The best performers in the 2025 JG Craig Shield

Brighton's success in the 2025 JG Craig Shield was built on a team effort but along the way, several exciting individual stories emerged from the wicketkeepers who became bowlers to the young stars scoring runs for fun.

Brighton claimed the JG Craig Shield.

Brighton’s 2025 JG Shield success has several inspiring stories to tell.

From the leading performances of James Damiano with the bat to the discovery of unexpected bowlers.

The Tonners took out the coveted competition with a 13-run win over Melton on Sunday afternoon at Brighton Beach Oval.

Coach Nathan Steele put his side’s “really good tournament” down to every player stepping up when they had the opportunity.

“Some guys might be among the leading stats but everyone has a story to tell,” he said.

“Along the way we found things out guys, we probably didn’t really know when they first came into the program.

“Menaka Wijesingha and Angus Occhituo really showed that in the final, when we needed guys to come in and go at about a run a ball to really push our total up.”

Among the story lines to emerge from Brighton’s win was the emergence of Fergus Wilson and Oscar McKeown.

In recent summers, the pair had been emerging wicketkeepers but took on key roles with the ball.

McKeown, out of Bentleigh Cricket Club, finished with 15 wickets at a lowly average of 8.87.

Old Peninsula’s Wilson opened the bowling, often into the wind.

“Both boys showed a lot of improvement in the time we had together,” Steele said.

“Oscar is a left-armer and he usually bowled between the 30th and 40th overs when the opposition were trying to up their run rate.

“Fergus bowled some really crucial overs and was economical too. We lost some bowlers to injury which meant we had to shuffle it around a bit.

“Archer Ballantine is one of the better quicks in our region but in the end we had him as a batter.”

Damiano finished as the third leading run scorer in the competition with 328 at an average of 54.67.

Opener Kaevish Bhasin also impressed with 223 at 24.78.

“James had a really strong tournament and had consistent scores over 30 and 40.

“He’s keeping and playing in the club’s Second Xi. Kaevish is actually playing in Brighton Grammar’s First XI in the APS where he’s batting 11 and bowling his leggies.

“He was a really valuable contributor for us.”

Brighton president John Damiano heaped praise on Steele for consistently leading the program since the 2011-12.

“He puts it in a lot of work and he’s doing it as a volunteer. As a club person, he’s a 10 out of 10,” he said.

“What he puts in shows over the last few years with our results. We’re reaping the rewards in our senior set up.

“He’s well organised and understands the game. He puts in a lot of work people don’t see.”

GRAND FINAL REVIEW

Brighton has claimed the 2025 JG Craig Shield in thrilling fashion with a 13-run victory over Melton on Sunday.

Batting first, the Tonners produced a positive performance with the bat in warm conditions which made cricket difficult.

James Damiano and Menaka Arachchige both hit 48 before they were dismissed, hitting 10 boundaries between them, to guide the Tonners to 5-163 from their 35 overs at Brighton Beach Oval.

Angus Occhiuto added valuable runs at the end of the innings, hitting 29 off 28 including two boundaries and a six, to give his bowlers plenty to work with.

In response, Melton was all out for 150 as several batters got starts but were unable to push on and get the Lions across the line.

Kaevish Bhasin and Oscar McKeown took two wickets each for Brighton while Fergus Wilson, Sachin Prasanna, Ajay Mehta and Occhiuto all chipped in with one each.

Mahib Mir top scored for Melton with 24 off 15 before he was run out.

SEMI-FINAL REVIEW

Both games were thrillers which went down to the wire as Brighton and Melton prevailed in one-run thrillers.

Brighton overcame Oakleigh as Archer Ballantine guided the tonners across the line with an unbeaten 12 off 12 chasing a target of 137.

Kaevish Bhasin gave Brighton a platform in the run chase with 32 off 51 at the top of the order.

Angus Occhiuto (27), James Damiano (23) and Lachlan Harrop (21) also added valuable runs.

Aarav Bhasin was dynamic with the ball taking 4-19.

Oakleigh had posted 136 with Kaiden Kilpatrick top scoring with 30 as Oscar McKeown snagged 3-21.

Melton overcame Brunswick in a game where a 19-run ninth wicket partnership between Aayush Ahlawat and Muhammad Abdul Wasay proved pivotal in getting the Lions across the line.

Brunswick looked set to claim the win after Melton fell to 8-87 but the duo rallied before Ahlawat was dismissed.

Mahib Khan Sahibzada Mir then arrived at the crease, scoring nine of the last needed runs to get Melton home.

Brunswick had posted 9-116 behind Luke Irvin’s 49 with Ahlawat taking 3-19.

Arjun Itankar top scored with 23 off 57 in the run chase as Rhys Rodgers took 4-16.

The grand final will be played at Brighton Beach Oval on Sunday, February 2.

QUARTER-FINAL REVIEW

Just four teams remain in the 2025 JG Craig Shield after Sunday’s quarter-finals.

Oakleigh moved through to the semi-finals with an 81-run win over Balwyn as Kaiden Kilpatrick and Ranen Gandhi set up the win.

The pair shared a 62-run partnership to help propel Oakleigh to 6-206 at the end of their 45 overs with Kilpatrick run out on 87 as Gandhi opened the innings with a 61 off 91.

Balwyn was all out for 125 as Gandhi chipped in with two wickets to help his side across the line.

Brighton prevailed in a four-run thriller over Bayswater in the game of the day.

The home side posted 193 all out as Kaevish Bhasin hit 55 off 72 alongside a strong performance from James Damiano (45 off 70) as Sanuka Nanayakkara took three wickets.

Cooper Box gave Bayswater a great chance of victory scoring 81 off 113 but they ultimate fell short.

Brunswick is also through after getting the better of Yarraville by 43 runs at home.

Rhys Rodgers hit 30 off 38 to top score for Brunswick as they posted 9-135 from their 45 overs before bowling the Eagles out for 92.

Elliot Brown top scored with 31 for the Eagles.

Melton was able to build off a strong opening from Arjun Itankar (77 off 100) and Ayush Khuttan (41 off 97) on its way to a 24-run win over Strathmore.

The Lions posted 8-178 before bowling the visitors out for 154.

QF RESULTS

Brunswick 9-135 def. Yarraville 92

Oakleigh 6-206 (Kaiden Kilpatrick 87, Ranen Ghandi 61) def. Balwyn 125

Brighton 193 (Kaevish Bhasin 55) def. Bayswater 188 (Cooper Box 81)

Melton 8-178 (Arjun Itankar 77) def. Strathmore 154

FINAL POOL GAMES

The quarter-finals of the 2025 JG Craig Shield are set.

Thursday’s action saw the pool stage come to a close with the top-two from each group progressing through to the next round.

Those games will now be played on Sunday.

RESULTS

SOUTH: Brighton 6-170 (James Damiano 52) d Ormond 7-166 (Peter O’Malley 63), Elsternwick 176 d Malvern 172, Moorabbin 7-97 d Caulfield 95, Oakleigh 7-195 (Ranen Gandhi 67) d Port Melbourne 130.

NORTH: St Bernards 133 d Preston 94, Ivanhoe 2-142 (Singh 51) d Plenty Valley 117, Strathmore 146 (James Gray 52) d Coburg 83 , Brunswick 7-165 (Luke Irvin 51) d Kew 7-158 (Yuvin De Silva 66).

EAST: Balwyn 4-92 d Bayswater 90, Box Hill 2 224 (Xavier Niamann 94, Thomas Johnson 68) d Noble Park 179 (DilithAluthwatte 88), Mt Waverley 3-101 d Croydon 94, Donvale 8-164 (Benjamin Flannery 64) d Endeavour Hills 97.

WEST: Yarraville 2-60 d Altona 59, Taylors Lakes 2-51 d Williamstown 50 (Tanish Tanjea 5-1), Melton 2-100 d Werribee 99, Spotswood 1-147 (Aariz Khan 79, Varish Chopra 55) d Hoppers Crossing 146.

QUARTER-FINAL FIXTURE

Balwyn v Oakleigh

Brighton v Bayswater

Brunswick v Yarraville

Melton v Strathmore

WEDNESDAY REVIEW

Melton coach Joel Mitchener is loving the ride of his side’s 2025 JG Craig Shield.

The Lions sit at 5-1 and top of the west group ladder with just one game to play in the pool stage.

On Wednesday, they secured a 26-run win over Hoppers Crossing with Mitchener describing the performance as a “different style” to others in the competition so far.

After being bowled out for 130, the Lions managed to get the game back in their favour after rolling the home side for 104.

Archer Ward, who is from Darley, produced a brilliant 76 not out off 107 balls including six boundaries to give his side a target to defend.

“We haven’t had someone bat for an extended period like that so far,” Mitchener said.

“He understood the situation which was in front of him and every time we lost a wicket, he just reset.

“He was able to cash in late in the innings with the tail wagging as well. It was a good lesson for some of the younger guys to bat around him.”

Off-spinner Harry Blanks, a homegrown Melton product, led the way with the ball taking 4-11 off his eight overs.

He now has six wickets for the tournament.

“He’s small in stature but with a big heart,” Mitchener said of Blanks.

“Harry didn’t concede a run in his first three overs, he has a fantastic ability to build dot ball pressure.

“Then later in the innings he was able to grab a couple of wickets after his teammates built their own pressure.”

Wicketkeeper Sam Alford is another player enjoying an impressive tournament so far.

In Tuesday’s 10-wicket win over Spotswood, the Romsey product took a Craig Shield record eight catches.

He is the son of legendary harness racing driver, Chris.

In Wednesday’s win, he completed two stumpings and a run-out.

“He got eight genuine edges and one of the catches was parallel to the ground,” the Melton coach said.

“Sam has enjoyed a really good tournament so far. It’s not often you see eight catches in a game, not even for a carnival sometimes.”

RESULTS

NORTH: Strathmore 7-87 d Preston 8-86, St Bernards 4-140 d Kew 138, Brunswick 5-197 (Chintala 70) d Ivanhoe 156), Coburg 7-156 (Luke Cameron 52) d Plenty Valley 74 (Damon Lynch 6-7).

SOUTH: Malvern 5-117 d Caulfield 87, Ormond 4-176 (Peter O’Malley 89) d Port Melbourne 116, Brighton 7-141 (Oscar McKeown 54no) d Moorabbin 128, Oakleigh 6-154 (Thomas Corrie 50no) d Elsternwick 146 (Jack Duggan 57no).

EAST: Bayswater 5-49 d Noble Park 48, Mt Waverley 5-104 d Box Hill 103, Donvale 9-162 d Balwyn 7-152, Croydon 195 (Lincoln Walker 87) d Endeavour Hills 6-156 (Thevin Sembukuttiarachchi 50no).

WEST: Yarraville 4-129 d Spotswood 9-127, Williamstown 144 d Altona 136 (Naman Tiwari 65) , Taylors Lakes 8-202 (Tanish Taneja 55) d Werribee 7-113, Melton 130 (Archer Ward 76no) d Hoppers Crossing 104.

WEDNESDAY REVIEW

Yarraville’s Nikhil Suresh has produced an impressive all-round to lead his side to a big win against Williamstown on Tuesday.

Suresh took 5-14 as his side bowled the home side out for 99, as Romaan Khan, top scored with 39 runs off 60 balls.

The all-rounder than showed his patience with the bat, scoring 47 not out off 77 to guide his side to a seven-wicket win.

It was the second big bowling performance of Suresh’s tournament so far after he took 4-15 against Hoppers Crossing last week.

Oakleigh’s Thomas Corrie enjoyed a fine performance in his side’s win over Caulfield after posting an unbeaten 53 in the 74-run win. Corrie then took a wicket as Caulfield was all out for 93 with Kanan Budhiraja taking four wickets.

Meanwhile, Brighton’s Kaevish Bhasin produced a brilliant all-round performance in his side’s win over Malvern. He took three wickets and then finished with 45 runs off 86 balls.

RESULTS

NORTH: Strathmore 6-190 d Plenty Valley 7-117, Ivanhoe 2-158 (Liam Adair 60) d St Bernards 154, Preston 8-168 (Gus Byrne 68) d Kew 9-151, Brunswick 8-152 d Coburg 139

SOUTH: Ormond 9-109 d Moorabbin 9-108, Brighton 3-151 (James Damiano 51no) d Malvern 123, Oakleigh 4-167 (Thomas Corrie 53no) d Caulfield 93 (Kanan Budhiraja 4-18), Elsternwick 9-145 d Port Melbourne 9-141,

EAST: Croydon 6-185 d Donvale 92, Balwyn 8-138 d Noble Park 71, Box Hill 8-175 (Cooper Flinn 51) d Endeavour Hills 135, Bayswater 3-132 (Joshua Wilkins 62) d Mt Waverley 9-131,

WEST: Melton 0-67 d Spotswood 64, Yarraville 3-100 d Williamstown 99 (Suresh 5-14 & 47 no). Altona 2-74 d Werribee 68, Taylors Lakes 8-144 d Hoppers Crossing 106.

DAY 3 REVIEW

The third game of the week for clubs in the JG Craig Shield threw up plenty of inspiring performances.

St Bernard’s duo Connor Portelli and Thenul Gamage had their fingerprints all over the Snowdogs’ second win of the week after they overcame Coburg by 11 runs in a low scoring affair. Portelli guided his side to 7-96 with an unbeaten half-century with an innings which proved to be difference between the two side’s batting line-ups. Gamage then did most of the damage with the ball, taking 5-12.

In other games, Declan Brasher showed his class with a 90-run effort while teammate Kanishk Gattu hit a half-century in the same innings.

Patrick Macafee hit an impressive 57 for Malvern as it overcame Ormond by four wickets with Thomas Corrie also among the half-century makes in the south pool.

In the west group, William Killeen, Arjun Tankar and Anhad Veer Singh Saini also posted 50.

RESULTS

NORTH: St Bernards 7-96 (Connor Portelli 51no) d Coburg 85 (Thenul Gamage 5-12), Ivanhoe 8-72 d Preston 70, Kew 8-139 tied Strathmore 139, Brunswick 5-141 d Plenty Valley 7-95.

SOUTH: Elsternwick 6-166 d Caulfield 110, Moorabbin 3-96 d Port Melbourne 95, Brighton 8-135 d Oakleigh 8-134 (Thomas Corrie 58), Malvern 6-118 (Patrick Macafee 57) d Ormond 117.

EAST: Bayswater 1-54 d Endeavour Hills 52, Box Hill 5-188 (Declan Brasher 90, Kanishk Gattu 50) d Croydon 119, Balwyn 2-106 (Mitchell Crooks 51no) d Mt Waverley 105, Donvale 8-123 (Pratham Patel 52no) d Noble Park 119.

WEST: Yarraville 9-162 (William Killeen 71no) d Werribee 70, Williamstown 9-176 d Spotswood 90, Melton 7-150 (Arjun Itankar 54) d Taylors Lakes 6-121, Altona 141 (Anhad Veer Singh Saini 55no) d Hoppers Crossing 117.

Luke Cameron after his big performance.

DAY 2 REVIEW

Coburg co-captain Luke Cameron has produced a stunning matchwinning performance to highlight his side’s second game of the JG Craig Shield.

Cameron top scored with 38 runs off 63 balls as his side were all out for 112 against Preston.

He then led the way with the ball, taking a hat-trick to claim figures of 3-11, alongside Aidan Lowe’s 3-27, to guide Coburg across the line.

They were the final three balls of Preston’s innings, who fell four runs short. It was a remarkable finish after Cameron had conceded three runs with his first ball of the over.
To add to the drama, Cameron has often been a wicketkeeper in the club’s Fourth XI throughout the season.

Coburg coach Bill Tucknott, who has been involved in this competition for over 25 years, said he had “never seen anything like it”.

“When we took the last catch, I almost belted my head on the roof in the coaches box,” he said.

“Luke’s a left-arm medium pacer but he’s more of a batsman who bowls occasionally. This is probably the most dramatic and best win I’ve been involved in for a long time.

“The pressure was palpable and the boys managed to control themselves very well. It’s a great lesson for so many of these young guys.”

Coburg had been beaten in its first game of the competition, after Sunday’s washout, and Tucknott was pleased to already see growth.

“Hopefully the kids take away something from this game,” he said.

“It’s nice to win the games but we want the kids to learn from the good and the bad.”

RESULTS

NORTH: Coburg 112 d Preston 108 (Luke Cameron hat-trick); St Bernards 140 d Plenty Valley 130; Ivanhoe 7- 127 d Kew 8-106; Brunswick 5-87 d Strathmore 61 (Xavier Stone 4-4)

SOUTH: Brighton 3-152 (Lachlan Harrop 56) d Elsternwick 72 (Kaevish Bhasin 4-14); Ormond 156 d Oakleigh 8-139 (Ranen Gandhi 52); Caulfield 7-139 (Jaskaran Ghotra 56) d Port Melbourne 129; Malvern 6-115 d Moorabbin 9-111

EAST: Croydon 137 (Aiden Rexhepi 4-25) d Bayswater 117; Box Hill 113 d Donvale 110; Balwyn 4-81 d Endeavour Hills 80; Mt Waverley 4-163 (Romesh Gunatilake 65no, Viraj Dev Kumaran 52 no) d Noble Park 116.

WEST: Yarraville 4-110 d Hoppers Crossing 108 (Nikhil Suresh 4-15); Williamstown 133 d Werribee 83; Melton 9-174 (Arjun Itanker 65, Ayush Khuttan 53) d Altona 74; Taylors Lakes 9-196 (Jerone Viknarajah 50) d Spotswood 6-118 (Robbie Virk 53no)

Zane Wunhym was a key factor in Bayswater's stunning start to the tournament.

ROUND 2 REVIEW

Bayswater duo Zane Wunhym and Ethan Loy-Abrahams produced arguably the highlight of the opening day of the JG Craig Shield for 2025.

Wunhym finished with 5-7 and Loy-Abrahams claimed a hat-trick as their side recorded a 10 – run win to kickstart their tournament.

It was only fitting the pair also combined for a run-out.

Earlier as Bayswater reached 7-177 from its 45 overs, Loy-Abrahams hit 44 runs off 68 balls as captain Cooper Box top scored with 48 off 71.

St Bernard’s captain Lachlan McKay showed off his all-round ability, leading from the front with bat and ball in the win against Brunswick. He finished with four wickets and hit an unbeaten 41 to guide his side across the line.

Tom Haydon unbeaten half century of 58 off 80 for Ormond in a win over Elsternwick in a performance which included a couple of stumpings.

Bradley Moore took 4-25 in Malvern’s win over Port Melbourne by 12 runs while Ayan Arya (4-14) was influential in Brighton’s win over Caulfield as skipper James Damiano hit an unbeaten half-century.

Mt Waverley wicketkeeper Viraj Dev Kumaran enjoyed a strong performance in his side’s win over Donvale after hitting an unbeaten 57 to go along with three catches in the four-wicket victory.

Kew skipper Jacob Wellington enjoyed a positive start to his tournament, scoring a half-century and taking two wickets as his side recorded a three-wicket win over Coburg.

RESULTS

NORTH: Brunswick 5-85 d St Bernards 84; Preston 4-103 d Plenty Valley 101; Strathmore 9-73 d Ivanhoe 72; Kew 7-168 (Jacob Wellington 58) d Coburg 160.

SOUTH: Brighton 4-87 d Caulfield 58; Ormond 8-169 d Elsternwick 117; Oakleigh 7-139 (Ranen Gandhi 72) d Moorabbin 137 (Cooper O’Meara 51); Malvern 129 d Port Melbourne 117.

EAST: Bayswater 7-177 d Box Hill 77 (Wunhym 5-7, Loy-Abraham hat-trick); Noble Park 4-130 (Eli Murphy 51 not out) d Endeavour Hills 5-129; Mt Waverley 6-144 (Viraj Dev Kumaran 57 not out) d Donvale 111; Malvern 129 d Port Melbourne 117,

WEST: Taylors Lakes 7-123 d Altona 8-106; Melton 8-141 d Yarraville 7-140 (Mick McMahon 58); Williamstown 8-169 d Hoppers Crossing 7-132 (Dev Adeshara 57 not out); Spotswood 9-189 d Werribee 9-114.