NYAH DISTRICT CRICKET CLUB – 2022-23 PREVIEW
FAST FACTS
PRESIDENT – Rohan Shadbolt
A-GRADE CAPTAIN – Ben Shadbolt
SENIOR COACH – Ben Shadbolt
LAST A-GRADE PREMIERSHIP – 2021-22 2021-22
FINISH – Premiers
LEADING RUN SCORER – Justin Toomey – 219 runs @ 24.33
LEADING WICKET TAKER – Ben Shadbolt – 29 wickets @ 19.66
SEASON PREVIEW
Nyah District will no longer be the hunters, but the hunted – when the reigning premiers kick off the 2022-23 SHDCA season in twelve days’ time.
After entering last season with what was considered to be a young and inexperienced squad, the Demons went on to shock the competition by firstly making the grand final, then claiming the premiership with a dominant performance over Woorinen in the decider.
Now, with the bulk of that squad still intact and with a number of inclusions set to bolster their line-up, Nyah District will enter the new season not as the underdog – but as one of the favourites to go back-to-back.
The biggest inclusion of all will be the return of league’s most damaging batsman Joel Walsh, who returns after a season in England. At his best, Walsh is a player who can rip a game away from his opposition in the blink of an eye. But according to Nyah District captain Ben Shadbolt the real challenge for the Demons will be continuing to maintain their new game style.
“You talk to anybody around town about cricket and they all say that with Joel (Walsh) back then we have to be favourites to win it,” Shadbolt said. “But I think everyone needs to remember that while he will help us improve, we had him the year before and didn’t win it.
“He’ll make a hell of a difference and it’s great to have him back, but we learnt to play a different game without him and I’d hope we would stick to the same game plan with him.
“As great as he is – and he’s probably the best player in the competition, I’d like to think we would continue to play the way we played last season which was to grind games out with the bat instead of blasting our way out.”
Walsh won’t be the only big inclusion for Nyah District, with Tooleybuc-Manangatang’s Josh Domaille and former Ultima-TUF cricketer Toby O’Grady also crossing over to the Demons to further add to their batting depth – the Demons one weakness last season.
Add in the likes of Charlie Boulton, Mitch Grinham, Dean Harrop and Drew Lloyd, and Nyah District all of a sudden have a line-up that should be more than capable of posting a winning score each week.
The Demons big strength, however, has long been their bowling attack and their ability to not only take consistent wickets, but also tie down either end with the ball. Once again, Walsh will help in that regard. But it’s likely that their skipper in Shadbolt will be the one to do most of the grunt work with the ball, along with grand final hero Drew Lloyd and the ever-improving Charlie Boulton.
The real surprise packet, however, could well be Cooper Andrews with the medium pacer not only offering the Demons attack variety, but also a bowler capable of breaking any partnership, as proved by his late season form last year.
“It would be nice to put some bigger scores on the board this year which will allow our bowlers the opportunity to attack the game a bit more and bowl a bit more freely,” Shadbolt said. “But I still feel our bowling and fielding will be our strength this season.”
WORD FROM THE CAPTAIN
BEN SHADBOLT
Considering we won the grand final last year with the team we had, we had some super talented juniors in there but at the start of the season we didn’t quite think we had what it took. But this year, with the players we have coming into the side, we don’t want to settle for anything less. We want to be right up the top again and we want to be the side to beat.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Charlie Boulton – Talented youngster with both bat and ball who really came of age last season. Found his spot at the top of the order, scoring a couple of half centuries as an opener, while also taking the second most A Grade wickets for the club and is expected to continue to improve again this season.
IN’S – Joel Walsh (Returning), Josh Domaille (Tooleybuc-Manangatang), Bradley Cockfield (Swan Hill), Toby O’Grady (Port Hedland), Tristan Dalbon (St.Mary’s-Tyntynder), Ethan Coe (Woorinen), George Hardwell, Jake Haynes (Knowle CC – England)
OUT’S – Jackson Hopkins (Port Douglas)
NEXT – RSL & St.Mary’s-Tyntynder Cricket Club’s
