DVCA Money Shield 2021-22: Old Paradians sign Udara Ranasingha

The DVCA Money Shield side has received a major boost after signing an all-rounder who returned 9-22 in his First XI debut for the club.

Udara Ranasinghe sends one down during his last stint at Old Paradians. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Old Paradians has regained the services of two-time club champion Udara Ranasingha as it eyes a more productive Diamond Valley Cricket Association campaign in 2021-22.

Ranasingha spent two seasons at the Money Shield outfit before taking the field for Johnson Park in the Ferntree Gully association last summer.

The off-spinner made an immediate impact for Paradians, returning incredible figures of 9-22 in his First XI debut for the club in October 2018.

“Any chance you get to get a player of Udara’s quality to your club is brilliant, and obviously he’s a player who’s had great success with the club in the past,” Old Paradians coach Griffin Sprague said.

“Him being interested in coming back and then us being able to get that done was really great.

“The whole playing group is really looking forward to having him back. He was a much missed part of the club last year.

“It’s fantastic for us to bring someone in who’s had such success, but also brings so much leadership and experience.”

Sprague said the big inclusion “had always been vocal he wanted to come back to Old Paradians at some point”.

Ranasingha logged 309 runs and 25 wickets in his first season with Paradians before backing that up with 369 runs and 14 wickets in 2019-20.

He hit two centuries in his last season with the club – one in Money Shield and the other in the Northern Region Twenty 20 competition.

“I’d say he’s one of the more feared batters going around the competition when he’s at his best,” Sprague said.

Ranasingha’s best score was 32 in his only season at Johnson Park, but he grabbed 14 wickets at 24.57 apiece.

Old Paradians will be looking to climb the ladder in 2019-20 after finishing in second-last spot with three wins, a final-round victory over Mill Park allowing the young side to dodge relegation.

“Last season wasn’t our strongest on-field performance, but we do feel like we were in quite a few games that we did narrowly lose,” Sprague said.

“Being able to bring someone in like Udara, we feel like in some of those games we were close to winning, he can help push us over the line, and hopefully him along with some other key pieces we’re going to try to bring in will lead to us playing finals.”