The Springvale South skipper makes his second appearance in the Turf 1 Team of the Week while a mystery spinner makes it three from three.
A trio of games got up in the Dandenong District Turf 1 competition on Saturday, leaving a wide pool of players to select from.
Spin will dominate this XI, with a series of strong performances from tweakers over the course of the weekend.
So here is the Turf 1 Team of the Week…
1. Ryan Quirk (Springvale South): Quirk’s 64 from 78 balls at the top of the order really set up the run chase for the Bloods. With seven fours and one maximum, it is certainly a knock worthy of nudging fellow openers down the order. By being dismissed with 68 to get, he probably left a century begging at Lois Twohig Reserve, but he still steered his side to another crushing victory. He captains this side.
2. Dulan Waduge (Parkmore Pirates): Waduge is starting to turn heads in Turf 1 after two strong performances. He’s got himself out twice in his two half-centuries this season, but once he finds the solution to that problem, he will be a force to be reckoned with for opposition bowlers. 73 on Saturday for the Pirates opener secures his spot with ease.
3. Matt Chasemore (Berwick): What more needs to be said about the Dandenong District legend. 92 not out in a successful run chase wins him the much-wanted spot at three. The only people more accepting of Cheeks’ desire to play Turf 4 than the Bears are the bowlers who like the prospect of not bowling to him.
4. Johan Brohier (Parkmore Pirates): 69 runs from the Pirates’ ‘keeper has him batting at four. Add the knock together with his clean sheet, Brohier is the obvious choice to take the gloves in this strong side.
5. Leigh Booth (Hallam Kalora Park): Despite being a natural opener, Booth has slid down to five to settle team balance. His 45 not out from just 53 rocks was neatly accompanied by 2/10 from his five overs.
6. Cameron Forsyth (Springvale South): As expected, Forsyth made an immediate impact for the Bloods in his maiden Turf 1 innings. Strolling to the crease with 82 to get, Forsyth noodled around an unblemished 42 from just 44 balls. He struck three fours and two big sixes in another innings earnest of concern to the remainder of the competition.
7. James Wilcock (Berwick): The Berwick superstar played a key role in the Bears collecting 9/45 with 3/40 from 12 overs, while also contributing with a brisk 16 not out at the back end of the innings. As one of the premier players of this competition, this won’t be his last feature.
8. Blade Baxter (Springvale South): Baxter bowled 12 overs into a gusty breeze at North Dandenong and netted a return of three wickets. Dismissed the two top-scorers for the Maroons, including the dangerous Ramneet Dhindsa.
9. Jarryd Straker (Springvale South): Appeared to be bowling on a different wicket than others with 3/32 from his 12 overs. Straker’s economy of 2.66 was almost double the expense of his round 2 spell, which indicates he is sneaking under the radar with a strong start to the season.
10. Harkanwal Singh (Berwick): Singh changed the game for Berwick by taking five swift wickets in the first innings. He probably chose the wrong weekend to take a ‘Michelle’ however, as his stable mate is likely to pinch the three Wookey Medal votes.
11. Sachith Jayasingha (Hallam Kalora Park): While Jayasingha is striking at 100 per cent for Team of the Week appearances, there will likely be few selections more worthy than this one. The spinner jagged a stupendous 5/6 from five overs to take his season tally to eight. Hawks coach Matt Cox labelled him ‘the best fielder in the competition’ last week and Jayasingha backed him in with another run out.
