By David Nagel
The Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) will field a new-look team when Melbourne Country Week takes place across metropolitan grounds from February 10 to 14.
The 14-strong squad consists of only four players that represented the Crusaders at last year’s carnival, with Country Week stalwarts Chris Bright (Kooweerup) and Jason Williams (Pakenham) joined by reigning Glasscock Medalist Lucas Ligt (Devon Meadows) and wicket-keeper Ben Parrott (Tooradin) from the team that finished runner up last year.
The CCCA will play in the elite-level Provincial competition after earning promotion by qualifying for the Division Two grand final against Bairnsdale at the Albert Ground in Melbourne.
It was the CCCA’s first Country Week campaign since pre-Covid in 2019.
The new-look line up starts at the top, with Tooradin star Cal O’Hare set to lead the Crusaders into battle; ending a lengthy hiatus from Country Week.
O’Hare is proven at this level, having won two Glasscock Medals as an all-rounder in 2010 and 2014, with the now 36-year-old in career-best form as an opening bat.
Five players in the squad, Bright (516), O’Hare (454), Trevor Bauer (399), Shiran Rathnayake (398) and Ligt (359), currently sit in the top-10 for batting in CCCA Premier Division this season, while Merinda Park import Tobias Van Den Heever will provide important impact through the middle order with his experience on turf proving vital.
Rathnayake is the star all-rounder in the team, with the former Phillip Island spinner sitting third for wickets with 19.
The bowling brigade is well stocked with a heavy arsenal, with Clyde’s Ankush Rana (26) and Tooradin youngster Tyler Evans (23) the leading wicket-takers in Premier, while Pakenham Upper/Toomuc’s Raja Sadiq – the only player selected from District Division – has 28 scalps for the season.
Rana has been in electrifying form for the Cougars, taking 21 wickets from his last six games; including a hat-trick against Devon Meadows.
Williams, Ben Marsh (Devon Meadows) and Cardinia’s Yohan Arumadura will join Rathnayake in a strong spin-bowling brigade, while Arumadura’s Bulls’ teammate Trishane De Silva will be looking to take early wickets with the new ball.
Tooradin veteran Tom Hussey and Carlisle Park captain Kasun Balasuriya are the two emergencies for the squad.
O’Hare said enthusiasm for 2025 Country Week had shined through at the initial training session where numbers were impressive.
“We had a great turnout at training; there were players from District that I don’t know a lot about who were quite impressive as well,” O’Hare said.
“We’ve got a lot of players in form and it’s great to see some new players to the comp put their hand up to represent the league.
“We’ve got four or five players come into the league with experience in turf cricket and that should hold us in good stead.
“Then there’s a young bloke like Tyler (Evans), who’s had a great season; it’ll be a great experience for him to test himself against the best.
“It’s always exciting to have a couple of debutants; but we’ve got nine or something like that.
“I think we’ve got a good mix of guys that can do everything, which is good.”
The Crusaders skipper said the time was right to return to the fold, with the Crusaders set to match motors with the best country cricketers in the state.
“Being back in the top division is exciting; it’ll be really good cricket and a great challenge and I can’t wait to see how we go,” he said.
“We’ve got some really exciting players around the league and I thought it would be good to go around for one more time.
“I’m looking forward to it (captaincy); I haven’t done it for a couple of years now, so I’ll have to be on my game, but we’ve got quite a few captains in the team so there’ll be plenty of help in that regard.”
O’Hare is looking forward to seeing a smorgasbord of talent from the CCCA shine through but, when pressed, picked out a stalwart of the competition as the player he is looking forward to watching most.
“I think Wombat (Bright) is hitting them as well as he’s ever hit them before,” O’Hare said.
“It will be nice to be on his side for a change.”
O’Hare has a good idea of what the Crusaders batting order might look like, but thinks being flexible will be the key with two right-handers (O’Hare and Bright) joining two lefties (Bauer and Ligt) in a likely top order.
CCCA CRUSADERS
2024/25 COUNTRY WEEK SQUAD
Cal O’Hare (Tooradin – Captain)
Yohan Arumadura (Cardinia)
Trevor Bauer (Clyde)
Chris Bright (Kooweerup)
Trishane De Silva (Cardinia)
Tyler Evans (Tooradin)
Lucas Ligt (Devon Meadows)
Ben Marsh (Devon Meadows)
Ben Parrott (Tooradin)
Ankush Rana (Clyde)
Shiran Rathnayake (Kooweerup)
Raja Sadiq (Pakenham Upper/Toomuc)
Tobias Van Den Heever (Merinda Park)
Jason Williams (Pakenham)
Emergencies:
Kasun Balasuriya (Carlisle Park)
Tom Hussey (Tooradin)
