NYAH DISTRICT CRICKET CLUB – 2024-25 SEASON PREVIEW
SHDCA FAST FACTS
PRESIDENT – Owen Harrop
A-GRADE CAPTAIN – Ben Shadbolt
LAST A-GRADE PREMIERSHIP – 2023-24
2023-24 FINISH – Premiers
LEADING RUN SCORER – Joel Walsh – 507 runs @ 56.33
LEADING WICKET TAKER – Alex Wilson – 29 wickets @ 14.00
WORDS FROM THE CAPTAIN
BEN SHADBOLT
“Having won two out of the three titles last year, ultimately, we want to try and go one better. We want to go back-to-back in the longer formats and hopefully we can win our second T20 final win, but we know how hard it is to win one, let alone three and we know that we will need to be at our best all season to do it.”
PLAYER TO WATCH
Charlie Boulton – Opening batsman who looks set to reach new heights this season. Is equally devastating off either the front or back foot, having scored 480 runs @ 32 during the home and away season last year, including an unbeaten century off just 66 balls against Ultima-TUF. Claimed 15 scalps with the ball last year and could easily develop into one of the leagues’ most dangerous all-rounders with more opportunity with the ball.
IN’S – Jacob Lister (Robinvale), Tom Bell (Ultima-TUF)
OUT’S – Alex Wilson (Twyford House CC)
Having gone so close to a clean sweep of the SHDCA A grade competition last year, Nyah District will be aiming to go one better when the 2024-25 season gets underway in just over two weeks’ time.
The Demons are once again expected to be one of the teams to beat with Ben Shadbolt set to lead the reigning premiers for a fourth consecutive season.
Having lost just two games for the entire season last year, one of which was the McDonald’s T20 grand final and with a similar line-up, Nyah District look set to remain near the pointy end of the ladder, with the team confident of another strong season, according to their captain.
“After winning two out of the three competitions last year and coming in fresh this year, we’re pretty confident that we will be thereabouts again,” Shadbolt said.
“Having a bit of a delayed start to the year will be good also, it will just give a couple of guys a little bit more time off between footy and cricket.
“We have a good, young core group of players like Charlie (Boulton), Max (Thompson), ‘Coop’ (Cooper Andrews), Mitch (Grinham) and Tom (Bell) has come on board also, all these guys are between the ages of 15 and 21.
“They are all young and willing to play A grade cricket, which is good for us and makes it a lot easier to fill a side.
“By the time the season rolls around, we’ll be keen and ready to go.”
Despite the loss of last year’s leading wicket taker Alex Wilson, who returned home to England, the Demons should improve with the inclusions of top order batsman Jacob Lister and former Ultima-TUF all-rounder Tom Bell, with the pair set to bolster the Demons depth with the bat.
Lister will be a handy pick up, having scored 306 runs for Robinvale-Euston last season at the top of the order.
He is expected to slot into a talented batting line-up, with Joel Walsh, Charlie Boulton and Dean Harrop well regarded for their ability to score bulk runs – and score them quickly. Budding star Max Thompson is also predicted to take another step forward with the bat this season.
Although Nyah District will improve with the bat, their big strength in previous seasons has been their ability to restrict their opponents to defendable totals with the ball.
The loss of Wilson will hurt, but with the likes of Walsh, Thompson, Shadbolt, Boulton and Cooper Andrews still at their disposal, the Demons possess one of the more dangerous bowling attacks.
“I think we’ll be pretty even between bat and ball this year, especially with Jacob (Lister) coming into the top order and Max (Thompson) having another year under his belt,” Shadbolt said.
“He (Thompson) is only 15, but he showed glimpses of what he can do last year, plus Charlie (Boulton) is still only a kid and he’ll naturally improve and then Dean Harrop should hopefully play a bit more cricket for us this season.
“We have the depth with the ball, which we’ve shown over the last few years, but our bating will be just as good this year I believe.
“Having flexibility within our team will help too, we have flexibility to rotate anyone within the top six with the stick and then we have four blokes that could all genuinely open the bowling.
“I still think the longer format of the game is our strength.
“We have so much talent in our line-up, I can legitimately throw the ball to any one of five or six guys and we bat to nine or 10, which is a good problem to have.”
Although the Demons line-up already contains some of the league’s best cricketers, they still have room for improvement, with Thompson and Boulton the ones most likely to take their games to the next level.
Boulton finished as runner up as the league’s best and fairest two seasons ago as a 17-year-old and Thompson fresh off representing Victoria in the School Sports Australia national carnival last month.
