LIAM DURKIN
CRICKET
LVDCL
BY LIAM DURKIN
WIVES and girlfriends of Latrobe Valley cricketers – get your goodbyes in now.
The Latrobe Valley and District Cricket League season starts in a matter of days, and that means hundreds of players across the region will be devot- ing their time to a sport that takes up most of the weekend for the next six months.
To the uninitiated, cricket can appear to be a confusing game played out by eccentrics in long trousers who stand out in the sun for six hours, but to millions of devotees worldwide, it is the ultimate battle of wits, cunning and attrition.
In terms of making a return, the LVDCL has a double-dose in store for season 2022/23.
Not only will this season see the return of two day cricket, it will also see the return of the much-loved tradition of afternoon tea.
The return of two dayers means the return of real cricket, while the return of ‘the spread’ means the afternoon tea stakes are sure to be a battle as hotly contested as anything on the field.
Club reputations can be made or destroyed on the quality of the afternoon tea.
The cricket afternoon tea is the ideal sporting diet – ideal for watching sport on television that is, and is usually made up of party pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches, fruit, cake and slice.
Many young players have kept their spot in a first grade team because their mothers provide scrumptious afternoon teas.
Moving back to the fixture, the season will see competing teams from the Premier A and A Grade division play one-day games in a cross-conference system up until Christmas, before moving into the longer format after the break.
Teams will then only play opponents in their division after Christmas.
The opening round fixture is (home team listed first): Morwell v Jeeralang-Boolarra, Traralgon West v CATS, Churchill v Centrals, MTY Raiders v Trafalgar, Moe v Willow Grove, Mirboo North v Latrobe.
CATS
Last season: Premier A premier.
Captain: Josh Keyhoe; in: None; out: Tinashe Panyangara, Sam Hoch.
CATS enter season 2022/23 in the unique position of going for a hat-trick of premierships across two different divisions.
The team from Traralgon South entered the Premier A competition last season, straight after being promoted from A Grade the season prior, and duly walked away with the title.
A CATS premiership seemed a long shot at times during the regular season, as they tip-toed their way through the campaign, emerging as a darkhorse late in the piece.
Amazingly, they were 30 points adrift of Churchill on the ladder at the end of the regular season, and only got into the grand final after a nerve-killing four-run win in the semi-final.
They then went on to defeat the Cobras by 131 runs in the grand final.
Talk about putting it all together on the big stage.
If CATS are to go again, they will have to do so without the hero of last season’s decider, Tinashe Panyangara.
The Zimbabwean Test player was man-of-thematch in the grand final after taking 5/17.
Top order bat Josh Keyhoe takes over from Ben Julin as captain, and he will have some strong seniority around him in the form of Jamie Cochrane and Cal Stewart.
Stewart may move up the order for the two dayers after Christmas, and certainly has the class to average close to 50.
A reverse sweep he played against Trafalgar a couple of seasons ago still sticks firmly in the memory of those who witnessed it. The ball literally got to the boundary in half a second and never went more than two inches off the grass.
Churchill
Last season: runner-up.
Captain: John Keighran; in: Kian Farnworth (England), Brae Kelly (Red Hill); out: Brendan
Mason, Ryan Harvey (both injured).
THE Cobras will look to play finals again, and maintain their status as the competitions benchmark.
Churchill has not missed the grand final since the LVDCL was formed.
King Cobra John Keighran is back leading the side, and has welcomed two recruits for the season.
Kian Farnworth has come over from England, and Brae Kelly from the Mornington region.
Kelly is expected to bowl plenty of overs with his leg breaks, while Farnworth will take up a position in the top order.
The Cobras will be without key players Brendan Mason and Ryan Harvey, who are both consigned to the sidelines with injury.
While their losses will be felt, if there is one thing Churchill cricketers know better than most it is how to play an effective role, and Keighran will again be out to see his troops are doing this more often than not.
The Cobras have a number of bowlers such as Chris Williams, Steve Warr and Keighran himself all capable of stringing plenty of dots together, and this, backed up by exceptional fielding has been a hallmark at George Cain Oval in recent seasons.
Opposition teams have often commented how it feels as though there are15 players on the field whenever they play against Churchill.
Morwell
Last season: third.
Captain/coach: Jordan Campbell; in: Greg Harvey (Liverpool), Luke Gettings (Middlesborough), Manbir Singh (India); out: none.
MORWELL won’t need to look hard for motivation this season.
The Tigers were denied a place in the grand final by the barest of margins last season, and will be hell-bent on avoiding a repeat in 2022/23.
Morwell has some serious fire-power with the bat, equally complemented with players who can hold things together.
Players such as Blake Mills, Mark Cukier, Brendan Brincat and Blair Clymo are all capable of taking the game away from an opposition in a session, while captain/coach Jordan Campbell and Dylan Day bring tremendous game-sense to the equation.
Day is coming off a breakout season with the ball, where his 25 wickets saw him finish second on the league table.
The Tigers have a few internationals coming across this season, and officials will hope this bolsters the line-up even more.
Depth certainly doesn’t look to be an issue at Morwell. Brincat batted as low as seven at times last season, and much like Adam Gilchrist during the halcyon days of Australian cricket, one can only imagine the demoralising effect this had on opponents.
Something that stood out from Morwell last season was how every batting pair, even those down the order, saw their time together as an opportunity to contribute rather than a task to survive.
If this continues, the Tigers should have little trouble posting decent totals, especially in the two dayers.
MTY Raiders
Last season: fourth.
Captain/coach: Liam Maynard; in: George Cheshire (returning international), Alex
Burcombe; out: Brayden Hickey.
THEY still haven’t retired.
Morwell Tigers Yinnar Raiders will go into another season with an experienced list, topped off with some exciting young prospects.
Raiders’ veterans Mick Higgins and Chris Stanlake will add to their games tally, along with
returning captain/coach Liam Maynard in their quest to take the title.
The trio make up a core group of Raiders players who seem to have been around forever, and will be joined by a few others bringing in a vast amount of experience from other clubs.
International George Cheshire will be back in a Raiders shirt. Cheshire had a productive time in his last Australian stint, helping Raiders to the premiership with a 17-wicket season.
Speaking of wickets, bean-pole quick Harry McColl took plenty last season – 27 in fact to lead the LVDCL.
The youngster has had a big 2022, named among the best for Yinnar in their recent senior football premiership.
A cricket flag to go alongside the footy one has a nice ring to it if you are a Yinnar supporter.
Latrobe
Last season: fifth.
Captain: Benn Zomer; Coach: Lachlan Dobson (Carrum Downs) in: Lachlan Dobson; out: none.
LATROBE could be forgiven for thinking the cricket gods have been against them in recent years.
The Sharks had Mirboo North 5/25 in pursuit of 218 in the semi-final two seasons ago, only for the Tigers to hang on for a draw and advance through as the higher ranked team.
Then in the season just gone, Latrobe missed finals despite winning the same number of games as CATS – who went on to win the premiership.
If cricket is indeed a great leveller, it may be seen in just how the Sharks fare this season.
Latrobe has recruited Lachlan Dobson from Carrum Downs to coach the club, and he will work alongside skipper Benn Zomer.
Zomer is one of many left-hand batsman in the Sharks top order, and this could be advantageous in making sure fielders need to change sides regularly.
Fellow left hander Anu Meenakshi came of age last season, scoring his first century in the top flight.
Latrobe already has a ‘sort of’ cricket premiership this year, with a local indoor team made up of mostly Latrobe players taking out a local competition.
Those in the Shark colours will be hoping it serves as a good omen.
Mirboo North
Last season: sixth (relegated).
Captain/coach: Jed Alexander; in: Brett Pedlow (Yarram), Jesse Van Rooye (Outtrim Moyarra Kongwak), Dom Davis (Leongatha Imps), Mark Graeme (Gundaroo), Will Cheatley (returning to A Grade); out: Jesse Giardina (Leongatha Town), Iezaz Hasan (Paynesville).
MIRBOO North has recruited heavily for the new season.
After winning the Premier A premiership in 2021/22, a number of retirements meant the Tigers fielded a very youthful team last season.
That youth was given good exposure in the top flight, and the benefits of that might be seen more readily this season.
Jed Alexander takes over from Jesse Giardina as captain/coach.
While the names might be different, the style of leadership may remain similar, as you are unlikely to find two more laid-back characters.
Alexander will undoubtedly make playing cricket fun for Mirboo North, but will balance this out when the need arises to get down to business.
Hard-hitting batsman Brett Pedlow has come back to the club after work commitments as
principal at Yarram Secondary College tied him to that part of Gippsland.
Moe
Last season: A Grade premier (promoted).
Captain: Noah Kane; coach: Pat Spiteri; in: Callum Grant (Scotland); out: Joel Mitchell
(overseas).
MOE makes the move into Premier A after winning the A Grade premiership.
The Lions will be greeted with new challenges in the top flight, although their opponents will be familiar given the cross-conference model used in recent seasons.
Wicket-keeper batsman Noah Kane has been appointed club captain.
Kane has made the transition from vice-captain to lead the next generation of Moe cricketers.
The Lions have added Callum Grant this season, who is making the journey over from Scotland.
After consulting the bible known as Cricinfo, Grant is listed as a left-hand bat that bowls left
arm orthodox.
Moe will be without star batting all-rounder Joel Mitchell this season, but having said that, the team will take confidence from what happened only a few months ago.
With Mitchell injured in the last part of the 2021/22 season, the Lions not only won the premiership, they still put up three scores around or over the 250 mark.
Possibly the biggest evolution in the way Moe play their cricket was seen last season, as a number or players extended their batting from not just sweating on balls to hit to the boundary, but looking for every opportunity to pick up singles.
And of course, they still have Andrew Philip.
The real Prince Philip has made 800, 761 and 600 runs in the last three seasons.
Trafalgar
Last season: runner-up (A Grade).
Captain/coach: Aydan Connolly; ins/outs: rolling with the same squad.
THE Ships have the same boat but a new captain steering it this season.
Aydan Connolly takes over from Rhys Holdsworth as captain, and will be out to see Trafalgar win as many games as possible in 2022/23.
As a club always planning ahead, Connolly captained the side on occasions last season, in readiness to transition into the role.
The Ships have kept the same squad as the one that made the grand final last season.
If the Trafalgar Cricket Club was a country it may well have been a socialist one last season. The Ships found even contributions from everyone serving a common goal, with three players all making over 300 runs and five players all taking 12 or more wickets.
While the goal of the premiership eluded them, the Ships should be in contention again if they can demonstrate strong team values.
An area they may need to address is how they approach two-day cricket. Trafalgar hasn’t won a two-day game since the 2019/20 semi-final.
Centrals
Last season: third (A Grade).
Captain: Tye Hourigan; Coach: Rob Webber; in: Joseph Stewart (UK); out: none.
FOR Centrals, it has been a case of so close yet so far in recent seasons.
The Lions have had no trouble making finals, but have learnt how fragile a cricket season can be the hard way, crashing out in their last three semi-final attempts.
If there is to be a silver lining however, players should now be even more determined to not let another opportunity slip by.
Youngster Tye Hourigan will captain the side this season, and is expected to bat in the top four.
Centrals have added Joseph Stewart as their international, to fill the spinner’s void that has
been largely unfilled since Irishman Ross Allen’s departure in 2020.
Statistically at least, the Lions offered a strange conundrum last season, as virtually every single player in the team had below-average campaigns.
Apart from Hourigan, who finished in the top 10 league batting aggregate, the next best was Wayne Henry, who came in at 32.
Bowling stocks didn’t fare quite as bad, with Corey Pollard and Reghard Hefer each taking
20, but even then they only came in at 14 and 15 respectively on the league table.
To have such a discrepancy in the batting especially is rare, especially when you have players the calibre of Rob Webber and Mark Rawson, so the Lions might be willing to write last season off and see 2022/23 as a chance to start afresh.
Traralgon West
Last season: fourth (A Grade).
Captain/coach: Rob Wilkie; in: Matthew Griffiths, Harley Bright; out: none.
IF last season was all about making finals, this season might be all about winning a final for
Traralgon West.
Last season was one for the dreamers at the Eagles, as the team made their first A Grade finals series since 2003/04.
While the side fell short, going down to eventual premier Moe, one would expect they are even hungrier to go again.
Rob Wilkie is back, leading the team for a second season, and pleasingly from a Traralgon West perspective, they go in without any outs.
It has certainly been a slow burn for the Eagles, but they now look to be in a position where they can certainly provide more than healthy competition.
Arguably the biggest turning point that saw them make finals last season was simply knowing how to win, and Traralgon West was able to take a
few games last season that hung in the balance late in the day.
Josh Monacella is coming off a strong season with the bat, while the potential of Ihraam Zafar is well documented.
Jeeralang-Boolarra
Last season: fifth (A Grade).
Captain: Ben Heath; coach: Ash Spotwart; in: Shankajaya De Silva, Navod Edirisinge, Yashan Wickramarachchi, Dilshan Thillekarathna; out: Matt McGrath (not playing), Ossy Brennan (army), Rhy McNaughton (Paynesville).
AT least one writer is hoping he hasn’t been taken for a fool with some of these ins.
Jeeralang-Boolarra will aim to make a return to finals this season, continuing on a strong, if
unheralded, history in A Grade cricket since entering a first grade team in the old Central Gippsland Cricket Association in 2015/16.
Last season was only the first time the Panthers have missed finals in the LVDCL.
Ben Heath will again lead the side on the field, with Ash Spotwart acting as a close confidant.
Just how well the new recruits go remains to be seen, although one thing is for certain – scorers will have a torrid time trying to fit their names in the batting and bowling column.
Jeerlang-Boolarra should benefit from having a few more games on their home ground this season, and will be looking forward to playing a two-day game on the astro after Christmas.
Willow Grove
Last season: Not applicable – entering A Grade this season.
Captain/coach: not applicable; ins/outs: Not applicable.
IT is all go at the Grove.
After many seasons of discussion within local cricket circles, the Wolves have finally decided to make the step up into A Grade.
For a speck of a town, Willow Grove has a thriving cricket club.
Last season they fielded two senior grades, three junior teams, a women’s side, and had an entry level program for beginners.
Now they are going to field an A Grade team for the first time since the mid 1980s.
Although a recruiting drive to bring some A Grade quality to the club did not come to fruition, the Wolves have still, admirably, decided to test the waters.
Willow Grove finished third in Premier B Grade last season, and players who have been dominant at that level in recent years such as Brody Hams will now be among locals flying the flag for the Grove in the top flight.
The Wolves won’t be totally out of place in A Grade, as Hams and co have faced A Grade quality teams in B Grade, while players such as Peter Grima have played a vast amount of first grade cricket at other clubs.
In helping with the transition, Willow Grove has been granted dispensation, and will field its
second XI in the second-tier B Grade competition.
The club is hoping to gain the services of specialist coaches during the season to develop players and broaden their knowledge, with part of the move to A Grade about giving junior players at the club a taste of top level cricket.
With this in mind, Willow Grove will be under no illusions heading into the season, and in many respects, results are almost irrelevant.
For a town of less than 250 people, to have an A Grade cricket team is a win in itself.
