It’s the midway point of the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association A1 Grade season and with competition set to resume on Saturday 10 January, Justin Flynn runs through each side’s performance so far.
Barwon Heads (ladder position 1st, points 45)
Unbeaten and largely untroubled in doing so, the Seagulls are heavy flag favourites and don’t have any obvious weaknesses.
The introduction of left-arm paceman Sema Kamea has addressed last season’s seam bowling shortage while the Seagulls still have the most formidable spin bowling attack in the comp and they are also one of the best fielding units going around.
Perhaps the only question mark is the post-break availability of gun bat Matthew Bode (231 runs at 46.20) and champion spinner Sam Schaller.
Bode is on Carlton’s AFL strength and conditioning staff while Schaller is Barwon Heads’ footy coach, so preseason commitments may limit their cricket availability, but the club has depth in B Grade with batter Jaxon Mallett and outswing seam bowler Luke Schilling waiting for a recall.
Max Melzer (374 runs 53.43) and Lewy Hyland (348 at 49.71) form the best opening combo in the the comp and lead all others in runs aggregate.
The Heads play Inverleigh, Drysdale and Queenscliff twice before another finals campaign and only a major catastrophe would see it lose hold of the minor premiership.
Jan Juc (2nd, 27)
After taking three wickets in his first five games, Jordy Graham has almost single-handedly got Jan Juc back into finals contention. The 32-year-old left-arm seamer has taken 7/47 from 27.4 overs and 8/80 from 37.5 in the past two games.
The Sharks’ top-order batting has been susceptible at times although Nick Hyden (238 runs at 47.60) has been a rock in the middle order and Tom Kearney found form last outing with 68 and Peter Buszard (177 runs at 25.28) has played some good knocks.
With double-up games against Barrabool, Armstrong Creek and Anglesea to come, Jan Juc would fancy its chances of getting into the finals and once there, it could cause some problems.
Queenscliff (3rd, 24)
After losing their first three games, the Coutas suddenly look like the darkhorses of the competition.
Lochie Philp and Hayden Illingworth form a formidable opening pair. Philp has scores of 160 and 92 not out for 354 runs at 59 and Illingworth has made 269 runs at 44.83, including an unbeaten 100 in round 4.
Pat Mileto is the leading wicket taker with 13 while Jordan Monahan has taken 11/125 from 80 miserly overs the past three matches.
Two games each against Drysdale, Inverleigh and Barwon Heads will round off Queenscliff’s home and away season and a finals spot should now be expected rather than hoped for.
Drysdale (4th, 21)
When the Hawks get it all together, they are dangerous, so improved consistency will be at the forefront of discussions.
Blake Dobbin remains one of the best quicks in the comp while Hayden Eddy has reinvented himself as a capable run scorer while still providing some more than handy seam-up bowling.
Ageless veteran David Sykes never goes for many runs and Tallan Burns is having a good season with bat and ball.
Drysdale will be keen to score more runs after break and Ron Peillon will be eager to convert a start to a big score. Robert Cutajar will return from suspension at some stage and will add run-scoring power.
Armstrong Creek (5th, 21)
While there is no doubt the Titans are not as strong as previous seasons, they will remain contenders until they aren’t. You just don’t write this team off, ever.
Daniel MacLean has taken 15 wickets and Adam Trevean (241 runs at 40.16) leads the run tally while Ben Norgrove (237 at 33.85) and Ben Robertson (192 runs at 27.57) have been consistent scorers, although both made ducks in their last innings.
The Titans play Anglesea, Jan Juc and Barrabool twice, but it will be a tight squeeze from 2nd to 8th.
Anglesea (6th, 21)
Anglesea now finds itself in a logjam of teams that will be vying for finals.
Sam Weight is all class, but apart from a 98 in the opening round, he has scores of 37, 17, 2, 37 and 41, which is far from poor, but will be working towards converting his starts into more half-centuries with one eye on a big one.
Tyron Norman has dropped down from opening this season, but he bats best at the top of the order so perhaps a change in tactics might help the Seas.
The bowling remains strong with Dylan Taylor still capable of running through a side while Ky Eskrigge’s emergence with 14 wickets so far has been a good story.
Ben Harcombe made 38 and took 3/44 from 19 overs in round 8 in a sign of what might turn into a productive second half of the season.
Barrabool (7th , 18)
The Bulls have had their moments and with a bit more consistency in the second half, could be playing finals.
Improvement within will be the main focus, especially with the batting as they don’t have a player ranked in the top 10 for runs scored.
If Michael Kelson finds the form we know he can and if Kane Pickering (who has shown glimpses with an 80 in round 6) can do the same, Barrabool will be in a much better spot.
Archer Jaques continues to show promise as an all-rounder and his gritty 48 against Barwon Heads in round 8 and 3/29 in round 7 is evidence of that.
Inverleigh (8th, 15)
While not out of finals contention, the Kookaburras will find it very tough with double-up games against Barwon Heads, Queenscliff and Drysdale to finish off.
Lachie Platt is engaged in a three-way tie for third-most runs in the competition with 238 at 47.60. Will Collins (153 runs at 25.50) and Will Stoney (131 at 26.20) will be looking to go bigger than their top scores so far of 57 and 37 respectively.
Daniel Midolo has bowled way better than his eight wickets at 27.25 suggests.
If Inverleigh puts it all together it can cause some upsets in the second half, and they will need them to avoid relegation.
