Can newly-promoted Parkmore rise to the challenge this summer? Blair Burns takes a close look at the Pirates ahead of the 2025/26 DDCA Turf 1 season.
PARKMORE
Captain: Niranjen Kumar
Last year’s finish: Second (Premiers Turf 2)
Most Runs: Satheesh Fernandu (509 runs)
Most Wickets: Ankit Saxena (31 wickets)
Brand of cricket: Energy.
Key player to watch: Ankit Saxena, Kyle Gwynne, Surya Pratap.
Surprise packet to watch: Harmanpreet Singh
Ins: Jack Farrington (spin-bowling all-rounder – Checkley, UK), Charlie Lewis (fast bowler – Checkley, UK), Harmanpreet Singh (all-rounder – Diamond), Mayank Verma (top order batsman – Diamond), Amila Gunaratne (top order batsman – Knox City), Lochy Premarathna (top order batsman/off-spin – Knox City), Surya Pratap (spin bowler – Fountain Gate), Jordan Gwynne (wicketkeeper/batsman – Lysterfield), Jas Abooj (wicketkeeper/batsman – Richmond City).
Outs: Ammar Bajwa (retired), Johann Brohier, Satheesh Fernandu.
Comment:
Parkmore won the Turf 2 premiership last season and has jumped up into Turf 1 once again. You can’t help but notice the outs of Ammar Bajwa (retired) and Satheesh Fernandu (departing) – the team’s leading run-scorer and wicket-taker. Bajwa took six wickets in the grand final to earn man of the match honours, while Fernandu belted 74 not out and put every car at Thomas Carroll Reserve in serious danger. The loss of this pair will be felt, especially going up into Turf 1, but captain Niranjen Kumar is hoping that the void can be filled with a plethora of recruits. When the Pirates won the Turf 2 flag in 2021-22 and were promoted to Turf 1, they only managed to win one game for the entire season and found themselves back in Turf 2 in the blink of an eye. That story has already been written for the club, but can they re-write it and find a way to avoid the bottom spot on the ladder? Kumar believes they can.
LADDER PREDICTION
1. Hallam Kalora Park
2. Buckley Ridges
3. Berwick
4. Springvale South
5. Beaconsfield
6. Dandenong West
7. Narre South
8. Parkmore
TURF 1 FIXTURE
Round 1 (Two-day): Berwick v Narre South at Arch Brown Reserve, Dandenong West v Parkmore at Greaves Reserve 1, Springvale South v Hallam Kalora Park at Alex Nelson Reserve, Beaconsfield v Buckley Ridges at Perc Allison Oval – all matches to start at 12.30pm.
