Preview: Club ins, outs and prospects for 2021-22 DDCA Turf 1 season

A former Test batsman is among the signings to Dandenong District Cricket Association clubs for the new season. Here’s how the sides are shaping up.

Hallam Kalora Park celebrates its 2020-21 Turf 1 premiership.

Buckley Ridges champion Daniel Watson is playing on in the DDCA, but he’ll make a late start to the season that begins on Saturday.

Watson must serve a two-match suspension over an incident in the semi-final at Harold Rd Reserve last season.

But he’s wanting to do a few other things before he returns to the Ridges after the Christmas break.

One of them is playing a match for Lakes Entrance with his uncle, Kev Watson, in the Bairnsdale association.

“He’s been with them forever and we’ve always said we’ll have a game together, but we never have,’’ Watson said.

“So we said, stuff it, we’ll do it this year.’’

Daniel Watson batting for Buckley Ridges.

During his cameo he’ll also line up alongside former Springvale South captain Nathan King, who has shifted to the area and joined Lakes Entrance.

At least for one game the Lakes will field two players who both made rattling centuries in DDCA Turf 1 grand finals.

Even without its great all-rounder Buckley Ridges is shaping up well for 2021-22.

It will also be without the two UK players who were at Pultney St last season, Ian Cockbain and Benny Howell; coach Chanaka Welegedara has returned to Strathmore; and Susantha Pradeep has gone back to Sub-District cricket, joining the new-look Endeavour Hills.

Well-performed County player Ben Wright arrives as captain, and last month the Bucks secured former international Mahela Udawatte, who played two Test matches and nine ODIs for Sri Lanka.

Josh Holden, who played some First XI cricket with Casey South Melbourne, has crossed from Berwick and Nimesh Kariyawasam from North Dandenong. He took 22 wickets for North last season.

The Wicks, grand finalists last season, lost Holden, but they gained two of the leading recruits of the off-season in paceman Andrew Perrin and Mordialloc captain Damith Mapa Ralage.

Perrin played in Prahran’s Premier Cricket flag last season. And, of course, he played first-class cricket for Tasmania. The right-armer had a stint with Berwick in 2011-2012 (a premiership season) and he returns as a damaging quick who will no doubt dismantle one or two top-orders this season.

Berwick signing Andrew Perrin.

Mapa Ralage is well known for his exploits with the bat and wicketkeeping gloves when Mordi were in the DDCA. He’s a class act.

Berwick has also picked up bouncing leg-spinner Riley Siwes from Dandenong West.

The recruits will help cover for Wookey Medal champion Ruwantha Kellepotha, trying his luck at Casey South Melbourne, and paceman Brendan Rose, back playing Premier Cricket with Richmond.

Former Dandenong paceman James Wilcock will captain Berwick.

Batsman Clay McCartney will skipper North Dandenong, which has some handy inclusions.

Austin Heldt is back from Endeavour Hills in the Subbies, and fast bowler Sohail Sadiq has also made the move from the Hills. He played in their Twenty20 title two years ago.

Patrick Bond is a fast bowler recruited from the NT via Monash University and Declan Fowler is back at Lois Twohig after a year away.

Sanjaya Rodrigo, now living locally after playing first-class cricket in Sri Lanka and a lot of club cricket in the UK, bolsters the batting and will serve as assistant coach.

In another lifter for North, the legendary David Bell has returned at the age of 55 to captain the Second XI.

Nimesh Kariyawasam has joined Buckley.

Nimesh Kariyawasam (Buckley Ridges), Raveen Nanayakkara (St Mary’s), Buddhika Janith (Taylors Lakes) and Rhai Arn Cox (returned to WA) are the outs.

Club stalwart Jason Shaw, as positive as a proton, is president and Leroy de Alwis the non-playing coach.

Former Kingston Hawthorn all-rounder Javed Khan returned for the second half of last season but is on board for Round 1 and can be expected to have a strong 2021-22.

The club is also looking for improvement from younger players Redwan Laghmani, Zarak Aseel, Rahman Jabharkail, Riley Shaw (returning from injury) and Hussain Shafahi (who won the DDCA Turf 1 Reserves bowling award last season).

“We will continue to grow from the late season momentum of 20-21, invest in our coaching group, develop our playing list and build our club camaraderie,’’ Shaw said.

“We now have a great group of guys who enjoy playing together, want to be in Turf 1 and want to win. We expect to be competitive every match”.

And off the field, “we see a regeneration of our local area and junior player numbers, leading to U16s this season’’.

“We have a positive alignment with the Melbourne Eagles in its infancy, and a growing partnership with Dandenong Masala FC, our winter tenant, which will bring benefits for both clubs.’’

Springvale South kept local cricket in the headlines in the off-season with its high-profile recruiting.

The Bloods snaffled former Victorian quickie Jayde Herrick, ex-St Kilda and Richmond left-arm fast bowler and capable lower-order batsman Blade Baxter, and Narre South’s Josh Dowling, another former Premier paceman.

Two class left-arm spinners in Akshat Buch and Jarryd Straker will follow the speed men; what an attack.

That said, Herrick, in the veteran category these days, is likely to miss the early exchanges because of injury.

The batting isn’t as strong after the departure of the dynamic Nathan King and former WA Grade player Clint Tomlinson, who joined the club during the season and showed his quality in the top-order.

Young Sam Wetering has joined Dandenong and his brother Matt is focusing on his football.

Mitch Forsyth has returned from Dandy as president Jason Quirk continues to work the phones in search of another batsman.

Former Noble Park wicketkeeper-batsman Paul Hill, a doughty cricketer, will captain the First XI.

Blade Baxter at the creases for PINT in the Darwin Premier Grade this year.

Hallam Kalora Park has added Udara Hettige to the team that memorably won last season’s grand final over Berwick, giving the Hawks their first flag in 20 years.

With bat and ball Hettige has been a good performer for HSD for the past two seasons.

Jordan Hammond will again captain a side well equipped to do well in the one-day format. The Hawks had Will Whyte, Hammond, Sachith Jayasingha and Leigh Booth high up in the bowling charts, and Booth, Matt Cox, Ben Hillard and Hammond prominent in the run list.

St Mary’s has brought in batsman Raveen Nanayakkara from North Dandenong and appointed Wendyl Pires as captain.

Last season’s skipper, Achintha Rajapakse, has joined Subbies club Noble Park, taking left-arm wrist spinner Prabath Hewage with him.

DDCA great Neil “Moose’’ Shaw is coach of the Saints.

“We’re just looking for some improvement,’’ Shaw said.

“We thought we bowled all right and bowled sides out, but we didn’t make enough runs, so the emphasis will be on our batting. I think our bowling has improved a little bit more, just from the way they’ve been training.

“We’ve got a new captain, a local St Mary’s boy, and the atmosphere around the club is really good, from having a close-knit bunch of blokes.’’

Kusan Niranjana, who took 24 wickets and made 271 runs last season, will again be a key player for the Saints.

Narre Warren comes up as the Turf 2 champion and has retained all of its premiership players.

On Saturday it will hand a Turf 1 debut to Sujan Hulangamuwa, 16, an exciting prospect as a leg-spinner with a good wrong ‘un.

He won the club championship last season as a member of the Second XI premiership.

“We haven’t gone out and recruited but we’ve retained pretty much the same group, and we’ve got some great kids coming through,’’ coach Brett Lewis said.

“I’m not going to say we’ll set the world on fire, because there are some talented sides out there. But we’ll hold our own, definitely.’’

Leg-spinner Cam Dinger will captain Narre, which will be counting on more good performances from former Sub-District pair Zach Allen and Ben Swift, both former club juniors.

“Zach really turned the corner in the second half of last season,’’ Lewis said.

“He batted brilliantly. Penny dropped for him on how to compile an innings. Was outstanding to watch. He and Ben were instrumental in the grand final win.’’

Narre South will have to make do without star Scott Phillips, who has moved to the VTCA, and Springvale South-bound Josh Dowling, who grabbed 31 wickets last season.

Still, it has Kaushayla Weeraratne (329 runs, Kyle Hardy (276 runs) and Morteza Ali (18 wickets) to keep the team competitive.