By Marcus Uhe
If Lucas Ligt doesn’t take home the Eric Winter Medal as the best player in CCCA District cricket this season, it will go down as one of the all time upsets in the history of sport.
Think the ‘Miracle on ice’ when the US upset the USSR in ice hockey during the 1980 Winter Olympics, Greg Norman falling short of a Green Jacket at the 1996 Masters, Collingwood beating Richmond in the 2018 preliminary final, or LeBron James leading Cleveland to defeat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
The Devon Meadows all rounder was one of the keys to their premiership success this year, having compiled an extraordinary season.
He led all comers with the bat, plundering 832 runs at an average of 104, and finishing in the top 10 wicket takers as a new ball bowler for Lucas Carroll’s side, with 19 scalps at 13.
In an all rounders’ world, as vote counts tend to be, you couldn’t ask for much more.
But IF the unthinkable were to happen, who would be in the mix to knock him off his perch?
Let’s take a look at the contenders.
Imesh Jayasekara – Upper Beaconsfield
Batted big on many occasions when his side needed contributions. 629 runs at an average of 52 speaks to his consistency, hitting two centuries and another score of 97 that will command votes.
Dale Cranston – Lang Lang
A weapon with two disciplines opens the door for many vote-polling opportunities. Opened the batting for much of the season before a move down to five to conclude the campaign, hitting three fifties, and took 21 wickets as one of the frontline spinners in the league.
James Markland – NNG/Maryknoll
Made plenty of runs and led the Marygoons in scoring on five separate occasions, but some of them came in losses. Major scores of 92, 99 and 75 stand-out like a beacon, and he should expect to be there or thereabouts. Always in the contest in the field, as a wicketkeeper, too.
Chad McDonald – Upper Beaconsfield
Went wicketless on just three occasions with a tidy economy rate to boot, and made some valuable lower order contributions with the bat for a side that finished second in the home-and-away season.
Chris Cleef – Devon Meadows
He’ll find it difficult to poll big votes, given much of the attention will be on Ligt in their games, but the leading wicket taker in the competition cannot be overlooked in this discussion.
Went wicketless just twice, with standout performances including 5/15 against Pakenham Upper Toomuc and 4/16 against Gembrook. Only played in 11 matches too, from a 14-round season, which may cost him.
The Eric Winter Medal will be awarded at Sunday’s CCCA Senior Presentation Day at the Beaconsfield Club.
