By Marcus Uhe
There will be a strong smattering of yellow and black across the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s (DDCA) T20 competition this summer with a handful of Richmond stars from Victorian Premier Cricket signed as marquee players across the three grades.
Among the Tigers to take the field is Jonathan D’Rozario, who will return to his junior club and the team his father, Shane won a Wookey Medal for, in Buckley Ridges.
Jonathan was among the HSD squad that reached the final last summer but ultimately fell short in the wake of an excellent performance from Springvale South.
If Buckley Ridges are to advance from the group stage, D’Rozario’s impact will be critical, with the Bucks to face the Bloods again, along with previous champion, Berwick.
Elsewhere, seamer Brendan Rose will represent Turf 2 outfit Coomoora, and Josh Sawrey joins D’Rozario in returning to his junior club, in Turf 3 side Berwick Springs.
Rose had represented Berwick as its marquee last season having won the Turf 1 premiership as a Bear back in the summer of 2019/20.
Sawrey, meanwhile, crossed to Richmond this summer after making his way through the ranks at Dandenong.
He has hit 122 runs in five innings for Richmond’s second XI thus far.
Springvale South has re-engaged the services of reigning Ryder Medal winner Brett Forsyth, who showed his class with 222 runs last summer in the same competition at the top of the batting order, and will join brothers Cameron and Mitch in red and white.
Despite losing one Premier Cricketer from its T20 ranks, HSD will not enter the competition undermanned, having signed Prahran all-rounder Brodie Symons.
Symons has wickets in every match this summer to go with handy contributions at solid strike rates for the True Blues.
Around the competition, Parkfield welcomes back 2022/23 marquee Sachin Halangode, Dandenong West has Mornington Peninsula stalwart Sam Fowler on its books, Silverton has signed the experienced Talwinder Prince, and Beaconsfield welcomes Ryan Adams to the fold.
The DDCA’s T20 competition was scheduled to begin on Sunday 1 December but was postponed due to the weather forecast and heavy rainfall on Saturday 30 November.
The group games have been rescheduled to mid-week fixtures, beginning on Thursday 5 December.
