WOORINEN CRICKET CLUB – 2024-25 SEASON PREVIEW
SHDCA FAST FACTS
PRESIDENT – Darren Rushton
A-GRADE CAPTAIN – Dean Morpeth and Darren Rushton
SENIOR COACH – Dean Morpeth
LAST A-GRADE PREMIERSHIP – 2020-21
2023-24 FINISH – Semi Finalist
LEADING RUN SCORER – Darren Rushton – 653 runs @ 46.64
LEADING WICKET TAKER – Darren Rushton – 36 wickets @ 13.94
WORD FROM THE COACH
DEAN MORPETH
“We were very disappointed to go out like we did last year. There’s a lot of motivation to get back into the finals and do better, it was a good learning curve for a lot of players who had a first taste of finals. The expectation is that we want to play finals, we’re there to chase success in A grade cricket.”
PLAYER TO WATCH
Darren Rushton – Has one of the most remarkable seasons last year, scoring the most runs and taking the most wickets of all players in the SHDCA and rightfully winning his first league best and fairest award. Is aggressive with the bat, scores quickly and has fast become the key wicket for any team playing the Tigers.
IN’S – None
OUT’S – Connor Fletcher, Wade October
WITH a continued focus on playing aggressive and attacking cricket, Woorinen looms as being one of the teams to beat when the 2024-25 SHDCA A grade season gets underway tomorrow afternoon.
The Tigers cavalier approach to setting a target turned many heads last season, having amassed five scores of 240 or more across all three formats.
But despite their dominance with the bat, they were still caught short at the business end of the season, with St. Mary’s-Tyntynder ending their campaign with a commanding semi-final display that is sure to serve as motivation for Woorinen.
Although they scored runs at will all season, it was their performance with the bat in that fateful semi-final, combined with their inability to take early wickets, that sealed their fate, with Woorinen coach Dean Morpeth hopeful that experience will hold his team in good stead over the next six months.
“They’re (finals) very hard to win, but we just have to get back there and play a brand of cricket that will stack up against the best teams,” Morpeth told The Guardian this week.
“We have enough good players to do that, it’s my job as coach to give these guys the freedom to play positive cricket, that was our focus last year, to play an attacking style of cricket and in many respects that worked.
“We want to play finals and if we can all improve 5 or 10 per cent, hopefully we can go a step further than the semi-final and get into the big one.”
One player who will be central to the Tigers chances is all-rounder Darren Rushton, who had a breakout season last year, winning the SHDCA’s best and fairest along with also being named in the VCCL Team of the Year.
It wasn’t just that Rushton scored more runs or took more wickets than any other cricketer, but the way in which he did it that was so impressive.
But while Morpeth is keen to see his joint captain continue his form from last season, he’s also expecting improvement from some of the club’s younger players.
“I’m really intrigued to see how Darren (Rushton) backs up after last year, he’s at an age now where hopefully he can continue that form,” Morpeth said.
“Robert Rush will be back for a full season as well, which is exciting.
“He only played a handful of games late in the season last year with dodgy shoulders, but he’s had a shoulder operation and should add a bit of fire power to our attack.
“We don’t have any bowlers that can sort of hurry up the batsmen, we have a very workmanlike bowling attack, so to get him back will be a huge bonus because he provides that point of difference.
“Mitch Uhlhorn is another one I’m hoping to see a big season from, he’s been serviceable for us over the past few seasons but I know he’s capable of becoming one of the top batters in the league and making runs consistently.
“We’ll also look to get plenty of games into Billy Matthews as a bowler and Jackson Hughes as a batsman and spin bowler.
“They are a couple of kids who will get plenty of opportunities, playing them will be good for the club and they won’t get any better unless you expose them to A grade cricket.
“We haven’t really recruited anyone for the A grade, but we have plenty of players returning in the B and C grade, we will have teams in every grade which is fantastic for us and we’re glad to get back to that.”
While Rush will be a big inclusion, the Tigers will lose South African batsmen Connor Fletcher and Wade October, with Uhlhorn also expected to be missing some early games this season.
Woorinen’s strength is clearly their ability to score runs – and quickly – with Rushton, Cooper Fox, Jason Mangiameli and Morpeth all capable of going large.
But it will be their ability of their bowling attack, including Guri Singh, Stefan Mangiameli and Rush, to apply pressure with the ball and take 10 wickets a game that will decide whether they take the next step.
