By Nick Creely
Beaconsfield captain Matt Golding is in the midst of an individual season that could almost go unrivalled in Dandenong District Turf 2 history.
As the Tigers try to push off their rivals and secure a finals position this season, Golding is leading from the front with both bat and ball, with his numbers staggering, and his influence unquestionable.
The 24-year-old Englishman who is contracted to Devon County in England, is in his third season as a Tiger, and is not only ploughing runs at an alarming rate, but is bamboozling some of the top bats in the league with his bowling, where he is bowling both leg spin and pace.
On Saturday, Golding crafted a masterful 112 against Parkmore Pirates at Perc Allison Oval; his third century of the season to date; to take his run tally to an astonishing 578 at 72.3 in just 10 games.
His centuries have been against Lynbrook (113), Lyndale (107) and now Parkmore, while he has also feasted on Narre South (57) and Fountain Gate (80).
In the DDCA Twenty20 cup, Golding also made strong knocks against North Dandenong (70) and Springvale (57), and made 171 at 42.8 in four digs.
With the ball, Golding has been just as incredible, taking 36 wickets at 11.6, including 8/34 and 5/84 in the very same match, one of four five wicket hauls this year.
“I try to just do my thing, stay in my zone and try not to change too much; it’s been pretty remarkable, but there’s no real secret,” Golding said of his season to date.
“I’m just trying to lead by example, I want to take that on and be a leader for the club.”
“I’ve had a real purple patch, and I’m not too sure what the difference is (from last year); as you get a bit older, you mature a bit; I’m 24, so physically I’m probably in my prime, and I’m getting more experience and knowledge of the game.”
Golding has a unique take on his approach to cricket, and said that no matter where he plays, whether it is back home, in Australia or other places around the glove, his approach is the same, and it’s certainly working.
“I’m a firm believer that at the end of the day, it’s just cricket; you need to adapt to conditions and situations, I don’t really buy into different pitches, weather and conditions; you still have to bat, and face the ball, and if you’re confident it should all fall into place,” he said.
“It’s similar with my bowling, I just try and bowl good balls, lead from the front and try not to be too greedy; it’s kind of all fallen into place.”
As skipper of the Turf 2 side, Golding is using his leadership role at the club to inspire him to reach even greater heights.
“I want the rest of the team to be looking at me and know that I’m trying to do the right thing, and set the example; I believe if I’m doing something stupid, it’ll reflect on everyone else, so my mindset is to try to do the right thing, and play as a captain should,” he said.
His stellar knock on Saturday against the Pirates; who sit in third spot; wasn’t without its difficulties, but Golding tried to simplify the situation as much as possible, all with the mindset of keeping the rivals outside the top four from making a late run at the finals.
“It rained a little bit on Saturday morning, so the pitch was a little bit juicy early on, and we were 4/15, and they have some great bowlers, so I stuck in there, watched the good ones and put away the bad ones,” he said.
“The ball nipped around a lot, so I focused on playing down the line, and not following it, which is not what you want to be doing; their bowlers got a bit frustrated because they sort of expected wickets to just start happening, and they started searching, and the bad balls starting coming.
“We’ve got to make the four; we’re fourth by a game, and St Brigid’s/St Louis are in a strong position for outright; if we take these last two games lightly, there’s teams eager to get in, we just need to win both games.”
