CRICKET

By LIAM DURKIN

 

ACT your age, not your shoe size.

Gormandale cricketer Callum Polo will sit out until after Christmas, following his meltdown for the ages in Cricket Latrobe Valley.

Polo punched, kicked and ripped a stump out of the ground after his dismissal on Day 1 of the Round 6 A Grade clash against Latrobe.

The incident took place on Saturday, November 15 at Stoddart Oval, with the perpetrator learning his official fate last week.

Polo had taken an early guilty plea immediately after Day 1, and was given a two week spell in the sin bin.

The Cricket Latrobe Valley board however felt a harsher punishment was warranted. The tribunal seemingly agreed, ousting him for a total of five weeks.

Taking in the three-week break over Christmas, the sentence means Polo won’t be able to play again until January 10, 2026 at the earliest.

As more and more local cricketers are finding out, the advent of FrogBox means there is nowhere to hide.

Not surprisingly, video of the reaction went viral, making it all the way to FoxCricket and even to the Barmy Army.

While it is not uncommon for cricketers at all levels to throw gear in frustration after a poor shot or bad umpiring decision, Polo’s actions well and truly took the phrase ‘throwing the toys out of the cot’ to new levels.

A Gormandale official told the Express the action was very out of character for the left hander, who was “incredibly remorseful” and “looking to make amends”.

The official confirmed Polo was still supporting the team, while the club was somewhat mystified a player could take an early plea and still be lumped with a more severe penalty.

Last weekend’s game was washed out, which counts toward the weeks to be served.

Watching the footage back, there does not seem to be anything to trigger the reaction that followed.

Latrobe players maintain there was no sledging in the build-up, nor did they look outraged after the incident.

Sharks captain Steven Freshwater alerted the umpire to the damage, while teammate Rhys Noble picked up the flattened off stump.

Polo was on 12 off 72 balls opening the batting, negotiating what was clearly a tricky pitch.

Puffs of dust were visible after the ball pitched during the 20th over, up to when the incident occurred at 23.2 overs.

Before that, Polo had expressed frustration by kicking the air after mistiming a few shots, and jumping after hitting a no-ball straight to the cover fielder.

Young Latrobe spinner Liam Duncan was bowling when Polo was dismissed. He took a wicket with a full toss in his first over, and followed by disturbing Polo’s pegs in his second.

The nature of the wickets arguably had some say in the eventual reaction.

Polo vented after he’d left the field, with the audio picking up “f**king” followed by something unclear.

Just one umpire officiated the game, and deserves credit for allowing the game to continue when many would have used it as an opportunity to wield their authority further.

Cricket Latrobe Valley President Evan Sheekey sent a statement to the Express.

“I can confirm that an independent tribunal convened last week to address breaches of the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct involving a CLV player,” he said.

“The CLV Board wishes to make it absolutely clear that we have zero tolerance for any breaches of the Code of Conduct by CLV players or member clubs. All valid reports lodged will continue to be addressed promptly and in full accordance with CLV By-Laws.

“The board has a responsibility to our senior and junior players, members, sponsors, and the wider community to ensure the integrity of the game is upheld and that our sport is not brought into disrepute.”

The fallout has continued, with Gormandale Cricket Club opting not to broadcast matches on FrogBox from now on, unless full player consent is provided.

 

UNDERSTANDABLY, the league is wanting to stamp out poor behaviour following a number of unsavoury incidents in recent years.

The decision last season to hand down a 10-year ban to the player at the centre of an on-field brawl certainly drew a line in the sand.

Prior to that, incidents of players storming the field, swearing at umpires in the presence of parents and kids, and manipulation of rules were not uncommon.

One well-travelled umpire, who has officiated at BBL level, has previously said they’d never seen such poor player behaviour until they moved to the Latrobe Valley.

Speaking from personal experience, having played in both Cricket Latrobe Valley and Warragul District, there is absolutely a difference.

There are no send offs, personal sledges or sore losers unwilling to have a beer after play in Warragul.

Having covered Sale-Maffra as well, the biggest difference I’ve found is clubs down there help each other. Players often move from club to club just to try and even the teams out.

It is often said people in the Latrobe Valley have big egos. Perhaps it’s time they were shelved.