SOUTH Portland all-rounder Mitch Arnold is the youngest winner of the Portland and District Cricket Association’s A Grade Cricketer of the Year in more than 20 years.

17-year-old Arnold was awarded the competition’s top prize on Monday night at presentations at Cavalier Park, with his 13 vote haul making him the youngest winner since Jarrod Holt (also 17 at the time) in the 2000-01 season.

It was another trying campaign for a young South Portland squad, recording just three wins for the season, but there was noticeable growth across the core group and Arnold was among the most improved, albeit not in a statistical sense.

After the mid-season break, Arnold took over the captaincy from Lachie Warburton for a handful of contests due to illness and blossomed in those occasions.

He guided the team to victory against Tyrendarra in round 13, snatching 2-22 with the ball and then slashing 43 runs from just 56 deliveries in a successful run chase.

He followed that up with another win in round 15, getting the better of ladder leaders Gorae-Portland, taking 3-15 with the ball and finishing unbeaten on 27 runs from just 27 deliveries, completing another run chase – a task which has frequently ended in nightmare for South in recent years.

Speaking on Monday after the league’s presentations, the 17-year-old said having the chance to take on the challenge of leadership had been his biggest takeaway from the summer.

“I was given some new roles within the team this summer with Lachie (Warburton) unavailable for a few weeks and I really enjoyed that side of things,” he said.

“It was something new to me, having to just think my way through each game on a deeper level instead of just worrying about how I was batting or bowling.

“Setting fields and communicating with the bowlers is something I really enjoyed, opening myself up to the strategy side of things was great.

“Playing Western Waves helped out with that too, they gave me the chance to set my own fields and bowl however I wanted to when we played and that encouraged me to think hard about my approach.

“I think I benefited personally too, just because I didn’t need to think about how I was going as much.”
Arnold made 184 runs at an average of 20.44, with that unbeaten 43 his highest score.
He finished the season with 20 wickets (equally second best) at an average of 12.30 from 11 matches.
His best figures came against Tyrendarra in round three, snaring 3-8 from six overs, and he said he spent some time remodelling his action midseason.

“I think I was a better bowler this year than a batsman, after I broke my arm last year I struggled to bowl well for a while, but this summer I’ve found my form and started hitting my spot back of a length again,” he said.

“This year I actually shortened my run up after a little while and started to focus more on my action and getting into a better rhythm and that came off well.

“I also started to put a lot more thought into the field and how it was being set and spending less energy just trying to bowl so quick that they couldn’t see it and would make a mistake.

“Lachie (Warburton) helped me with that too, he told me to stop thinking about bowling two overs as quick as I could and to think more about bowling longer and longer spells and to aim for rhythm more than anything.

“That way I’ve had more chances of getting a wicket each over.

“We moved Rory (Barry) up the order in the second half of the season and that really helped out my batting.

“I could play naturally then, work the field around and hunt for boundaries and not worry about wickets falling at the other end.”

Another young player, Gorae-Portland’s Kaden Wilson, 16, finished as runner-up with 10 votes, with Colts
co-captain Luke Evans – last season’s winner – finishing third on nine votes.

RESULTS

A Grade Cricketer of the Year Award – Votes by Club

B Grade Cricketer of the Year Award – Votes by Club