and Kalhan Sineth.
South East
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Noble Park captain Luke Wintle’s stop-start cricketing career is over.
At 41, the tall right-hander known as “Juice’’ has retired from the Parkers and Sub-District cricket.
Wintle took a few breaks from the game over two decades, preferring to put his sporting focus on his football with St Bede’s Mentone Tigers in the VAFA.
With Luke Beveridge as coach he captained the Tigers to a rollicking run of premierships, starting in C grade in 2006 and finishing in A in 2008. He won two best and fairests and represented the VAFA.
When he retired from the Tigers he resumed playing cricket, making good runs for Kingston Saints in the Subbies.
He crossed to Noble Park as captain in 2015-16 after the Saints joined with Hawthorn to become Premier club Kingston Hawthorn.
Wintle’s golden summer came in 2018-19, when at the age of 40 he cracked 811 runs at 73.7, leading Noble Park into the grand final.
The VSDCA named him captain of the team of the year.
Noble president Craig Ortland said Wintle had made a terrific contribution to the club and would be missed.
The Parkers have farewelled some other key players.
Spinning all-rounder Robbie Johnston has gone to Carrum Downs in the Mornington Peninsula competition, Nilo Perera is moving interstate, professional player Kalhan Sineth has joined an inner-city club and Chris Lee has retired.
Sineth took two big bags with his brisk offies, 7-45 off 33.5 overs in a preliminary final against Mt Waverley in 2018-19 and 8-73 against Bayswater in Round 1 last season.
The way Ortland sees it, the Parkers need not only a new captain, but top-order batting and an all-rounder.
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Champion Isi Perera has recommitted and enticed former Sri Lankan first-class player Janaka Liyanabadalge to the club.
Liyanabadalge is an offie and top-order batsman, and has been a good performer for Narre Warren for the past five seasons in the Dandenong association.
Matthew Crozier has been reappointed senior coach.
“We’ve got some good kids coming through but it’s going to take a bit of time with them,’’ Ortland said.
“We had five junior sides last year so hopefully a few of them can step up.’’