BLAIR: Gday boys, we are back for another week of Let’s Talk Sport and we have plenty happening, so let’s get into it. You got down to some cricket on the weekend Justin, give us your best action.
BEST ACTION
JUSTIN: Yeah, it was interesting to see Cardy really assert themselves against Pakenham on Saturday. Pakenham still sort of on the outside looking in towards finals, if they won, they would’ve had a bit of a sniff, but it was always going to be a tricky ask. Cardy lost two in a row coming in, they won the premiership last year and were looking to be one of the top dogs again this year, but they really put their own stamp on the game and made a statement. They are probably going to outright Pakenham. And it was Lachie Volpe, coming off his recent Country Week campaign had a moment of brilliance where he took two wickets in two balls. This left Pakenham skipper Jack Anning to come out and face the hat-trick ball, and it was a thick outside edge for two, so he survived the hat-trick ball. Lachie Volpe suddenly tore the game apart while Pakenham was on the ropes, the first one was straight through Jason Williams, then the next ball hits on the pads and LBW appeal was met with a raised finger. So, best action to him, he is having an outstanding season in the CCCA, as are a lot of spinners. It is good to see Cardy return to form.
BLAIR: It is the year of the spin, what are Lachie Volpe’s season numbers looking like Juzzy?
JUSTIN: Before the weekend, he had taken 26 wickets at an average of 8.2, but he took another four on the weekend, conceding only 16 runs … 30 wickets now. He is one of just three bowlers in the top 10 to have an average of less than 10 and you wouldn’t believe it, they are all spinners. What was your best action Blair?
BLAIR: I have a couple of pieces of best action this week. As a bowler, I love a good day out and have rewarded a couple of bowlers this week. I have experienced what it’s like to take six wickets once before, but that is nothing on Narre North’s Aydin Akin, who dominated St Mary’s in the DDCA Turf 3 competition.
JUSTIN: You took 6/8 didn’t you? How much better can it get?
BLAIR: A whole lot better, Aydin Akin remarkably took 9/37 off 21.3 overs, including a hat-trick. The opening bowler set the tone and ripped through the Saints’ batting lineup to break records and produce a spell that may never be surpassed at the club. He almost single-handedly bowled St Mary’s out for 101, but his team is now in trouble with the bat at 5/49. For the narrative, I am backing Akin to score the winning runs this Saturday while his team is nine wickets down.
JUSTIN: That would be pure theatre!
BLAIR: A special shoutout also goes to Jake Cutting, who put Beaconsfield on his back late in the DDCA Turf 1 encounter against Hallam Kalora Park, taking 4/17 and leaving the Hawks at 4/32, chasing 168 for victory. He got the huge wickets of Ben Hillard, Jawid Khan, Damith Perera and Jordan Hammond.
PREMIERSHIP PREDICTIONS
BLAIR: As we touched on, we are at the back end of the cricket season now and what better than to make some calls on who wins the flags. Dave, what do you think?
DAVE: I’ve got a few boys. Recently I had a crack at Noble Park because they were first at Christmas and dropped to sixth. Well, they came out in spectacular style after that and gave it to Donvale, before falling back to the pack in fifth after a loss to Croydon on the weekend. That is how tight it is in the VSDCA at the moment, but despite this, I am tipping Noble to overcome the stumble they’ve had in the last few rounds and win this year’s flag. The superstar Sahan Perera, I’ve spoken about him with the bat, he is going to dictate terms for the rest of the season. Look, I was tipping the Casey Cardinia Camels to win Country Week but that didn’t play out as I had hoped. In Warragul and District, Western Park looks a clear favourite to win Division 1, and I am going to go for the local team, Garfield/Tynong to claim the Division 2 flag. They have a really classy skipper who recently made a ton, Kasun Ranasinghe, so I’m tipping him to have a big back end of the season. How is this? I’m also going to give the lower grades a bit of a shoutout Blair. B Grade; Nar Nar Goon, C Grade; Pakenham, D Grade; Officer, E Grade West – I did a story on Peter Zauner from Devon Meadows not long ago, I am picking him to maybe go out with a premiership in E Grade West. Emerald will win E Grade East. I don’t reckon I will get any of those wrong. (boys laugh)
JUSTIN: I am going to keep things simple and stick with Casey Cardinia Premier Division…
DAVE: It won’t be Pakenham.
JUSTIN: No, it won’t be. I think Tooradin, they have been the powerhouse team over the past couple of years and I think they have the weapons to win this year’s title. They have lost just one game on the year. Cardinia has the best bowling lineup in Premier I believe, they have Lachie Volpe and Matt Welsh, but I just don’t fully trust their batting. We are a couple of rounds from finals and I still can’t say they are a dominant batting side. They are fourth in total runs and had lost two games in a row before rolling Pakenham on Saturday. Tooradin has the weapons, when you’ve got a guy like Lahiru Jayakody at number three, who has had an incredible season, you’re always going to contend. And Josh Lownds, he is a superstar, he does it all with bat and ball. Cardinia has been his hoodoo team over the last couple of years; he made a duck in the grand final and made a couple of ducks over the past three seasons. But he has had his two highest scores against Cardinia this season with a 44 and then 126. He seems like he has broken away from that strong bowling attack which seemingly had his number, and I really think he will have an impact. Then you’ve got guys like Cal O’Hare and Russ Lehmann, even Brad Butler and Tyler Evans have a good record with the bat in the last couple of years. Their bowling isn’t quite as good as Cardinia, but it is definitely good enough. Tooradin are definitely the team to beat.
DAVE: I think Josh Lownds is the best cricketer in CCCA cricket to have not won a Terry Stephenson Medal. Matt Welsh has emerged in the last couple of years, but Josh has been a really good player for a long time. He has been in the team of the year multiple times, and I think it would be a real feather in his cap and a tick on his career if he could win the big Stevo this year. He has been consistently top four or five.
BLAIR: You could call him the Bont (boys laugh and agree).
DAVE: He is a freak and highly regarded, he needs a nice medal around his neck to stake that claim.
BLAIR: DDCA, Springy South to win the flag.
DAVE: You tipped them at fourth?
BLAIR: Yes, I did, but their season has been impressive. They are second on the ladder, they have now beaten every team in the competition after knocking off Berwick and are in a good spot against the Bucks. Obviously, Buckley is always going to be the benchmark side and have won two flags in a row. To win back-to-back is incredibly tough, so you have to respect what they have done. But to win three in a row is even tougher. They have been hunted for a few years now and I think this could be the year where someone finally gets them. Springy’s consistency with the bat and ball is exceptional. The Bloods have six batters who have made 240 runs plus this year, led by the opening pair of Ryan Quirk and Mitch Forsyth and power-hitter Jordy Wyatt. They have some of the best all-rounders in the competition, Dasun Opanayaka has been superb and should poll very well in the Wookey Medal. With the ball, they do not rely on anyone with different contributors each week. Five bowlers have taken 17 wickets or more as well, led by Jarryd Straker. I think the Bloods are primed to get the job done.
JUSTIN: Buckley won’t be happy with that (boys laugh).
DAVE: He has made more enemies now (more laughter).
BLAIR: Don’t be surprised if the Bucks get it done again. They have done it time and time again, so I won’t rule them out. But I have a good feeling about Springy.
SUPERPOWER
DAVE: Boys, there are so many magnificent skills that athletes possess in world sport. Bryson DeChambeau can thump a golf ball 350 metres, Mitchell Starc bowled a consistent 140kmh-plus during the Ashes, and a young bloke like Luke Littler seems to have a radar in his right hand and never misses on a dartboard. Juzzy, if I could give you one gift in the world of sport, what it be and why?
JUSTIN: As someone who has just started to get into golf, I wouldn’t mind a DeChambeau drive or Min Woo Lee’s chipping, but if I had to pick anything, I’d love to shoot the basketball like Steph Curry. There’s simply no one even in his stratosphere when it comes to shooting. He’s got the all-time league record for threes made by a wide margin at a ridiculous clip of 42 percent for his career. Having that weapon would make any team you’re a part of incredibly difficult to guard, people can’t lose track of you or else it’s over. The amount of defensive gravity he demands completely opens up the floor for his teammates and changes the game. His other-worldly accuracy alongside his massive volume partnered with the fact he’s just as deadly off the dribble as he is off the catch is one of the main reasons he’s arguably the greatest point guard that’s ever lived. Plus, he’s got range from all parts of the court, you have to be up in his face as soon as he crosses half-court and keep up with him through cuts and off-ball screens.
BLAIR: I like that from Justin, shooting the ball like Steph would be a dream. I am a bowler in cricket and love taking wickets, so I would say a superpower would be to bowl a 145 kmph yorker and knock over the off stump of a rival that I don’t like too much. Staying on the cricket theme, it would be cover driving the same pace delivery for four on the MCG, Boxing Day Test. The mind wanders to Sam Konstas ramping Bumrah on the big stage or to make a century at the top level. I better stop there, or I will keep going. All in all, it sounds like my dream is to be the best all-rounder Test Cricket has ever seen (boys laugh).
DAVE: Boys, I’m embarrassed to say this; because I asked the question in the first place, but this is a really difficult one to answer. Being the fastest man on earth, on the athletics track that is, would be a great feeling I reckon, just knowing that no other person can run as fast as you can. How good would that be? Ronnie O’Sullivan in snooker, Littler in darts, Tiger Woods in his prime in golf, there are so many elite sportspeople that I would love to be like. But if I had to pick one particular skill: I would love to have the guts and the skill to be a surfer and ride a barrel on the biggest breaks in the world. I’m definitely no beach boy, my legs are white as a ghost, but I watch surfers being immersed in a wall of water and I quite often wonder what that must feel like. Just imagine the sound, the panic of not knowing whether you’re coming out unscathed, that would be the ultimate adrenaline rush I reckon. That, and kicking a 50-metre bomb after the siren to win Collingwood a flag…cop that Dom Sheed! And I’d love to kick 100 goals like Nathan Gardiner; how good would that be!
