Five Southern Districts players make the Top 15 junior bowlers of the past decade, according to MyCricket data
Five Southern Districts players and a two-time, A Grade premiership pacer have made the Top 15 junior bowlers of the past decade.
Northern Territory
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Who are the best junior bowlers of the past decade?
The NT News has gone through the MyCricket numbers for the Darwin and District Cricket Competition’s Under 18 division over the past 10 years to find the answers.
And there were some clear standouts, with Darwin’s Leon Danicic snaring 54 poles at an average of just eight from 28 dominant games, with the best figures of 5/9 against PINT in 2014.
He would take 72 wickets from three seasons in Under 18s.
The most outrageous figures, however, belonged to Nathan Hangan, who took 6/8 for Southern Districts against Palmerston in 2013, while Dylan Mullen also claimed 7/32 for Crocs against Darwin that same year.
The Crocs were well represented in the list with five inclusions, while four players also made our Top 15 best bats of the past decade.
Leon Danicic
THEN: Darwin
NOW: Greensborough.
BEST UNDER 18 SEASONS: 2014 and 16
MATCHES: 28
WICKETS: 54 at an average of eight
RUNS CONCEDED: 432
FIVE WICKET HAULS: One
BEST BOWLING: 5/9
Danicic dominated Under 18 cricket for three years, grabbing a total of 72 wickets at 9.7 runs apiece.
His most productive year came in 2016 where he claimed 31 wickets at 9.65, with the best figures of 4/5 off 4.2 overs against Nightcliff.
He last played cricket in Darwin in 2020, collecting nine wickets at 20.33 across eight B Grade games.
Adi Dave
THEN: Southern Districts
NOW: Nightcliff
SEASONS: 2015 and 17
MATCHES: 28
WICKETS: 47 at 9.85
RUNS: 463
HAULS: 1
BB: 5/30
Like Danicic, Dave ruled junior cricket for a few years with Southern Disricts.
His most prolific season came in 2017 where he picked up 27 wickets at 8.15 runs each, including the best figures of 5/30 against Palmerston.
Has since moved to Nightcliff, where he played nine Premier Grade matches in 2020, taking 11 wickets at 23.73.
Nathan Hangan
THEN: Southern Districts
NOW: Southern Districts
SEASONS: 2013 and 14
MATCHES: 23
WICKETS: 45 at 8.9
RUNS: 404
HAULS: 2
BB: 6/8
Hangan, who also made the Top 15 best junior bats of the past decade, produced his finest junior year in 2013, taking 21 wickets at just 8.52.
His best figures that season was an incredible 6/8 against Palmerston, who struggled to 9/48.
Hangan has gone on to be a two-time premiership player with the Crocs, beating Waratah in last year’s decider by seven wickets, and Darwin in 2019 by 108 runs, taking 1/8 off five overs.
Tom Geier
THEN: Waratah/PINT
NOW: PINT
SEASONS: 2015 and 16
MATCHES: 25
WICKETS 45 at 10.66
RUNS: 480
HAULS: 2
BB: 6/19
Geier’s numbers were boosted by a bumper 2016 season which produced 23 wickets at 10.57, including 5/5 off six overs against Nightcliff.
He has remained a consistent presence for the club, playing last season in B Grade where he took 10 wickets at 21.2.
Ritwik Dasgupta
THEN: Darwin, Waratah/Tracy
SEASONS: 2013 and 15
MATCHES: 26.
WICKETS: 42 at 11.5
RUNS: 484
HAULS: 0
BB: 4/22
Dasgupta’s most fruitful season came in 2013, claiming 24 wickets at 12.33, with the best figures of 4/22 against Southern Districts.
However, Dasgupta has not played any cricket recorded by MyCricket since his 2016 season with Darwin.
Riley Julicher
THEN: Darwin
NOW: Chelsea
SEASONS: 2015 and 16
MATCHES: 30
WICKETS: 41 at 13.5
RUNS: 556
HAULS: 1
BB: 6/27
Julicher bagged 22 wickets at 15.68 in the 2015 season, with his best day out being a 4/38 spell against Waratah/Tracy.
Julicher has since moved to Melbourne and played over summer with Chelsea’s A Grade, collecting a tidy 14 wickets at 24.86 from 10 games.
Andrew Richards
THEN: Southern Districts
NOW: Nightcliff
SEASONS: 2016 and 17
MATCHES: 26
WICKETS: 38 at 9.63
RUNS: 366
HAULS: 0
BB: 3/3
Without taking any big hauls, Richards was a consistent wicket taker in his two Under 18 seasons with Crocs
However, like Adi Dave, Richards has since moved to Nightcliff, playing 10 games in Premier Grade last season.
Lucas Wilson
THEN: Palmerston
SEASONS: 2014 and 15
MATCHES: 17
WICKETS: 38 at 13.13
RUNS: 499
HAULS: 0
BB: 4/8
Wilson was the leading wicket taker in 2014 in Under 18 cricket, collecting 26 poles at 7.42 runs a piece — taking wickets in all eight matches and a 4/8 against PINT.
However, 2015 would be his swanswong from cricket, exiting the game with 12 wickets at 25.5.
Antum Naqvi
THEN: PINT, Waratah/Tracy
NOW: Tracy Village
SEASONS: 2014 and 15
MATCHES: 23
WICKETS: 37 at 13.64
RUNS: 505
HAULS: 1
BB: 5/12
Another Darwin cricketer who made the Top 15 junior bats of the past decade, Naqvi fell just under the 20-wicket mark in two Under 18 seasons.
His best figures of 5/12 came against Darwin in 2015, his only five-wicket haul of those two seasons.
Naqvi has gone on to be a quality cricketer, playing first grade in Darwin and two states (Woodville in South Australia, Blacktown Mounties in NSW).
Daniel McKell
THEN: Southern Districts
NOW: Palmerston
SEASONS: 2015 and 16
MATCHES: 28
WICKETS: 37 at 9.43
RUNS: 349
HAULS: 0
BB: 3/6
Like Naqvi, McKell hovered around the 20-wicket a season mark, with the best figures of 3/6 off 4.3 overs against Darwin.
Would now be searching for that kind of form in the Premier Grade, after pinching 20 wickets at 19.45 in a premiership-winning year of 2019.
Cameron Hyde
THEN: Palmerston
NOW: Palmerston
SEASONS: 2019 and 18
MATCHES: 25
WICKETS: 35 at 10.11
RUNS: 354
HAULS: 0
BB: 3/21
Hyde, like Antum Naqvi, also made the Top 15 bet junior bats of the past decade.
Producing his best junior season in 2019 with 19 wickets at 9.63, Hyde is still playing senior cricket in B Grade at Palmerston.
Nicholas Cowling
THEN: Nightcliff
NOW: Nightcliff
SEASONS: 2014 and 15
MATCHES: 25
WICKETS: 34 at 14.29
RUNS: 486
HAULS: 1
BB: 5/7
Season 2014 produced a bumper harvest for Cowling, picking up 20 wickets at 10.3 with the best figures of 5/7 off three overs against Darwin.
Cowling, who played B Grade with the Tigers last season, plied his trade with Richmond in Victorian district over the summer as a batter.
Jake Baker
THEN: Palmerston
NOW: Palmerston
SEASONS: 2017 and 20
MATCHES: 24
WICKETS: 34 at 15.5
RUNS: 527
HAULS: 0
BB: 3/11
Baker’s best work came in 2017, claiming 18 wickets at 16.44 with the best figures of 3/57 against Tracy Village.
Most importantly, he remains a senior cricketer with Palmerston, playing round one in Premier Grade this season.
Dylan Mullen
THEN: Southern Districts
NOW: Southern Districts
SEASONS: 2012 and 13
MATCHES: 21
WICKETS: 33 at 9.27
RUNS: 306
HAULS: 2
BB: 7/32
Another NT cricketer who also made our best junior bats of the decade.
Mullen’s total junior wickets tally got a massive boost in 2013, claiming 24 wickets at 7.83, including a haul of 7/32 against Darwin as he took nine in total for the game.
He has remained a Croc almost a decade later, playing two Premier Grade matches in 2021, but primarily as a batter.
Fraser Shehan
THEN: Darwin
NOW: Chelsea
SEASONS: 2014 and 15
MATCHES: 25
WICKETS: 33 at 13
RUNS: 429
HAULS: 0
BB: 3/4
Like Julicher, Shehan has since left the Territory and played with Chelsea over the summer.
However, he was a consistent performer at Under 18 level without grabbing any big five-wicket hauls, his best being 3/4 off four overs against PINT.
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