By Marcus Uhe
The highest honour in the Dandenong District Cricket Association appears Ishan Jayarathna’s to lose after a stellar season for the Buckley Ridges all rounder.
The Wookey Medal, awarded to the best player in Turf 1 for the home and away season, will be awarded on Sunday 2 March, with Jayarathna a runaway favourite with one round to play.
His all-round abilities have been integral to the Bucks’ recent successful period but this season he has taken his game to a new level, influencing games more than he ever has.
While his batting has not reached the height of previous summers, having only passed 36 once (107 not out), his new ball exploits have consistently given his side the upper hand early in their opponent’s innings.
As of round 13, he leads the competition for wickets taken with 34, five ahead of Hallam Kalora Park’s William Whyte in second place.
In five contests he has taken a wicket in the opening over of the bowling innings and with four hauls of five wickets he comfortably leads all comers.
It was in the first half of the season where his destructive ability with the ball was maximised, no better against North Dandenong, when his 6/30 kept the Maroons to just 81 in the first innings.
By season’s end he could finish with an average below 10, an exceptional result for an opening bowler that bowls half of his overs at the tiny confides of Park Oval.
Jayarathna is all but guaranteed maximum votes in four matches; round five against Berwick (6/33), round six against North Dandenong (6/30), round eight against Dandenong West (6/17) and round 12 against Berwick (107 and 3/54), with round two (2/32 and 36) and round 10 (5/61 against Beaconsfield) also likely to attract attention from the officials.
Among the names on his hit-list this season include Damith Perera, Mahela Udawatte, Venuk Hemachandra, Shaun Weir, Jarryd Wills and Matthew Hague, while the wickets of Tyler Clark and Sasith Livera triggered the beginning of the end for a fighting Beaconsfield performance in round 10.
If Jayarathna is not the man to leave the Dandenong Club with the most coveted prize in the DDCA hanging from his neck, here are a few names to keep an eye on as his most-likely challengers.
JEEVAN MENDIS – NARRE SOUTH
371 runs at 46.38, 1 x 100s, 2 x 50s. 24 wickets, two five-wicket hauls
In a season where not much has gone right for Narre South, the continued excellence of Jeevan Mendis has been a shining light.
The 42-year-old winner of the award in 2022/23 will likely finish the home-and-away season leading his side for runs scored and wickets taken, showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
A run-a-ball 71 and the big wicket of Jordan Wyatt against Springvale South in round five set the tone for another excellent summer for the Sri Lankan, whose batting has matched the quality of his bowling.
3/65 and 47 against Beaconsfield in round nine, and 60 and 6/52 against Buckley Ridges in round 11, will be his best chances of polling maximum votes from the umpires, before relying on other contributions to catch their attention
Unfortunately for Mendis, his team’s poor fortunes this summer will count against him.
His 122 against Berwick will be overshadowed by Jake Hancock’s ton for the Bears in the same game, while his 6/93 against Hallam Kalora Park in round 10 will be lost in the wash of a heavy defeat.
NUWAN KULASEKARA – DANDENONG WEST
287 runs at 23.92. 26 wickets, one five-wicket haul
Another former international still showing out at Turf 1 level, and the beneficiary of the blessing of two specialist skills.
When Dandenong West has won this summer, Kulasekara, the winner of the McDonald Medal in Turf 3 two summers ago, has been at the forefront.
His 3/40 against Berwick in round two changed the course of the innings and was supplemented by 43 from 36 with the bat, his 3/25 against Narre South helped roll the Lions for 101 in round six, and his 5/24 helped defend 226 against Beaconsfield in round seven.
The problem for Kulasekara is that his side went winless between rounds eight to 13, with the Bulls on the end of some heavy defeats in that period of the season.
JAKE HANCOCK – BERWICK
474 runs at 52.67, 2 x 100s, 3 x 50s.
A slow start to the season was remedied by Berwick’s rock in the top order once the two-day portion of the season began in round seven.
Beginning with round seven’s contest with Narre South, the former first-class batter peeled off scores in the next five rounds of 109, five, 94, 121 and 86, for an average of 83 during this period.
Only Damith Perera and Ben Wright have more runs than the elegant right hander who has been one of the most difficult wickets to take in the competition this summer.
Centuries against Narre South and North Dandenong will likely net him maximum votes, and his 86 against Springvale South was pivotal to a strong first innings performance, however he’ll jockey with Michael Wallace for votes in certain innings where both scored big runs.
Nagging soft tissue injuries have hampered his availability for selection at times for the Bears, and may curtail his polling ability.
ASHAN MADHUSHANKA – BEACONSFIELD
314 runs at 28.55. 26 wickets.
A lack of senior heads has seen the allrounder’s role in the side skyrocket in importance this summer.
Madhushanka has become Beaconsfield’s ‘Mr Fix It’ at times, playing all manner of roles from opening bowler, opening batter and middle order rock.
He lacks a defining big performance but has been as consistent as they come, particularly in the shorter format of the game when the Tigers looked like making a run for the top four.
Madhushanka will likely have been in the umpires’ sights in round four (3/28 and 33), five (33 and 3/37), and six (25 and 3/50) while an excellent 69 against Buckley Ridges in round 10 and six wickets in a thrashing of North Dandenong at home will come under strong consideration.
