North Geelong’s Tom Mathieson leads all GCA1 first grade bowlers since season 2014-15
A gun Geelong bowler has taken more than 100 wickets than his nearest rival over the past 10 seasons. See who made the list.
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They are the leading bowlers of the past 10 GCA1 first grade seasons.
This masthead has crunched the official numbers provided by Cricket Australia to find out who are the top wicket takers, from season 2014-15 to 2023-24.
And it will surprise few close Geelong cricket observers to see a multiple-premiership star coming out on top with more than 300 wickets in that 10-season period.
Plus, there was a Grovedale all-rounder who made both this list and our recent Top 20 of GCA1 first grade batters over the same era.
We spoke to GCA1 first grade expert Wes Cusworth for his thoughts on all of the players who made the bowling list.
20. Nick Lynch
Club: South Barwon
Matches: 57
Wickets: 99
Best bowling: 7-30
Five-wicket hauls: Three
Best season: 27 wickets at 15.9 in 17-18
Wes says:
Tall and rangy, Lynch generated appreciable pace and bounce when fully fit, often causing opponents to be fending off deliveries at an uncomfortable height.
Lynch worked in conjunction with Kyle Bienefelt superbly, with his energy and exuberance providing significant influence to ensure the Swans competed strongly.
Was on level pegging with North Geelong’s Alistair McCann with 99 wickets, but the Magpie played in 20 more games.
19. Luke Wilson
Club: Lara
Matches: 65
Wickets: 100
Best bowling: 4-30
Five-wicket hauls: 0
Best season: 23 wickets at 18.7 in 15-16
Wes says:
Another towering paceman to use his height to advantage, Wilson was, for a long time, the spearhead of Lara’s attack.
His numbers would be even more impressive were it not for injury and football taking priority for one of the region’s premier ruckmen.
Particularly dangerous with the red ball, Wilson is now back using his controlled aggression to his advantage.
18. Nick McGuane
Club: Newtown & Chilwell
Matches: 64
Wickets: 100
Best bowling: 6-58
Five-wicket hauls: Four
Best season: 28 wickets at 18.9 in 18-19
Wes says:
Deceptively quick with a capacity to hoop the new ball around, McGuane also made terrific use of his left-arm angle across the right-handed batsman.
A fierce and lively competitor, McGuane was a mainstay of the Newtown & Chilwell new ball attack before trying his hand at Premier Cricket.
17. Matt Tarbett
Club: Murgheboluc, St Joseph’s
Matches: 65
Wickets: 105
Best bowling: 5-34
Five-wicket hauls: Three
Best season: 28 wickets at 18.5 in 19-20
Wes says:
Another left-armer who proved difficult for right-handed batsmen to negotiate, Tarbett responded to increasing injuries by pulling back his pace and relying on movement and game smarts to continue to make an impression.
Adept at always asking questions of opponents, the affable seamer worked particularly well when in conjunction with another restrictive bowler.
16. George Chisholm
Club: Newtown & Chilwell
Matches: 112
Wickets: 110
Best bowling: 5-15
Five-wicket hauls: One
Best season: 20 wickets at 10.3 in 21-22
Wes says:
Another quality all-rounder, Chisholm was a longstanding opening batsman who could also be relied on as a weapon with the ball for the Two Blues.
Using his height to advantage, Chisholm’s off-spin offering was characterised by accuracy and bounce that could force opponents to drive on the rise.
He was at times used with the new ball in the one-day context.
15. Mitchell Troy
Club: North Geelong
Matches: 99
Wickets: 110
Best bowling: 5-28
Five-wicket hauls: Two
Best season: 23 wickets at 19.6 in 20-21
Wes says:
A versatile all-rounder, Troy demonstrated a capacity to perform at any stage of the game whether with bat or ball.
His miserly off-spin was used with great effect as he took the new-ball through much of North Geelong’s premiership-winning run.
Reliant more on tight lines than demonstrative turn, Troy’s impact has been, nonetheless, substantial.
14. Ben Horne
Club: Leopold
Matches: 69
Wickets: 113
Best bowling: 5-46
Five-wicket hauls: Two
Best season: 41 wickets at 13.7 in 20-21
Wes says:
The Leopold quick has shouldered much of his side’s wicket-taking burden in recent seasons and could trouble many of the competition’s elite batsman with surprising pace and dramatic late movement.
Never prepared to concede defeat, the big-hearted Lion is adept at often coming back for repeated and lengthy spells.
13. Jason Grozdanovski
Club: Murgheboluc
Matches: 79
Wickets: 116
Best bowling: 6-47
Five-wicket hauls: Five
Best season: 25 wickets at 11.6 in 15-16
Wes says:
The accuracy of the left-arm finger-spinning Grozdanovski has been key to his success across the last decade.
Subtle variations characterise his approach, whether being used in an attacking or defensive manner.
Also, one of the Frogs’ key batsmen, “Groz” has the capacity to churn out long spells in the extended format.
12. Kyle Bienefelt
Club: South Barwon
Matches: 88
Wickets: 118
Best bowling: 6-59
Five-wicket hauls: Two
Best season: 27 wickets at 14.5 in 20-21
Wes says:
Dangerous with both bat and ball, Bienefelt was particularly potent bowling upfront, particularly in unison with the likes of a hurrying quick like Nick Lynch.
Bienefelt always made good use of a new ball, generating appreciable movement through the air in favourable conditions, while also engendering deviation off the seam as required.
11. Austin Humphrey
Club: St Joseph’s
Matches: 76
Wickets: 120
Best bowling: 5-36
Five-wicket hauls: One
Best season: 29 wickets at 12.9 in 21-22
Wes says:
The energy and passion of the St Joseph’s barometer ensures the gangly paceman is always threatening opposition batsmen.
Humphrey uses his height to his benefit and is capable of generating some troubling bounce on a responsive wicket.
There’s plenty more good cricket to come from this athletically gifted youngster.
10. Jack Jenkins
Club: East Belmont
Matches: 86
Wickets: 125
Best bowling: 6-30
Five-wicket hauls: Four
Best season: 27 wickets at 16.1 in 23-24
Wes says:
Tall, aggressive and with a capacity to move the ball at pace and generate disturbing bounce, Jenkins uses his left-arm slant across the right-handed batsman to perfection.
His work in partnership with Dylan Moroney has been central to East Belmont’s consistent run of finals appearances through recent seasons.
His absence this season has been a blow to the Lions.
9. Barry Tsitas
Club: Grovedale
Matches: 72
Wickets: 143
Best bowling: 7-34
Five-wicket hauls: Seven
Best season: 44 wickets at 14.5 in 18-19
Wes says:
Always ready to take on the competition’s best batsmen, the combative Tsitas was never out of the game and relished the opportunity to go head-to-head with an equally audacious opponent.
Tsitas can almost single-handedly lay claim to instilling Grovedale’s never-say-die attitude that often saw them steal victory from the jaws of defeat.
8. Dylan McMahon
Club: East Belmont
Matches: 100
Wickets: 149
Best bowling: 6-44
Five-wicket hauls: Two
Best season: 32 wickets at 20 in 20-21
Wes says:
A staple of East Belmont’s bowling over a sustained period, the Lions’ “Mr Reliable” was a perfect seam-up foil for David Lineen, particularly through the successes of 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Supremely fit, the effervescent McMahon would happily charge in for as long as his skipper deemed necessary.
7. Chris Williams
Club: East Belmont
Matches: 82
Wickets: 164
Best bowling: 7-78
Five-wicket hauls: Eight
Best season: 45 wickets at 14.4 in 18-19
Wes says:
An unfortunate string of serious injuries has prevented the wily Williams from boasting an even more impressive spin-bowling resume.
The ever-creative thinker relished the mental battle as much as the physical and, while not a huge spinner of the ball, leant on a repertoire of subtleties that still left the competition’s best batsmen guessing.
6. David Lineen
Club: East Belmont
Matches: 72
Wickets: 169
Best bowling: 7-41
Five-wicket hauls: 10
Best season: 44 wickets at 12.5 in 15-16
Wes says:
For a long time, the benchmark quick of the competition, Lineen forged a reputation as a fearsome, confrontational competitor.
Lethal with the new ball, the former Lion was closing out his career through the first half of the past decade but is still spoken of in revered tones by batsmen across the region.
5. Brad Hauenstein
Club: South Barwon
Matches: 130
Wickets: 177
Best bowling: 6-37
Five-wicket hauls: Three
Best season: 31 wickets at 9.3 in 16-17
Wes says:
Hauenstein’s longevity at the top level is testament to his preparation and rehabilitation, combined with a consistency in impacting every game he plays.
Another triple Jack Sing medallist, Hauenstein’s accuracy has been core to his fortune with the ball over a sustained period.
4. Daniel Hughes
Club: Lara
Matches: 100
Wickets: 181
Best bowling: 8-35
Five-wicket hauls: Seven
Best season: 30 wickets at 12.8 in 19-20
Wes Says:
Whether through the air or off the wicket, Danny Hughes has proved a constant threat to opposition batsmen across the past decade. The Lara seamer’s combative manner is matched by his game smarts manifesting in a sustained period of success for the evergreen performer. His lengthy GCA1 first XI presence is a credit to both his conditioning and determination.
3. Gareth Yelland
Club: Grovedale
Matches: 108
Wickets: 185
Best bowling: 8-63
Five-wicket hauls: Eight
Best season: 36 wickets at 13.4 in 15-16
Wes says:
Never out of the game, Yelland established a reputation as one of the foremost all-rounders of the region’s top tier with his metronomic line and length-bowling, complementing classy middle-order batting to contribute significantly in his winning three Jack Sing medals.
The “top of off’ served him well over his lengthy career.
2. Chris Young
Club: Grovedale
Matches: 105
Wickets: 187
Best bowling: 7-41
Five-wicket hauls: Five
Best season: 41 wickets at 8.8 in 15-16
Wes says:
Precision has been the key to the success of the towering Young, although his capacity to move the ball both ways through the air and off the wicket has carried the Yorkshire-raised seamer to great success since arriving on our shores.
While the vast majority of his time has been spent at Burdoo Reserve, the recent move to Highton will have no doubt been of great benefit to emerging seamers at McDonald Reserve.
1. Tom Mathieson
Club: North Geelong
Matches: 141
Wickets: 315
Best bowling: 7-21
Five-wicket hauls: 11
Best season: 41 wickets at 15.8 in 16-17
Wes says:
The finest bowler of the last decade, Mathieson has been a central figure in his team claiming the past five GCA1 first grade premierships.
The left-hander’s variations have consistently troubled even the competition’s best batsmen. His capacity to manage his troops while still excelling with the ball is testimony to his incredible skill set that promises much more success in future seasons.
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Originally published as North Geelong’s Tom Mathieson leads all GCA1 first grade bowlers since season 2014-15
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