Over the next few weeks we’re going to take a look back at the season that was for each grade before jumping into some of our customary Past Player Profiles and Memorable Moments during the off-season. Up first is our A2’s side.
Led by debuting skipper, 19 year old Harrison Burgess, the A2s went into the season without too many lofty expectations and started the season accordingly, slumping to a 1-3 record after the 1st month of the season, albeit with the only victory coming in style when they stunned reigning Premiers, Mt Barker, at the Summit. Little else went right in that 1st month, with reigning Club Champion and A2s leading runscorer and leading wickettaker, Joshua Fidler electing to sit the season out, whilst veteran bat, Travis Lynn returned for just one (1) match before suffering a season-ending knee injury playing Basketball whilst skipper Harry injured his shoulder diving in the field leaving him unable to bowl for several matches.
Taking the opportunity to reset after their early season bye, the young A2s started one of the greatest turnarounds in club history, rattling off 5 consecutive victories to find themselves firmly back in the Top 4 by Christmas.
The Echidnas continued on their merry way after Christmas, winning 4 of their last 6 matches to finish the season in 2nd place with a 9-5 record (only missing the minor premiership by percentage). Showing their depth, they finished as the 2nd most economical bowling side and somewhat surprisingly, the 3rd highest scoring batting side.
Highlights during the season included:-
– The Rd 8 victory against Echunga in which we chased 175 in just 27 overs for the loss of just one (1) wicket, thanks to a 100 run opening partnership between Jordan Grooby (32) and Connor Burgess, who made his maiden century (104* from 91, 17 fours, 2 sixes). Connor would also put on an unbeaten 75 run partnership with brother Harry for the second wicket, with Harry at the non-strikers end when Connor brought up his ton;
– The opening duo of Connor & Groobs, who averaged 39 for the 1st wicket including partnerships of 55, 77, 86 & 100;
– Our bowling attack repeatedly dominating the opposition whilst showing amazing depth, including bowling out Ashbourne for 68 at the Hill with no bowler taking more than two (2) wickets, Mt Barker for 58 at the Hill with Harry starring with 4/16 from 8 overs, Lenswood for 42 at Lenswood with Connor taking the ridiculous figures of 4/7 from 6 overs and Echunga for 48 at the Hill with Connor this time disappointing with just 3/7 from 6 overs whilst Ryan Watt took 1/2 from 8 overs with an insane 6 maidens;
– Those opposition totals of 58, 48 & 42 are the three (3) lowest opposition team totals in A2s in WCC history;
– Finally, our Grand Final victory against Nairne, which was even more impressive when considering that Narine had been our bogey side for the last couple of seasons, including comfortably beating us by 117 runs & 70 runs in our two clashes during the season. After conceding 231 & 193 in those two matches, our bowlers got the job done in the GF, restricting the Razorbacks to just 131;
From an individual perspective:-
– There is no denying that 16 year old Connor Burgess was the star of the show, thrust from No.11 last season to opener. After scoring 48 in our pre-season match against Victor Harbor Cricket Club, Connor started the season with scores of 47, 44, 37, 4, 68 & 104*. He then went through a mid-season slump in which he reached 20 just once in six (6) innings but showing poise beyond his years, he bounced back when it mattered, finishing the season with 83*, 85 and then top-scoring in the GF with 46. By the end of the season, Connor had collected 583 runs @ 44.85, ensuring that he not only took home our A2s Batting Aggregate & Average Trophies but also the Alexandra & Eastern Hills Cricket Association leading runscorer for the A2s comp! Connor also became the first player in WCC history to score over 500 runs in a season in A2s. Oh, and he was still a useful bowler too, taking 22 wickets @ 13.91 to finish as our leading wickettaker;
– Jordan Grooby, who paired another excellent campaign behind the stumps (17 catches, including taking four (4) catches in a match on two (2) occasions) with a batting resurgence (354 runs @ 32.18, three (3) 50s, just two (2) single figure scores all season) as he proved to be the perfect opening partner for young Connor;
– Skipper Harrison, leading the side to a Flag in his 1st season as skipper. Harry also had arguably his best season to date with the ball, finishing with 21 wickets @ 12.19 to win the Bowling Average Trophy. Harry was also probably the most miserly bowler in the entire A2s comp, conceding just 2.6 runs per over highlighted by a three (3) match stretch in the middle of the season where he collected combined figures of 7/23 from 19 overs!! Harry was also more than handy with the bat, chipping in with 221 runs @ 20.09;
– Cooper Kupke, who emerged as a genuine allrounder with 169 runs @ 24.14 (highlighted by a match winning 53* in a match where only one other player from either side passed 20) and 15 wickets @ 14.33. Continuing to ease back towards full fitness for most of the season before sadly missing the GF with a foot injury, a hopefully fully fit Cooper next season will be devastating to opposition batters with his rare combination of pace and bounce;
– Ryan Davies, who showed fearlessness despite only turning 16 late in the season and finished with 136 runs @ 22.67 including two (2) 40s to show that he is more than ready for full time senior cricket next season; and
– Matthew Cummins, plucked from Cs early in the season (where his primary role was as an opening batter), who proved a valuable bowling option in A2s with 13 wickets @ 18.46. Even more impressively, after getting torched for 61 runs in 6 overs in his 2nd match, Matt settled in, taking 11 wickets @ 13.18 for the remainder of the season.
