WITH the regular season now done and dusted, last week was the final chance for players to stake their claims and they certainly didn’t disappoint. There’s no doubt pitch conditions heavily favoured the bowlers, with spinners Nathan Bell and Phil Dell’Orefice each taking eight wickets on Saturday. It was tough to make the cut as a bowler, with five wickets not even being enough, while most batsmen who did well enough to make 50 were rewarded.
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1. Shawn Higgins (Ex-Servos third grade) Higgins has been a bit of regular in the side this season, but is taking on a new role as opening batsman. Higgins took his season aggregate to 530 runs with a quick-fire 61, including three fours and five sixes.
2. John Lett (Berry second grade) Played a gutsy innings at the top of the order, with
66 not out against Bay and Basin. Managed to bat right through the innings until
they declared and his team went on to
win outright.
3. Adam Ison (Nowra first grade) Shoalhaven’s junior cricketer of the year continued his impressive form in the seniors with bat and ball against Ulladulla. Ison took four late wickets to finish with 4/35 and then top scored with 55 in Nowra’s innings.
4. David Sloane (Ex-Servos second grade) Sloane wrapped up the second grade average and aggregate with a half-century against Norths. His knock of 60 was his fifth half-century this season.
5. Bob Ducie (North Nowra-Cambewarra second grade) Ducie played a gem of an innings batting down the order to prevent Ex-Servos from taking full points from their game. He made 64 not out and shared a record 10th wicket partnership of 82 with Alan Muggleton.
6. James Godwin (Ex-Servos third grade) Not wanting his skipper Higgins to steal all the spotlight, Godwin chipped in with a nice innings of his own against Nowra. Godwin made 59 not out before his side declared.
7. Barry Cumberland (Ex-Servos fourth grade) Taking six wickets in one innings is an achievement in itself, but to do it twice in the same game is something else. Cumberland backed up his 6/12 in the first innings, with 6/48 in the second in his sides victory over Nowra White. With his 12-wicket haul, Cumberland is the only bowler in any grade to have taken 10 wickets in a match this season.
8. Jason Bell (Bomaderry first grade) Jason could surely count himself as unlucky to have not had the best figures for someone with the surname Bell last week, especially as he took seven wickets. He took 7/25 from 13.4 overs to ensure his side accounted for Batemans Bay. As one of his sides leading run scorers, he is probably not a bad player to have way down at number eight either.
9. Robert Thompson (Ulladulla second grade) The Ulladulla skipper led from the front to help his side to a narrow victory over Nowra. With only 122 runs on the board, Thompson bagged 6/30 to restrict their opponents to 111 and then took another two wickets in their second innings.
10. Nathan Bell (Ulladulla first grade) After his younger brother Harley did the work with the bat, Bell stole the show with the ball in his final match. Bell took an impressive 8/90 from 18.1 overs to help his side knock off the top of the table Nowra.
11. Phil Dell’Orefice (Berry first grade) Dell’Orefice has made quite an impression on the Shoalhaven competition after coming in half way through the season. His four wickets in each of Bay and Basin’s innings on Saturday took him within one of being the competition’s leading wicket taker, in half as many games as some of his competition.
