By Nick Creely
There’s going to be a new tall and stylish left handed batsman leading the Casey-South Melbourne charge in 2020/21.
Michael Wallace, the experienced and admired clubman with over 2000 runs and almost 100 matches at first XI level, including three first XI centuries, will captain a talented Swans group next season – glittered with emerging talent and experienced cricketers – with talented keeper batsman Devin Pollock his deputy as the club looks to forge forward into an exciting future.
After a handful of matches as captain in the past, and his continual growth as a player and leader – both on and off-field down at Casey Fields after joining the club in 2012/13 – Wallace said he was relishing the challenge ahead, working closely with Pollock – a future leader of the club – and helping push the Swans along in its quest to return to the Victorian Premier Cricket finals.
“I’m very excited and honoured, it’s a really proud club – having been with the boys for about seven years now, it’s really exciting to lead them into the season,” he told Star News.
“We’re in a strong point with our group – a lot of our boys now are between that 50 to 100 ones games, so we’re in a strong position to actually have a tilt at finals, that’s how I’m feeling for sure.”
The Swans have been busy bolstering its list after a small handful of departures, snaring mature-age pace bowler Cal Dodson from Cricket Southern Bayside club Aspendale, while teenage spinning duo Isaiah Jassal from Berwick and Ringwood’s Harrish Kannan are also exciting prospects who will be around the mark for first XI cricket.
Dodson, in particular had a strong year for the Division 1 grand finalists, snaring 23 wickets overall at the average of 15.20 in his second year at the club, and prior to that had an excellent record for Chelsea Heights-Aspendale Gardens Cricket Club, while Jassal has been steadily developing in the DDCA with the Bears and took 6/4 in a Twenty20 match early last season.
Kannan – who is developing through the pathway program – played for the Cricket Australia XI in the Under 17 National Championships last year as well as being selected for the Australian Under 16s and will add plenty with both bat and ball.
Wallace said the club was excited to welcome in the trio, and in particular boost a bowling group that needed some added depth, and expects them all to make an impact and push hard for a place in the side.
“With Dowlo (Josh Dowling) and Hammo (Jordan Hammond), who had plenty of ones games behind them leaving the club, we needed to have a look at some quicks, and to bring Cal Dodson in will be great for the group,” he said.
“He’s a great person, and from what I’ve heard he’s a really good fast bowler and an absolute workhorse, so he’ll go well.
“And now we’ve got quite a few young spinners too, so there’s a spot in the ones for one of those and we can give them a good go.”
Wallace has worked closely over the last few years with ex-captains Lachie Sperling and Luke Wells – two figures who both enjoyed successful stints and taught the newly appointed skipper plenty about how to lead the group and to get the best out of every individual.
“I’ve been really lucky,” he said.
“I learnt for a few years off Sperlo (Lachie Sperling), he did a great job and led us into finals, and then having the professional cricketer in Wellsy (Luke Wells) and seeing how he goes about it and things he’s done was great, not just with the bat but by how he led the group.
“Wellsy made us believe we could really beat anyone.
“I get to sort of have my own spin on things and my own thoughts, but no doubt it’d be similar to what those two taught me over the last few years.
“(And) I’ve captained five, six or seven times when Sperlo was injured a few years back and in the last game of the last couple of years when Wellsy’s had to leave, so I definitely will use experiences from those games.
“The group’s pretty similar to the past, so I know what makes each player tick which is important to get the best out of everyone.
“The experiences will definitely help.”
After a frustrating 2019/20 for the Swans and for Wallace personally – finishing 15th despite playing some strong cricket at time and from an individual point of view contributing 431 runs – the newly appointed skipper hopes he can, as well as the entire group, collectively lift when pre-season is expected to kick off in late July.
“I was pretty disappointed in my year to be honest, I had a couple of games where I felt really good,” he said.
“I ran myself out for a 30, and I got a 70 and if I’d got another 20 we would have won the game, so there were a few games like that.
“When you’re batting, you’re there to win the game and finish it off for your team, so even though I chipped in, I wasn’t winning games for us which is your role as a batsmen.
“A big thing for this year with myself and especially the batsmen is that when we get in, we’re there at the end of the game when we’ve won.”
With Wallace and Pollock on-board as the club’s on-field leaders for 2020/21, head coach Brian Keogh told the club’s website that the pair were the perfect fit for the group moving forward.
“Wally and Dev are natural leaders and their work ethic, determination and loyalty to the club makes them great appointments,” he said.
“They both have so much to offer and will compliment and support one another very well.”
Brayden Lambden has also been announced as the skipper of the seconds, while Mathew Pearson and Stu Fairley will captain the thirds and fourths respectively and continue to help develop the next wave of Premier cricketers coming through the club.
In other major news at Casey Fields, ex-Australian star, South Melbourne Cricket Club team of the 20th century member, and the highly popular Damien Fleming has returned to the club as high performance consultant in 2020/21 in a major boost to the developing club.
The Swans announced on Tuesday evening, that Fleming, who played 108 matches for Australia across Test and ODI cricket, will spend considerable time with the senior playing group, conducting small group training sessions with the established quicks and will continue his ongoing commitment to the Damien Fleming Academy.
