The Bairnsdale Cricket Association 2025/26 season starts this Saturday, weather permitting, although the forecast does look surprisingly encouraging.
Competition in “A” grade will begin this week with play in “B” and “C” grade and the juniors starting next week.
This year’s “A’ grade competition will start with one more side than it started with last year and one less than it finished it.
Metung Swan Reach has made its way back to “B” grade after a tough finish to last season. After a promising beginning they were elevated with Paynesville after round one despite plenty of controversy.
Last season was another close a season with Lindenow South Glenaladale crowned the two-day premier after outplaying Wy Yung in the grand final at the Meerlieu Cricket Ground.
The Tigers recovered after a disastrous start to make their way through to the finale, which was their only loss after Christmas.
They defeated one-day premier Lakes Entrance in the semi final on the first day so dominant was their form heading into the big one.
The Bulls might have been lucky to have progressed through to the big dance with rain and a washout possibly saving them in the semi final against St Mary’s Nagle.
West Bairnsdale was prominent all season, only to miss a finals spot by just one point despite winning outright in the final round.
Round one this weekend will see most sides going in with players unavailable due injury, school holidays and footy trips, with several sides still sweating on visas for overseas players.
Lindenow South Glenaladale will begin its defence against Lucknow at the Lucknow Recreation Reserve with all eight sides drawn this week keen for a prosperous start.
The Magpies will again be looking for big things from explosive import Rico Fourie, while they have high hopes for an array of promising youngsters, led by the talented Mitchell Johnson.
Haydn Erfurth has again set himself for a big season for the Bulls, who will welcome back the dynamic duo of Seth Smith and Logan Dunkley after impressive overseas seasons in England.
Both talented youngsters made plenty of runs and were among the wickets, their endless enthusiasm again to be a driving force for the Bulls, who are sure to get good service again from the likes of Mel Irish and Scott Dare.
Orbost Cricket Club will host West Bairnsdale in a one-day fixture at the Orbost Recreation Reserve.
The Blues will unveil new imports Luke Humphries and Josh Court on a wicket which has had plenty of preparation and will be friendly to plenty of runs.
Humphries is a top order batter and medium pace bowler, while Court is a bowling all rounder, who delivers very accurate spinners.
It’s expected that Humphries will find the surrounds of the Orbost Recreation Reserve to his liking and big things are expected from the blade of the impressive youngster’s bat.
Orbost recently hosted Maffra in a practice match and is happy with how it is tracking heading into season where it hopes to play finals cricket.
West Bairnsdale will be no push over with talented players such as Ryan Halford, Brodie Anderson and Thomas Hudson in their line up.
West is a proud club and you would expect it to bounce back strongly after last year’s narrow finals miss.
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From page 44
As is the norm all sides are full of expectation this time of year and it may take quite a few weeks to see where each entity fits in the Bairnsdale Cricket Association pecking order.
Paynesville will welcome Meerlieu, sides that engaged in two stirring battles last year, the matches split.
There are concerns for the Gulls that talented keeper/batsmen/bowler, Nathan Schoultz, is unlikely to arrive in time, putting the odds right back in favour of a Tussocks victory.
Paynesville has recruited cleverly with new captain Isaac Love a great choice to lead from the front, while Meerlieu will be relying on big performances from outstanding important Connor Mitchell, skipper Rohan Blandford, veteran Reagan Kyle, while young spinner Ollie Simpson is a player to watch.
St Mary’s Nagle will host Lakes Entrance, a couple of last year’s finalists keen to make an early statement.
The Seagulls will keen to build on last year’s silverware, their first one-day premiership in more than 20 years.
Jake Le Maitre will lead the side and they will be buoyed by the return of the talented Noah Dodd and expect to get more games out of Tom Stubbs.
Right arm off spinner Ollie Chaplin and opening bowler Scott Tite join the Seagulls from England, with the Seagulls hopeful they can match the deeds of last year’s overseas players Sam Kincaid, Josh Sackfield and Jack Timms, who provided a solid impetus with bat and ball.
Nagle is sure to be competitive with Andrew Perrin back at the helm coaching, skipper Ricky Tatnell a competitive beast and overseas players Jacob Hurry, Nathan Yarde and Hywell Nicholls all returning.
Brayden McCarrey is always capable of making a huge score.
Wy Yung have the bye.
UMPIRES
The Bairnsdale Cricket Association umpires have been busy during the winter, preparing for the 2024/2025 season.
They held a season launch on Tuesday night, where they were provided with umpire shirts, counters and BCA handbooks
Round 1 Umpires: Lucknow v Lindenow South Glenaladale (Damien Donohue/Steven Lind); Paynesville v Meerlieu (Eric Jamieson/Neil Woodward); St Marys Nagle v Lakes Entrance (Anna Quinsey Munro/Mal Leys); Orbost v West Bairnsdale (Martin Blennerhassett/Chris Lane).
SEASON GUIDE
LAKES ENTRANCE
Captain – Jake Le Maitre.
Overseas imports – Ollie Chaplin and Scott Tite.
Other inclusions – Noah Dodd (returns).
Departures – Phani Kumar, Sam Kincaid, Jack Timms, Jaryd Leeworthy and Josh Sackfield.
Key Players – Liam Allen, Ben John and Kaleb Day.
Player to Watch – Ben Rotheram, rejuvenated after a season off and ready to fire.
Expectation – “We have the depth to challenge for a finals, hoping to be right in the mix again,” Jake Le Maitre said.
LINDENOW SOUTH GLENALADALE
Coach/Captain – Haydn Erfurth/Scott Dare.
Overseas imports – Nil.
Other inclusions – Nil
Departures – Nil
Key Players – Haydn Erfurth, Scott Dare, Mel Irish, Logan Dunkley.
Player to Watch – Seth Smith, comes off impressive numbers in England, could be set for a dominant season with bat and ball.
Expectation – Perennial finalist, who are always hard to beat.
LUCKNOW
Captain – Jarryd Floyd.
Overseas imports – Rico Fourie.
Other inclusions – Colby Montant and Connor Taylor return.
Departures – Isaac Love.
Key Players – Mitch Johnson and Beau Haslam.
Player to Watch – Rico Fourie, showed last year what he is capable of, can be damaging with bat and ball.
Expectation – “Pre-season has been solid and we will again endeavour to push for finals action,” Jarryd Floyd said.
MEERLIEU
Captain – Rohan Blandford.
Overseas imports – Connor Mitchell.
Other inclusions – Nil
Departures – Jay Peiris, Toby Jones and Justin Morgan.
Key Players – Rohan Blandford and Reagan Kyle.
Player to Watch – Connor Mitchell, sensational debut season with the ball last season, look for more bigger scores with the bat.
Expectation – “We missed finals last year and are keen to get back amongst it this year,” Blandford said.
ORBOST
Captain – Curtley Farley.
Overseas imports – Josh Court and Luke Humphries.
Other inclusions – Nil.
Departures – Freddie Wilkinson
Key Players – Luke Endley, Curtley Farley, Jayden Price, Josh Court.
Player to Watch – Luke Humphries, has a big reputation with the bat, and could be set for a special season on the magnificent wicket at Orbost.
Expectation – “Looking to get back into finals action in 2025,” senior player Jayden Price.
PAYNESVILLE
Captain – Isaac Love.
Overseas imports – Nathan Schoultz.
Other inclusions – Jack Houston, Isaac Love and Noah Bennett.
Departures – Luke Bond.
Key Players – Brayden Radford and Isaac Love.
Player to Watch – Nathan Schoultz, played some punishing innings in his first season at the Gulls.
Expectation – “Hopefully we can make it through to the finals,” Isaac Love said.
ST MARY’S NAGLE
Captain – Ricky Tatnell.
Overseas imports – Nathan Yarde, Jacob Hurry and Hywell Nicholls.
Other inclusions – Brendan Gallus and Joel Linford.
Departures – Harvey Spaxman and Flynn Thompson.
Key Players – Brayden McCarrey, Ethan East.
Player to Watch – Ricky Tatnell, was a modest season by his lofty standard last year, back to full fitness, expect some big numbers.
Expectation – “We will be looking to make finals for sure,” Ricky Tatnell said.
WEST BAIRNSDALE
Captain – Ryan Halford.
Overseas imports – Nil.
Other inclusions – Tom Hudson returns from injury.
Departures – Jacob Zumach and Sam Stewart.
Key Players – Ryan Halford, Brodie Anderson and Tom Hudson.
Player to Watch – Jai Nicholls has had a terrific pre-season and looks ready to impress.
Expectation – “We were unlucky not to make finals last season, will be looking to get back in amongst it this season,” senior player Brodie Anderson said.
WY YUNG
Captain – Stevie Bertino.
Overseas imports – Charlie Thompson.
Other inclusions – Jacob Zumach.
Departures – Nil.
Key Players – Darcy Murray, Daniel Gledhill, Damien Vickery, Ben Saxon and Cameron McPhan.
Player to Watch – Steve Bertino, tipped to have a big season.
Expectation – “Keen to get off to a better start than last season and go one better than last year. Excited with what promising youngsters like Luis Wilson, Harry Forbes and Venkat Narayaran have to offer,” senior player, Cameron McPhan said.
