Ash Bolt
Two Geelong cricketers have been recognised for their strong Premier Cricket seasons at an awards ceremony last week.
In his second season at Geelong Cricket Club wicketkeeper Ryan Aikman was named the Men’s Premier Seconds Player of the Season at the ceremony at the MCG on Friday, April 20.
Aikman led the Geelong team, which made it to the semi finals, in runs despite batting down the order.
His 511 runs across his 16 games was the fifth-highest in the Premier Seconds, while his batting average of 42.58 was fourth-highest of all players to play at least 10 games.
He hit three fifties across the season, with a top score of 90 against Dandenong, and backed it up with strong glovework behind the stumps – taking 21 catches and nine stumpings.
Geelong all-rounder Hayden Butterworth was also recognised after finishing just two votes behind winner Dean Russ for the Jack Ryder Medal for Premier Firsts Player of the Season.
Butterworth picked up 28 votes in the count, after dominating the competition with the bat.
He became just the second Geelong batsman to hit four centuries in a single Premier Firsts season.
He finished the season as the second-leading run scorer across the competition, with 781 runs at an average of 48.81 opening the batting.
He also hit two fifties in his 16 games.
Butterworth’s most impressive knock came in February when he hit a 141-ball 117 against Prahran that included 11 boundaries.
Along with his second-placed finish, he was also included as Geelong’s only representative in the Premier Firsts Team of the Year.
