By Nick Creely
Luke Wells’ sheer impact as a leader of Casey-South Melbourne can never be underestimated.
He has provided a calm head and possesses a presence that has made his teammates walk taller, but the Sussex opening batsman’s impact with the bat has been extraordinary too. He’s a run machine who has taken the competition by storm.
On Saturday, in what is likely to be his final dig before he heads back home to link up with Sussex, the stylish left hander produced a memorable century in what has been a remarkable season. And it came against the in-form Essendon, in a match that is likely to determine whether his side will be seeing any finals action.
That’s the mark of a good player – producing an innings of note when it is absolutely imperative.
Wells didn’t need to think too quickly, with the sun out and the pitch looking a batting paradise at Casey Fields, the Swans elected to bat.
But the Bombers made the Swans really work early, and promising opener Ryan Quirk departed without troubling the scorers, edging the ball to slip in a great piece of bowling by Matt Doric.
Wells and youngster Joel Mitchell (19) fought hard to withstand plenty of heat, with the latter looking particularly strong in defence, before an untimely chip back to the bowling of Connor Rutland brought about his downfall.
The skipper continued to play his way, however, quickly flashing the arms at anything short to send the ball crashing to the square boundaries on several occasion, and used superb placement and timing to pick apart the gaps off the quicks. Off the spin bowling of James Seymour, Wells refused to let him settle into a rhythm, using his feet to loft one down the ground.
Right before lunch, Wells raised the bat for a superb half-century with some classic strokeplay, with his Swans reaching the luncheon break on 2/80.
But it was after lunch that Wells truly took toll on the Bombers. Despite Lachie Sperling (11) being trapped LBW from Liam Bowe, the skipper upped the ante, and combined for a brilliant partnership with a fellow tall leftie in Michael Wallace to pile on the pain.
The pair swiftly got the home side to an imposing 3/191, with Wells surging to yet another century despite very nearly falling for 87 after a drop catch by the keeper that couldn’t quite be snaffled by first slip too, and made his way to 114 at tea, reaching the three figures with a glorious six down the ground, with Wallace providing superb support with 45 runs of his own.
After tea, the pair simply could do no wrong. Wells crossed 1000 runs for the season as he continued to showcase his aggressive side and cross 150 with over 20 overs left in the day, while Wallace also picked up more momentum to send a couple sailing over the ropes and near a second century of the season.
But just nine runs short of his triple figures, he was run-out in the cruellest fashion, with a straight drive coming off the fingers of the bowler and crashing into the stumps on the bowlers end with their partnership on 198 – in the end, it was probably the only way the visitors were going to disrupt the pair from inflicting more damage.
With a licence to excite, Jordan Wyatt crashed them to the boundary to reach 21 off his first 16 balls, helping the home side surge past the 300 mark. And Wells simply kept going, spelling trouble for the visitors.
Wyatt’s remarkable cameo culminated with a breathtaking half-century off 30 balls, and he took 24 off just one over from Doric as he crashed three sixes to the boundary in epic fashion.
But Wells was just as spectacular, reaching 197 not out off 258 balls with sheer brutality with just a few overs left in the day – easily surpassing the club record since the club moved to Casey – but unselfishly declared on 4/396 to narrowly miss out on the double but still carry his bat, to allow the Swans a late dip with the ball.
Wyatt ended on 74 off 38, capping off a stunning blitz by the middle order bat, in a great confidence booster for a player loaded with talent.
But it brings Wells’ season to an incredible close with 1063 runs at 60 in the toughest position to bat, including four centuries and four fifties.
But his impact on the club has been more profound than just the runs next to his name. It’s almost certain that Craig Lambden and the committee will be working hard to lock him away for another season next year.
The Bombers managed to survive the final two overs of the day, finishing 0/0 off two overs, with James Seymour and Aaron Ayre to continue next week.
