Shifting season’s fixtures

The flying Shane White will have plenty of options at his disposal this year as Officer looks to avenge last year's grand final defeat. 136394 Picture: ROB CAREW

By JARROD POTTER

WEST GIPPSLAND CRICKET ASSOCIATION – DISTRICT PREVIEW

WITH Cranbourne Meadows off to Premier, St Francis down to Sub-District, Lyndhurst shifting to Carlisle Park and Beaconsfield taking a trip out to the Dandenong District Cricket Association, the District competition is radically different this season.
With only six teams in the competition, District’s fixtures will be a bit odd with sides facing each other up to three times this season as the league rebalances and reorganises for next year and beyond.

CARLISLE PARK
INS: Justin Hinkley (Tooradin)
OUTS: Jason Hameeteman (Casey-South Melbourne), Trevor McGeachin (Pearcedale)
CAPTAIN: Dave Nutting
GAZETTE COMMENTS: It will be interesting to see what the switch to an all-synthetic pitch does for the Vikings’ top order as once the ball is hit on Carlisle Park, it won’t stop. With a new coach, Peter Neville, new name, new ground, not much from the Lyndhurst of old remains season-relevant for the new-look Vikings. Jason Hameeteman is the biggest loss in the division as his 1565 runs in three WGCA seasons won’t be replaced that easily. Ammar Bajwa remains one of the best all-rounders going around and alongside Mark Henry and Justin Hinkley will be a handy triumvirate in the Vikings’ top order. Whether sides need to adjust to Carlisle Park’s synthetic surface will dictate a few outcomes.

CLYDE
INS: Bilal Abbas (Church CC, England), Daniel Walton (Carnegie), Matt Bayliss, Matt Williams
OUTS: Bradley Birkhead
CAPTAIN: John Simpson
GAZETTE COMMENTS: Aptitude at the batting crease was all that separated Clyde from the peaks of District last season. From holding top spot before Christmas, it started to tumble away for the Cougars to miss the grand final. John Simpson will anchor the batting once more while Kyle Brooke will be part of the multi-pronged pace attack that will worry many in the association alongside Pat Lawson and Nick Sadler among others. Bilal Abbas has replaced Bradley Birkhead as Clyde’s token Englishman because Birkhead wanted to return but had to cancel at the last moment. The club has added more batting depth via Daniel Walton who may also take the gloves. There’s more than enough firepower in this side to push towards the final match of the year but the batting needs to cash in more for the Cougars to get there.

DEVON MEADOWS
INS: Jamie Glen (Glen Alvie), Ash Adams (Tooradin)
OUTS: Josh Beets (Beaconsfield), Adam Newstead and Ben Hussey (injured, out until Christmas)
CAPTAIN: Lucas Carroll
GAZETTE COMMENTS: Will this be the year for the Panthers? Jamie Glen and Ash Adams add more layers to Devon Meadows’ batting with skipper Lucas Carroll, Darren O’Brien, Kyle Salerno and Matt Hutchinson around the top of the pops. The half-season outs of Ben Hussey and Adam Newstead hurt the bowling attack but Mick Floyd and Hutchinson are more than capable of burdening the extra workload. It’s a solid line-up on paper but whether that translates into the regular season is up to the cricketing gods.

NAR NAR GOON/MARYKNOLL
INS: Adam Ciavarella, Dale Cunliffe, Grant Pearson
OUTS: To be confirmed
CAPTAIN: Adam Ciavarella.
GAZETTE COMMENTS: New Marygoon all-rounder Adam Ciavarella has been thrown the keys to the kingdom – captaining the side as well as stepping up as an assistant coach for Roger ‘Dodge’ Young. Also adding a bit to the bowling stocks – alongside Craig Lewis and Kevin Wheeler – will be former Merinda Park cricketer Dale Cunliffe. Lewis is crying out for help either with the ball or bat because as he was the only Marygoon in the District top 10 for runs and Wheeler was his only reliable aid at the bowler’s end. The resurfaced main oval should give the Goon batting some help as the ball won’t hit the pockmarks and potholes of previous years and come to a screeching halt.

OFFICER
INS: Anton Marsden, Colin Parnall, Dylan Whitfield
OUTS: None
CAPTAIN: Shane White
GAZETTE COMMENTS: The hard luck story of last year were the rampaging Bullants. Fading away in the final match of the year, despite a strong showing across the board, Officer had plenty of reasons to kick itself following the finale. There will be no Murdochs to torment them this District season, though, and the line-up remains just as powerful as last time around. Options upon options define Officer’s attack. Adam and Brett Reid, Shane White and Braydon McHugh gave the 2014/15 line-up plenty of spearheads while the batting was just as strong, led by White (441 runs). Anton Marsden and Dylan Whitfield will be battling for batting spots – the greatest sign of squad strength when the newcomers aren’t guaranteed a place. With Parnall, now head coach, and Prince Singh both back for full seasons, the Bullants have shown just how strong a line-up can be heading into round one. Pencil them in as the side to beat.

PAKENHAM UPPER-TOOMUC
INS: Rory Giliatte (Bunyip), Ben Spicer (Tooradin).
OUTS: Stephen Boltong (Western Park), Nick Sleep (interstate), Andrew Hilder (Gembrook), Darren Warne (retired)
CAPTAIN: Scott Clark
GAZETTE COMMENTS: Nick Fairbank and Matt Barrand plied their craft overseas this winter and the additional experience is never remiss, especially when finding early season runs. Stephen Boltong and Andrew Hilder’s departure will disrupt the middle order but the likes of captain Scott Clark (385 runs) and Nick Fairbank (357 runs) know how to hit the boundaries. Clark, Fairbank, Barrand, Luke Gunton and Aidan Bock will stitch up the bowling as well. With a decent amount of firepower on either side of the ball, once the side clicks together it’s hard to see the Yabbies falling out of the top three this season.

WGCA DISTRICT ROUND 1 FIXTURE
Carlisle Park Vikings v Pakenham Upper/Toomuc
Officer v Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll
Devon Meadows v Clyde

 

SUB-DISTRICT PREVIEW

REJUVENATION and renewal highlight the new look Sub-District competition as Kalgidhar Cricket Club is welcomed into the association.
After smashing its way through the winter season – playing in various sides in the Melbourne Champions Cricket League – the yet-to-be-nicknamed side is set to shine in its first year out of Lakeside Reserve.
With the Pakenham-based Kalgidhar set to feature in its first clash on Saturday against Tooradin, what we do know is they will bring plenty of pizazz.
Wicketkeeper/batsman Rupinder Singh will become the side’s first captain and will lead out a strong XI filled with talent from around the south east.
All-rounders Sunny Paul, Ashish Uppal and Veerpratap Singh will anchor the sides’ batting while Rajnish Choudhary, Amandeep Singh and Gagan Singla will feature predominantly as they charge into the crease.
Of the second XI sides – Pakenham, Tooradin and Cardinia – there’s no reason to suggest these high-flyers won’t continue their Sub-District rampage this season.
Cardinia has some new additions to its Premier stocks and will by extension prop up the Subbies side.
Brayden Browne and Ben Parrot are likely to see a bit of time in Sub-District, hopefully en route to the Premier side.
Pakenham has lost Josh Gonzales to Catani while Greg Interlandi has gone to try Premier Cricket at Casey-South Melbourne and Nathan Goodes has returned to the DDCA.
The Lions’ won’t be out of pocket at the top of the order though as Scott Webster and Nic Close push the runs through.
Tooradin’s seconds also have a few holes to fill with Ben Spicer and Ash Adams on the way out this year.
Daniel Hunt got his call-up to the Premier side for the semi-final and may feature in a few more clashes after a superb season in the second side.
Aaron Creasey and Kane Latham continue to keep pace in Sub-District and will bolster the middle order.
Catani and Lang Lang are well placed first XI sides.
The Cats will have Luke Gilbert (599 runs) starring once more as he’s joined by Gonzales, Daniel Strahan and Tom Keily at the top the order.
Keily’s 2014/15 was outstanding – 301 runs at 25 and a whopping 45 wickets at 13 – showcased his capabilities and he’ll likely carry on that exceptional effort.
The Swamp Tigers fell away at the final hurdle with a semi-final exit at the hands of Pakenham.
Jeremy Gray (404 runs) was the best of the Lang Lang brigade and will need the likes of Gareth Andrews, Hayden Laidlaw and Dylan Serong to step up.
St Francis Xavier and Nyora have a lot of impressing to do, but a new season always brings a new opportunity to rise up.
With the X-Men coming down a division, it will hopefully prove a better footing for the Beaconsfielders – with Chris Shepherdson, Brendan Hunt and Leigh Otten likely to impress in the next level down.
Brendan Hackett (350 runs), Jake Hackett (343) and Gavin Hackett (240) were in good touch for the Maroons.

SUB-DISTRICT – ROUND 1 FIXTURE
Kaldighar v Tooradin
Pakenham v St Francis Xavier
Catani v Nyora
Lang Lang v Cardinia