AT the midway point of the Swan Hill District Cricket Association season, some things are going as expected, and there’s been a few shocks.
The top four makeup is the same as it was at the end of last season, but perennial cellar dwellers Swan Hill have turned things around so far this season, sitting three points out of finals.
Perhaps even more surprising is usual powerhouse RSL sitting at the bottom of the ladder, winless at the Christmas break.
The Guardian has taken a look at how each team is looking halfway through the season.
Points from this year’s McDonald’s T20 competition are going towards the overall season in 2022-23.
St Mary’s Tyntynder
Most runs
Jake Foster – 212 at 42.40
Most wickets
Nathaniel Holmes-Brown – 14 at 11.71
IT has been a near-perfect start to the season for the Saints.
T20 grand final and Kookaburra Cup final berths have already been achieved, with only one loss heading into last night’s T20 decider.
The Saints have only been challenged in one match, their loss to Swan Hill.
Every other game, the Saints tore their opposition apart.
They have loved chasing, especially in T20s, where Jake Foster can whack a team out of the game before they even get settled.
Foster has smacked 212 runs in T20s and will be hoping to translate that form over to the 50-over games post-Christmas.
Once again, though, the Saints’ strength has been their superb bowling attack.
Skipper Nathaniel Holmes-Brown, Robin Sebastian and young star Charlie King have all been high class.
They are incredibly difficult to get away and are backed up brilliantly in the field.
The Saints have been the yardstick in shorter-form cricket in SHDCA for a couple of seasons now but have struggled to translate that form to the red ball game with consecutive semi-final losses the past two seasons.
They will be an intriguing watch in the second half of the season, but it feels this year might be the one they crack through for an A Grade flag as they are far and away the competition’s benchmark at the moment.
Nyah District
Most runs
Joel Walsh – 218 at 31.14
Most wickets
Joel Walsh – 10 at 13.70
THROUGH no fault of their own, it was a disjointed start to the season for the defending champion Demons.
The team suffered from the floods and horrendous weather, not even being able to play a home game so far.
It left them underdone in their first couple of matches against sides who already had miles in the legs.
A tie with RSL was followed by a seven-wicket loss to the Saints in the Kookaburra Cup, leaving them unable to make the final in that competition.
Once the T20s returned, though, the Demons were a different side.
They went on a four-game winning streak to reach last night’s T20 grand final, led by Joel Walsh, the team’s key.
He is their leading run-scorer and wicket-taker.
Charlie Boulton also continues to improve with every match – he has scored 198 runs at 28.29 this season and the young star looks primed to take the competition by storm after the break.
If there’s one area for improvement for the Demons, it is their secondary bowling options have struggled to pick up wickets.
Getting Drew Llyod playing more regularly will be an excellent tonic to this issue.
The Demons are proven as the best red ball side in the SHDCA and with a firing Walsh, they’ll be confident in defending their crown.
Wandella
Most runs
Gregory Dickson – 225 at 75
Most wickets
Ryan Barnes – 11 at 15.91
CUT off from the rest of the SHDCA at the start of the season due to the floods, the Bombers have sneakily found their way to third on the ladder at Christmas.
That’s without playing a home match to this point of the season.
They are undefeated in the Kookaburra Cup, albeit only playing two games, meaning a win against Nyah in the first game back should be enough to make the final.
Their spot on the ladder might be a tad misleading, though, with a few unconvincing wins against undermanned opponents.
However, their victory over the favoured Woorinen at the weekend showed they can beat the best on any given day.
The Bombers walk a couple of feet taller when their regular skipper Gregory Dickson plays.
Who can blame them – Dickson might be the SHDCA’s best batsman, he has smashed 225 runs from only four games so far this season and does it at a strike rate very few can match.
Opening bowlers Ryan Barnes and Bohden McKnight have also had a fantastic start to the season with 11 wickets apiece.
When they return, the big question for the Bombers will be how can they perform at the same level should Dickson not be playing, with the Bombers looking a shadow of themselves when he isn’t on the park.
Woorinen
Most runs
Cooper Fox – 288 at 41.14
Most wickets
Gurmander Singh – 7 at 19
UP until late November, the Tigers had only played one match, a seven-wicket win over Ultima TUFF.
Incredibly, the Tigers are right in the hunt for a Kookaburra Cup final berth, even though their five-wicket win over RSL has been their only match in the competition.
But that’s the story of the 2022-23 season – being adaptable – and it was all going so well for the Tigers mid-way through the T20 season with a 3-0 record and looking like locks for the final.
Since Walsh smacked 82 off 31 against them, though, they have lost three in a row in the run into Christmas to leave them teetering on the edge of the four and ruining their T20 title hopes.
Cooper Fox has been incredible this season.
He has been the Tiger’s star with 288 runs at an average of 41.14.
It’s tough to get a read on where the Tigers are at heading into the second half of the season, with them only playing one 40-over game.
But you can’t see them missing finals with the amount of quality in their lineup.
Swan Hill
Most runs
Lachlan Edwards – 140 at 17.5
Most wickets
Ian Schodde – 15 at 11.87
NOBODY expected the turnaround we have seen from the Swans so far this season.
They were nothing short of horrendous last season – only winning two games – both in the T20 competition and being uncompetitive in the vast majority of contests.
Things have changed at the Swans, though, under new leadership and seemingly brimming with confidence.
Overall, they have a 4-4 record and have one of the more dangerous bowling line-ups in the competition.
Callan Noonan has been a star for a couple of seasons, but the emergence of left-arm off-spinner Ian Schodde and fast bowler Andrew Clark has made them a formidable opponent.
They have been the only side to truly challenge the pacesetter Saints this season, rolling them for 109 in the Kookaburra Cup and defeating them in the T20s, showing they can take it up with anyone.
However, there are still reservations with all four wins coming in T20s and losing both of their Cup games, they still need to prove they’re able to win games in the longer formats.
With a young side, there’s bound to be bumps on the road after Christmas, but they go in fearless and with nothing to lose.
Ultima TUFF
Most runs
Mitchell Seton-Stewart – 145 at 24.17
Most wickets
Jordan King – 9 at 14.78
LIKE the Tigers, the Roos have only played the one Kookaburra Cup game so far this season, a five-run loss to the Bombers.
It hasn’t been a season to remember so far for the Roos, with only one win coming against bottom-of-the-table Blues.
They have managed to post competitive scores in almost every match but have struggled to reach that big total to make opposition sides nervous.
There’s enough talent in the mix for the Roos to turn it around after Christmas with Mitchell Seton-Stewart and Jordan King enjoying good starts to the campaign with the bat and ball respectively.
However, it seems like another season of mid-table mediocrity at this stage for the Roos in 2022-23.
RSL
Most runs
Ryan Hinton – 294 at 32.67
Most wickets
Brenton Caldwell – 10 at 18.50
IT has not been an enjoyable first half of the season for the Blues, who are winless.
Their best performance came in a tie with the Demons early in the season.
Keeping sides to low scores has been the issue for the Blues.
If they can find a way to do this after Christmas, they’ll have a great chance of turning things around with how Ryan Hinton is batting.
Hinton has hit 294 runs at an average of 32.67 and has been well backed up by Benjamin Hallam, Stuart Patterson and Brenton Caldwell.
Don’t be surprised with a late-season resurgence from the Blues.
