Justin Flynn takes a look at the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association A2 Grade state of play at the halfway mark of the season before play resumes on Saturday 10 January.
Winchelsea (ladder position 1st, points 36)
With double-up games against Portarlington, Wallington and St Leonards to come, the Blues would be confident of playing finals this March.
Shane Murdoch has 291 runs at 97 so far and while his spin bowling hasn’t been needed as much as previous seasons, he took 5-8 from 11.4 overs against Surf Coast in round 5.
Jarrod Groves is next best with 183 runs at 26.14 and also has 12 wickets to his name.
Shane Currie has taken 12 wickets as has Ricci Sauni.
Ocean Grove (2nd, 33)
The Grubbers have benefited from adding batting depth to their line-up.
Dan Roddis is thriving as a permanent opener and has 232 runs at 33.14 and Fletcher Long has made 247 at 30.87. Those stats don’t jump out at you, but when you consider contributions from Shaun Fanhauser (232 runs at 29), Campbell Snookes (217 at 36.16), Connor Weidemann (125 at 25) and Jacob Taylor (118 at 23.60), Grove bats down to No 9 when making runs was a real Achilles heel last season.
Snookes (15 wickets 8.80). Weidemann (10 at 10.90) and Baljinder Singh Brar (10 at 21.40) lead the wickets with bowling perhaps the one area that Grove needs to improve slightly.
Ocean Grove’s fixture for the second half of the season is as favourable as you can get. It plays the bottom three sides twice and should be primed for a top-two finish.
Wallington (3rd, 27)
After a slow start to the season, the Wallabies are back into a good position to make the top four.
English tearaway Tom Spencer took 7/19 on debut last round, but is only here for four more matches, but still make a serious impact.
Wallington’s bowling has performed well all season. Dane Wise-Graham has 15 wickets, Billy Gravett 10.
However, the batting needs to improve if Wallington wants to win the flag. Richard Faust has made 231 runs at 38.5 and Sven Burluraux (148) and Henry McIntosh (143) will be looking to have several big innings in the second half of the season.
St Leonards (4th, 24)
Inconsistency has been the Saints’ major obstacle and double-up games against Portarlington, Wallington and Winchelsea to finish the season are not easy.
Troy Griffin leads the comp in runs scored with 366 at 52.29 with Paul Hassan next on 156 at 31.2.
James Burns missed some early games, but now has 13 wickets at 12 while Oscar Cutajar has 10 at 16.7 while Hassan also has 10 and Seb Harrison nine.
The Saints just need to find a way to put it all together in the same game, and if they do, they are capable of beating anyone.
Portarlington (5th, 21)
Captain Nathaniel Symes (14 wickets at 9.79) and Tom Stewart (13 at 17.77) lead the Demons’ bowling while ageless veteran Paul McGrath remains as one of the premier all-rounders of the competition.
Cameron Gourley (193 runs at 27.57), Joel De Bono (195 at 27.85), Jack Baldi (193 at 32.16) Brenton Toole (145 at 24.16) and McGrath (262 runs from four games in A1 and three in B1) form a batting line-up that is difficult to bowl out.
Port has double-up games against Winchelsea, St Leonards and Wallington in 2026.
Collendina (6th, 21)
The Cobras are a young side with a sprinkling of senior elite talent.
While finals is well and truly still on the agenda, it won’t define them as Dina will continue to push its youth through and expose them to A Grade cricket.
Any team with the likes of Corey Walter (230 runs at 32), Stan Grazotis (144 runs and 10 wickets) and Nathan Frye needs to be taken seriously.
Youngsters Zach Muir and Jude De Jong have impressed with the ball.
Surf Coast (7th, 18)
Such is the evenness of the competition, the Suns are 7th, but still not far away from 4th spot.
With three wins, the Suns still have to play Ocean Grove, Collendina and Newcomb twice.
There’s no reason why they can’t double that win tally and even grab another one or two and reach finals.
Will Liddle has made 280 runs at 46.67 while Akashvir Singh has 15 wickets and Blake Rrobinson 14.
Newcomb (8th, 12)
There’s no doubt the Bulls have improved and, with a bit of luck, could have had a few more wins.
Singhara Kumar has been left stranded on 97 twice this season, but has 316 runs 63.2 and Sean Anderton has picked up 12 wickets.
With Shane Healey recovered from a hand injury, the Bulls will be confident of another win or two to continue their resurrection.
