Hit parade: The best of the batsmen and bowlers from every suburban competition
From David White’s run spree for Buckley Ridges to the astonishing wicket-taking exploits of Steve Duckworth and Chris Moore for Canterbury, here are suburban cricket’s best batsmen and bowlers from season 2019-20.
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Who was the best bowler in your local cricket comp? And which batsmen had a golden summer?
We’ve gone through every suburban competition to find out.
CRICKET SOUTHERN BAYSIDE
Championship Division
South Caulfield batsman Lewis Mildenhall struck a purple patch late in the season to be the leading run scorer with 716, at 51.14.
The former St Kilda right-hander peeled off 128 in Round 13 and a majestic 146 in a semi-final to steer South Caulfield into the grand final.
He shaded Hampton skipper Daniel Forbes (707 runs, at 50.50), with Hampton’s Jeremy Lawlor (696), Carnegie skipper Abhilash Sharma (689) and South Caulfield opener Brad Erasmus (517) next best.
With the ball, Beaumaris’ former Ryder medallist James Miller helped himself to 29 wickets, including four five-wicket hauls, to head the list with Hampton star Dan Forbes, who also snared 29 scalps. South Caulfield spinner Jonathan Curtis (28), Carnegie’s Saumil Patel (26) and Mordialloc gun Ian Daniel (25) also did well.
Division 1
Murrumbeena premiership heroes Matthew Morris (756) and Brad Kruger (630) were clearly the two leading run getters.
Aspendale’s Mitch Allen (458), Mentone skipper Simon Cormie (457) and McKinnon match-winner Wade King (399) made up the top five.
Two bowlers took 26 wickets in Division 1 — Brighton District’s Tom Williamson and McKinnon’s Malan Mudusanka.
Division 2
The runs flowed from the bat of Clayton District opener Prabhjot Singh after Christmas — he finished with 524 runs for the season. Chelsea premiership teammates Syed Hussain (450), Lakpriya Peiris (397) and Hasitha De silva (375) were also prolific.
Parkdale United captain Calum Ravesi took 28 wickets to lead the competition.
Division 3
Bentleigh premiership batsman Ruwantha Ekanayake topped the run chart with 515, at 64.38. His Demons teammate Matt Stonier was second with 395 runs. Suraj Nageswara Rao (364) and Lachlan McLean (347) were consistent.
Bentleigh’s Stephen Booth was the outstanding bowler of the season in Division 3, taking 27 wickets, including three in the grand final victory.
Division 4
The leading run getter was Carnegie’s David Goodey, who hit 312 runs. Lachlan Campbell (296) and Michael Scott (277) were next best. Gordon Meredith (Brighton District) led the wickets with 25.
Division 5
Hampton skipper Glenn Finkelde topped the run chart with 382 runs, including three half-centuries. Ben Lawrence (339) and Ben Walker (335) also sparkled. St Bridgid’s-St Louis bowler Harvey Burke had a consistent season with the ball taking 27 wickets.
Division 6
Beaumaris opener Phil O’Donnell had an excellent season with the bat, scoring 492 runs, at 54.67. Bonbeach’s Corey Martin was next best with 474. The top wicket taker was Mordialloc’s Liam Bowles with 27.
DANDENONG DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Turf 1
It’s hard to imagine there is a better batsman playing local cricket than South African David White.
The strong right-hander stacked up 1252 runs at 152.2 in both formats and led Buckley Ridges to a premiership last season.
He followed up with 997 runs this season, 715 of them in Turf 1. White topped the run aggregate, but Berwick premiership captain and former Premier Cricket ace Matthew Chasemore bettered his average with 635 runs at 57.7, including a hand of 134 not out against White’s Buckley Ridges.
Overseas players Ateeq Javid (616 runs at 47.38 for Springvale South), Kaushalya Weeraratne (558 at 46.5 for HSD) and Jerome Jones (526 runs at 58.4 for Buckley Ridges) also scored heavily. West Indian Jones was also superb with his left-arm pace, collecting 30 wickets. Berwick’s James Wilcock was at the top of the wicket list with 35 at 11.26.
Springy South spinner Jarryd Straker separated fast men Wilcock and Jones, coming in with 31 wickets. Narre South’s Mortaza Ali had 28 scalps and made 457 runs, enough to win the DDCA’s prestigious Wookey Medal as the best Turf 1 player.
Turf 2
Dandenong West’s Hari Krishnan was by some way batsman of Turf 2 as he drummed out 744 runs at 53.1, with tons against Lyndale (193) and Cranbourne (139). Unfortunately for the West their coach missed out in the semi-final against Parkmore as they were up-ended for 59. In that match Parkmore’s class act Amal Athulathmudali clipped 104 and finished the season with three tons and 616 runs at 51.3 (he also took 37 wickets at 14.3; that’s a golden summer).
Young Sri Lankan quickie Milan Rathnayaka took 6-84 in the grand final for Dingley, setting the seal on a premiership in which he nabbed 42 wickets at 10.9. He’s a fine fast bowler.
DIAMOND VALLEY CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Barclay Shield
Diamond Creek’s Daniel Gilbert quickly established himself as one of the competition’s leading performers after returning to his junior club following a stint at Premier Cricket outfit Carlton.
The all-rounder punched out 442 runs at 40.18 and was also destructive with the ball, collecting 26 wickets at 11.62 apiece.
Gilbert made 111 against Lower Eltham in Round 4 and grabbed 4-15 against Epping in Round 9.
Plenty captain Gordon Zull cause myriad headaches for opposition bowlers in 2019-20, hammering 490 runs at 61.25 and winning the competition’s batting award.
Zull was in a rich vein of form before the Christmas break, producing knocks of 151 not out, 100 not out, 74 and 58.
Diamond Creek’s Mark Keenan won the bowling award after returning 21 wickets at 11.05 in the home-and-away season.
EASTERN CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Dunstan Shield
Former Fitzroy-Doncaster new-ball bowlers Steve Duckworth and Chris Moore were always likely to have a big say in how Canterbury performed this summer.
But no one could have imagined just how much.
Between them, the pair snared 114 wickets, Duckworth taking 61 wickets in the Dunstan Shield regular-season and nine in the midweek T20s, and Moore grabbing 37 and seven. Moore also proved more than handy with the blade, running up 238 runs at 18.31.
Surrey Hills’ import duo, Nathan Buck and Liam Grey, impressed with bat and ball too.
In all forms of the game Grey carded 459 runs at 25.50 with a top score of 100m, and snared 19 wickets at 25.51 with a best haul of 5-30.
Buck was touted as a quick bowler who can bat a bit but his efforts with the willow were outstanding — 393 runs at 43.67 (a best score of 78 not out) in the regular-season and 238 at 59.50 (highest score of 109) in the T20s for a total of 631 runs at 48. Throw in 25 wickets at a shade over 31 and it was a summer to remember.
English import Aadil Ali joined North Balwyn after Christmas and ran up 279 runs at 46.50 and took a dozen wickets — solid numbers but not spectacular.
Ali, however, chose crucial moments to impose himself on games and played a massive part in getting the Bulls’ late charge over the Dunstan Shield finish line.
In the final round of the home-and-away season North Balwyn was defending just 94 needing a win over Mont Albert to make the finals. Ali took 3-9 as Mont Albert was skittled for just 69.
A week later Ali hammered 108 not out off 148 balls with 12 fours and 3 sixes as North Balwyn beat reigning champions East Doncaster in the semi-final.
And on the biggest weekend of the year, he grafted an unbeaten 59 in difficult conditions on day one and took a couple of wickets the next day as the Bulls bowled their way to grand final victory.
FERNTREE GULLY AND DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Reeves Shield
Belgrave skipper Aaron Brunner delivered one of the most punishing summers in FTGDCA history.
In his first five innings, Brunner blitzed four centuries and a fifty and, though he faded a little in the middle of the season, another ton and another half-century gave him a total of 711 runs at an average of 64.64 with a top score of 135 not out.
Lysterfield’s Nathan Walsh stamped himself as the association’s premier player when he guided his side into the grand final with 692 runs at 86.50 including a highest score of 102 not out. He also found time to snag 14 wickets at 20.50.
Walsh was also named in the All-Australian XI after helping Vic Country to the national championship crown.
MORNINGTON PENINSULA CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Provincial
Sorrento premiership captain Bobby Wilson was the leading run scorer in Provincial this season, amassing 628, at 57.09.
Wilson peeled off three consecutive centuries in another golden summer.
Baden Powell gun Rhys Elmi also passed 600, compiling 615 runs, at 55.91.
The runs also flowed from the bat of Sorrento opener Corey Harris (555), Peninsula Old Boys dasher Dylan O’Malley (498) and Mt Eliza skipper Justin Grant (431).
With the ball, Sorrento paceman Jake Wood captured 46 wickets to clearly be the leading wicket taker in Provincial.
Wood regularly tore through batting line ups, with a season-best haul of 8-26 against Baden Powell in Round 7.
Baxter’s Sri Lankan leg-spinner Yohan Maddege was next best with 36 wickets, followed by Mt Eliza left-armer Tom Baron (31), Flinders’ Matt Gale (29) and Sorrento spinner Ravi Pelleguruge (26).
Peninsula
Former Victorian batsman Nick Jewell was a dominant performer as he churned out a competition-high 759 runs, at 75.9.
Simon Dart went passed 5000 runs for Red Hill this season as he made 711 runs, while Pines leftie Damien Lawrence (507), Moorooduc captain Ben Williams (449) and Pines star Harley Peace-Stirling (449) also enjoyed prolific seasons.
As for the bowling, former Victorian paceman Jayde Herrick capped an outstanding campaign with 51 wickets, at 9.43.
Long Island champ Andrew Tweddle was next best with 43 wickets, followed by Pines’ Patrick Jackson (34), Heatherhill star Jake Theobald (30) and Pines paceman Jackson Mockett (29).
District
Shaun Foster’s return to Carrum was run-filled as he topped the charts with 473.
Former New Zealand first-class batsman Dewayne Bowden hit 457 runs for Dromana, followed by Crib Point talent Waide Symes (452), ever-reliable Delacombe Park opener Jonny Guthrie (443) and his teammate Joel Malcolm (397).
Injury kept Dromana skipper Ben Brittain from bowling in the first two games but he made up for last time, taking 36 wickets for the season to lead the competition.
Ricky Ramsdale (31), Max Watters (25) and Spencer Wilton (25) were next on the wickets list.
Sub District
Boneo batsman Chris Jobling scored five half-centuries on his way to a competition-high 506 runs.
Nick Taranto (487), Stuart Plunkett (444), James Quarmby (422), Tom Hilet (419) and Scott Manders (417) also had strong seasons.
Carrum Downs opening bowler Michael Flahive captured 34 wickets in only eight games to top the competition.
His Cougars teammate Shane Smith took the second most wickets, 31, while Stuart Plunkett (29), Heath Straughair (29) and Cameron Williams (28) were next best.
NORTH METRO CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Jika Shield
Rivergum captain-coach Matt Perri claimed the NMCA’s highest individual honour, the Bill McFarlane Medal, for a second consecutive season.
In his first campaign in the top job, Perri delivered 422 runs at 30.14 to go with 26 wickets at 17.62.
Cobras skipper Frank Tomaras hit 539 runs at 38.5, highlighted by one ton and three half-centuries, lifting his team into the preliminary final.
His teammate Damian Wegener made 421 runs to go with 28 wickets.
Rosebank was led by Dushan Wickramarathna (338 runs at 67.6 and 17 wickets) and Rocky Sharma (339 runs and 30 wickets).
SOUTH EAST CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Longmuir Shield
Former WA Grade batsman Clint Tomlinson joined Bentleigh ANA last season, and quickly had everyone talking about him as he built his tally up to 535 runs at 76.4. This season he topped it with 642 at 58.4, taking an unbeaten century off Elwood and hitting six half-centuries.
“The best player we’ve seen around here for a while,’’ was the word from one club official. Gun Mackie allrounder Waqas Hussain was next best with 583 runs at 58.3 and East Sandringham’s Matthew Harris (575 runs at 47.9) made bowlers pay too.
In the bowling ranks, East Sandringham leg-spinner Jeremy “Jem’’ Warner excelled at the home of Shane Warne, dazzling with 43 wickets, including six five-fors.
It was enough for the young English player to be the Longmuir Shield’s Knights Sports Player of the Year.
Brighton Union pair Rob Blair (36 wickets at 14.61) and Stuart Gara (31 at 15.1) gave the Hoops outstanding service, and Le Page Park’s much-decorated veteran Jarrod Bradley (30 wickets at 19.3) on occasion wound back the clock to the days when he regularly won matches with ball and bat for Mulgrave.
VICTORIAN TURF CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Senior Division
Despite Keilor suffering relegation, nothing could stop reigning league best-and-fairest Kaushal Lokuarachichi from piling up the runs in 2019-20.
The former Sri Lanka Test batsman plundered 536 runs to claim the competition’s batting title from St Albans’ Simon Lambert (522 runs).
Surprisingly, Lokuarachichi started the season with back-to-back ducks but then found form smashing two centuries, including a brilliant 171 off 111 balls, which included 25 boundaries and four sixes.
The roles were reversed in the bowling stakes, St Albans star Geeth Alwis topping the charts ahead of Keilor’s Dinesh Daminda. Alwis claimed 31 wickets this season and having also scored 471 runs would be one of the favourites to claim this season’s league champion award.
Overall, Spotswood’s Jakson Knight scored the most runs in the VTCA. The former Premier Cricket batsman’s 624 runs helping the Woodsmen reach the Division 1 West grand final.
Meanwhile, Jason McGann snared an astonishing 51 scalps for Sunbury in Division 5 to be the league’s leading wicket-taker.
GISBORNE AND DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION
McIntyre Shield
Bacchus Marsh captain James Lidgett continues to prove himself one of the finest batsmen outside Premier and Sub-District cricket. The former Essendon and Greenvale batsman topped the GDCA run-scoring charts this season with 718 runs at an average of 65.27. He’s now topped 500 runs in all three seasons he’s been with the Bulls.
Sunbury United pair Adam Dudderidge and Dilan Chandima were comfortably the best tandem, knocking up 654 and 594 runs respectively to both sit in the competition’s top four batsmen, which is an outstanding achievement.
A pair of captains also topped the wicket-taking charts with Diggers Rest Bulla skipper Rhys Berry pipping Gisborne counterpart Jarryd Vernon to the title. Berry’s 28 wickets came at an average of 18.39 as he led the Burras to the McIntyre Shield grand final.