PINT spinner Mitch Doolan’s impressive rise highlighted by 7/46 haul
A PINT spinner has come into his own following some dominant performances with the ball. See all the best batters and bowlers from the 2023 Darwin Cricket season.
Northern Territory
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A move to the Top End to develop his underused spin bowling talents has borne plenty of fruit so far for PINT all-rounder Mitch Doolan as he tackles the first offseason in his young career.
The Brisbane native is honing his left arm orthodox craft after playing mostly as a batter with Northern Suburbs in Queensland Premier cricket, enjoying a breakthrough season in 2022-23 largely batting at three.
He made the most of the opportunity, belting a couple of first grade centuries.
However, playing in a talented team which boasted the likes of Big Bash League blaster Josh Brown and former Test opener Joe Burns, Doolan was lucky to come on at second change for a trundle.
But that might change after a dominant start to the Darwin Premier Grade season while earning himself a place in the looming Strike League.
While his batting has been solid at DXC Arena – with a couple of handy knocks of 47 and 70 to his name – he has starred with the ball, taking 14 wickets at 14 runs apiece.
That includes a monster haul of 7/46 against Darwin in round 5 when everything seemed to click, helping PINT to its maiden victory of the season by a massive 114 runs.
“That day, everything went my way,” Doolan said.
“Bowling’s something I’ve definitely come up to the NT to work on.
“I’m at a point where I just want to keep getting better … (test myself against) quality players from different states.”
Despite winning just one game during the 50-over tournament to start the Premier season, Doolan is convinced PINT can pounce in the red ball competition.
PINT has been competitive in every game so far in 2023 and was beaten by a solitary wicket by Palmerston and three runs at the hands of Tracy Village.
“We missed in some key moments which cost us in the end, but we’re building up nicely,” he said.
“Anything can happen in cricket, it’s a funny game like that.”
Doolan might be returning to some solid batting form too, belting a six to bring up PINT’s second win for the year in a T20 fixture over Southern Districts on Thursday night.
Waratah top order bat has shown his quality with two dominant centuries
Firm friendships fused during a trio’s formative years has resulted in Waratah boasting one of the most impressive top orders seen in Darwin cricket in recent memory.
Former NSW first class all-rounder Param Uppal, 24, who played for Nightcliff last season, joined mate and former underage opening batting partner Ryan Hackney at Gardens Oval for the Premier Grade season.
Hackney, who made his debut with the Blues in February last year, has dominated Darwin cricket with two centuries already, putting on a 212-run partnership with Uppal in round 6 against Palmerston.
And the dynamic duo became a terrific triumvirate after current Blues squad member and Sydney Thunder captain Jason Sangha joined the Tahs for the first time last Saturday against Darwin.
A more than handy in.
However, it was Uppal – who migrated to Australia from native Chandigarh at age four after his lawyer father sought more opportunities and a better lifestyle – who stole the show with his second ton in three innings.
His 138 against at Kahlin Oval helped Tahs compile a monster 8/374.
And aided by some short boundaries square at Kahlin, and at Gardens the previous round where he smashed 107 off just 109 balls, Uppal has also managed to clear the rope nine times.
“(It’s) nice to be in a bit of form and have some success,” Uppal said.
“I’m looking forward to red ball cricket, I think we’re a pretty stacked side.
“It’s a pretty formidable batting line up.”
It’s something of an understatement.
In a similar vein to Southern Districts’ star-studded outfit of 2022 – including four players with either first class or List A experience – the Tahs recruited Big Bash player Jack Wood, who has produced some destructive cameos so far.
Meanwhile, Tahs skipper Isaac Conway and all-rounder Jagadeswara Koduru will also play Strike League cricket later this month, completing a powerful top six.
Uppal said he left Nightcliff on great terms, linking up with Hackney after a last minute decision to come up north for the second year running.
“It was a good chance to play with some people I’m quite close with,” Uppal said, who played in the Birmingham and District Premier League in 2019.
“I’m still close with a lot of those guys (at Nightcliff). I loved my time there.”
Under the tutelage of coach Neil D’Costa, who was once Michael Clarke’s batting mentor, Uppal has designs on getting back to first class level after dipping his toe in the water with the Blues on two occasions back in March 2018.
He learned plenty from the likes of veterans Steve O’Keefe, Moises Henriques and the retiring Ed Cowan.
“It gave me a good gauge at what I had to do play at that level consistently,” he said.
“I was just loving it, just being around those guys.”
However, delisted by the Blues at 21 and in a similar vein to his father 20 years prior, Uppal would pack his bags and head south to Tasmania in 2021 in search of more opportunities.
He said it was “pretty tough” to lose his contract, but the equation was simple: knock down the door again with “bulk runs”.
“You’re back in a pool of grade cricketers … but I came to terms with it pretty quickly,” he said.
He said Da Costa had been a great sounding board, who preached the importance of doing the fundamentals right for as long as possible, keeping it simple while trusting his ability and instincts.
“He has a lot of knowledge about batting and the game in general,” he said.
Toby St John destructive leg spinners
A teenage aspiring pilot has put a disappointing summer in the Apple Isle behind him to clean up while rising through the grades of Darwin cricket with his leg spinners.
Mornington Peninsula product Toby St John, 18, has played the last four summers in Tasmania after his mother got a job at a local hospital.
And St John’s flair with the ball was noticed, picked in a Cricket Tasmania academy squad for a winter high performance program two years ago.
However, after a plan to play during the off-season in the UK was cruelled by a few visa problems, St John made his way to Kahlin Oval instead through a connection with former Eagle Leigh Rowley.
“(Rowley) told me they won’t turn at all up here,” St John said.
“But I’m loving it.
“I think there’s a bit more drift up here because it’s humid.
“I lost my wrong ‘un for a few weeks but now I’ve got it back.”
The move has been a major success for the teenager who is set to study aviation next year, taking 24 wickets at just eight across eight games in B and C grades and Division 1 of the Sunday competition.
St John has taken multiple wickets in all of his six stints at the bowling crease, with two five-wicket hauls of 5/23 against Nightcliff and 5/16 versus Tracy Village, both in the Sunday competition.
St John, who has practised the art of leg spin bowling for as long as he can remember, said he had collected a bunch of wickets through LBWs, top edges or catches behind the wicket.
His bowling form earned a promotion to B Grade on May 20, where St John acquitted himself well with 2/15 against Palmerston at Kahlin Oval.
A dominant season so far followed a rough start to the 2022-23 summer with Ulverstone, struggling to get onto the ground let alone bowl at a high standard.
“I didn’t have a great year last year to be honest,” he said.
“I missed out on the first month or so of cricket because I was going to focus on school, then I was sick.
“I lost my bowling a bit.
“I slowly came back, but I didn’t get the opportunities I would have liked.”
However, a “fresh start” in Darwin has been hugely beneficial, even if he struggled initially with the weather.
“The first game, especially when I was batting, it was horrible,” he said.
“Now it’s perfect, great weather for it.”
Dan Kerber says the Eagles have recovered from a slow start to 2023
Darwin recruit and bat maker Dan Kerber says the new-look Eagles are beginning to gel despite a number of hiccups which cruelled their early season momentum.
Kerber, an Adelaide University premiership-winning wicket keeper, followed skipper Matt Hammond from Southern Districts to Kahlin Oval during the off-season.
And the move has paid off for the pair so far, with the Eagles poised to qualify for another 50-over grand final on Sunday, but will need to get past the 5-0 Nightcliff the day before to get there.
There were a few curveballs for the Eagles early on, too.
After a bye in Round 1 of Premier Grade, the Eagles’ clash with Waratah was abandoned after a concussion to playing coach Udara Weerasinghe.
Then, their T20 fixture against a young Territory team was impacted by “pretty dim” lights at Marrara in late April, leaving the Eagles fielding in “pretty dangerous” conditions.
“We’ve had a few struggles with getting on and staying on,” Kerber said, who is planning to play up north until about early August.
“Silly things keep popping up, we had the lights fail on us in a T20, all this sort of stuff.
“I struggled to see the ball thrown in.”
However, he said the Eagles squad was beginning to click, having won the past three of their past four matches, including a demolition of the Crocs in Round 4.
Typical of the transient nature of Darwin, the Eagles have a new-look squad after the departure of Ralph Wiese medallist Dylan Brasher, coach Jake Reed, Druv Kant and Shehan Sinnetamby from its losing grand final team.
In a similar vein his brother Sam, Hammond, Corey Kelly, Brodie Symons, Tom O’Connell, Dean Fry and Xavier Crone are all missing from the Crocs’ best team of last season.
“Other states you might have two or three changes,” he said of typical team turnover.
“I guess that’s just Darwin isn’t it? Half the team might change.
“Then it’s a matter of getting to know each other as quickly as possible.”
Like the Eagles, Kerber’s game has been a work in progress in 2023, with plenty of quick fire starts, including scores of 44 off 31 balls, 30 (off 30), 22 and 27 (16) across Premier Grade and the T20 competitions.
“The experience of last year has set me up for this season,” he said.
“I’ve felt a lot more comfortable going to games. I’m in a good head space.”
Kerber said he followed Hammond to Kahlin due to the Crocs’ settled squad by the time he made plans to come up north.
“I really enjoyed my time at the Crocs last year,” he said.
“A great club and I loved the people there.”
Kerber said he was a big fan of playing under Hammond’s captaincy.
“He’s a great ‘people person’ … he doesn’t take himself too seriously,” he said.
“A good balance of easy going but still having that edge of: ‘I’m competing, I’m here to win’.”
His business, which offers bat repairs and tailor-made blades, plus gloves and pads, is also emerging.
And there has been plenty of demand for the latter in Darwin’s sticky conditions.
More info: kerber.cricket.com
Waratah recruit Ryan Hackney says a season in Dublin helped develop his game
A transformative season in Ireland last year has set a Waratah recruit up for a golden run post-Christmas in 2023.
Opening bat Ryan Hackney, 23, endured a rough start to his campaign with Malahide Cricket Club in Dublin.
The Parramatta star said he struggled early with the foreign conditions.
He said it took nearly two months to adjust to the reduced bounce and increased swing at “The Village” – the country’s premier venue for cricket – and other local grounds.
“I struggled adapting to that,” Hackney said.
“Guys were probably more skilful I would say. Rather than blasting people out with pace, they know how to undo someone with skill.
“It took a bit of getting used to.
“The way cricket was played was different. I think that did my game good as well.”
He also had to deal with the added weight of responsibility on his young shoulders.
“When you’re the overseas pro for your team, there’s a lot of responsibility for that,” he said.
“That puts more responsibility on me to win games for the team.”
However, as Hackney hit his straps, Malahide rose from the relegation zone to third, and he suddenly had to pay for far fewer beers around the clubhouse.
“If you bat well and win games of cricket for your team you don’t have to pay for any beers,” he said.
“If you don’t get any runs and you’re losing, you definitely notice the difference with the members of the club.”
Hackney, who made his first class debut with NSW in February last year, has enjoyed a purple patch over the past few months, turning 30s and 40s into match-winning scores.
His final six innings in A Grade for Parramatta produced 548 runs at an average of 137 with two hundreds.
And he has continued that form with scores of 94, an unbeaten 114 and 63 from his first three knocks with Tahs.
“Since Christmas I’ve been on a bit of a roll,” he said.
“It’s been a pretty big couple of years for me.
“I’ve always had the ability to bat a long period of time, but it’s never really transformed into runs like this.
“Hopefully I can do the same with the Tahs.”
First visiting Darwin two years ago to play in the Strike League, Hackney kept in touch with then coach and Tahs mentor Udara Weerasinghe.
“This winter I wanted to stay a bit closer to home … so Darwin’s the place,” he said.
He has already established a rock solid opening partnership so far with skipper Isaac Conway, with stands of 110 and 102 in successive rounds.
“He probably hasn’t had the opportunities that he’s deserving (in South Australia),” Hackney said of his talented partner.
Territory rising star achieves career-best bowling performance at Gardens Oval
Talent in a similar sport and “endless” hours in the nets has led young Waratah all-rounder Monet Hunter to achieving a career-best.
The 21-year-old claimed 5/15 against the University Tigers in C Grade at Gardens Oval late last month as the visitors were steamrolled for just 82.
Hunter, who has also been dominating the women’s senior competition scoring 58 runs without being dismissed and taking five wickets at an average of 3.4, took 14 poles in C Grade last season while hitting a top score of 37 batting at five against Darwin.
“This is one of the best things that has happened to me in my cricket career so far, that’s for sure,” Hunter said of her first five-wicket haul.
“One of my best bowling performances.”
It came after taking 4/7 for Western District Cricket Club in the ACT over the summer.
Hunter said she had been working “extremely hard” with Tahs mentor Chris McCormick for several years now, receiving “endless hours” of guidance.
She said she had seen “extraordinary improvement” in her pace and accuracy, leading to a strong start in the Darwin & District Cricket Competition so far this season.
She believed her strengths – pace, slower delivery and outswing – made her “so unique” as a bowler, while her batting power has also improved allowing Hunter to clear the boundary.
“My baseball upbringing has given me a very strong arm and the ability to secure catches in the field,” she said.
Hunter said she found a passion for the sport after playing backyard cricket with her brothers at six years of age and watching them perform on Saturdays.
She said she loved how the game of cricket brought “our Darwin community together as one” and had been blessed by the Tahs’ support after making her senior debut in C Grade in 2021.
“It makes me happy that more women are showing interest in this sport and it gives me the opportunity to give back my knowledge to the women’s cricket community,” she said.
She has her sights set on playing in the Women’s Big Bash League or one day pulling on the baggy green cap.
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