THE Portland and District Cricket Association honoured joint winners in the A grade Cricketer of the Year award, with Portland Tigers’ Will Hardie and Portland Colts’ Luke Evans sharing the league’s most coveted individual award.

Wednesday night’s count was close throughout, with Hardie gaining the edge in the early part of the season thanks to some excellent performances in the shorter formats, before Evans caught him up across the back end of the year, with the two finishing on level-pegging at 14 votes.

Evans’ Colts teammate Glenn Hollis was unlucky to miss out on the action, finishing one vote short of the winners on 13.

Hardie, who was brought into the fold at Tigers from his home in Edinburgh on the other side of the world, said it was a great way to cap off his summer in Portland.

“I’ve had a great time here, obviously playing cricket first and foremost but I’ve really just enjoyed the all-around experience of being in a country town in a different part of the world,” he said.

“Even working hard on the farm has been enjoyable for me, and the Portland Tigers community and the PDCA as a whole has welcomed me with open arms.”

Hardie had a fantastic year with both bat and ball, but it was his batting that set him apart, as he scored a league-leading 344 runs for the season at an average of 43, with three fifties and a high score of 71.

In saying that, his bowling was far from mediocre, as he finished up with 15 wickets at an average of 9.47 with best figures of 7-10.

But while the individual accomplishments were fantastic, he said he would trade it all to be playing this weekend.

“It’s a real shame that between the T20 Cup final and now the season grand final we couldn’t get our hands on a trophy this season… that’s what I came out here to achieve,” he said.

“I would absolutely trade this award in a heartbeat to be playing (tomorrow).

“I’d also like to thank the PDCA for putting on a great season, it was a challenge at times with the weather and with ground availabilities, so they did a great job of pushing through that.

“I’d also like to thank Luke, he’s one of the best players I’ve had the opportunity to play with and against, he was a great captain at country week and he’s one of the most competitive players I’ve met.

“There’s absolutely no shame in sharing this award with a player like him.”

Evans echoed his co-winner’s sentiments, speaking highly of Hardie’s performances over the season.

“He’s a fantastic player and it was awesome to have the opportunity play both with and against him between the PDCA and at country week,” he said.

Evans, who also won the award in 2020-21, said he was surprised to have won the award, expecting that Hardie would’ve claimed the award outright.

“I certainly wasn’t expecting it at all… you don’t play cricket for these kinds of awards but it is nice to have some recognition for your own play,” he said.

“It’s been a big year for me cricket-wise, between being PDCA captain and playing with Colts in a grand final this weekend… I definitely love playing cricket and I’ve loved leading the boys when I’ve had the chance to captain.

“Hopefully we can cap it off with a win this weekend in the grand final.”

In a similar vein to Hardie, Evans exceled in both key areas of the game, but conversely it was his bowling which stood out, as he claimed 19 wickets for the season at an average of 9.53 with best figures of 6-18.

His batting was strong as well, as he made 244 runs for the season at an average of 30.5 with a high score of 54.

Evans had his own list of people to thank, starting with his club.

“Starting off with the Colts boys, I’ve been there since I was a kid other than a couple years off…I couldn’t ask for a better club to play cricket at, it’s very well run,” he said.

“Also to the PDCA as a whole, it was a rough year with Hanlon Park unavailable and (Alexandra Park) not available for a lot of it, they did a really good job of managing the league through that.”

In the other awards on the night, Tyrendarra captain Cam Mather took out the A grade batting average, scoring 257 runs at an average of 85, while Colts spinner Mat Belden took out the bowling average, as he claimed 23 wickets at 8.3.

Macauly Baker of Tyrendarra was named under-18s player of the year, while under-21 player of the year went to South Portland A grade captain Mitch Arnold.

The umpire of the year was also announced, with Tom Treloar taking out the award.

In addition, the 2022-23 PDCA team of the year was announced, with all five teams represented in the 11-man squad.

PDCA Team of the Year

Will Hardie (Portland Tigers)

Michael Blomeley (Portland Tigers)

Nick Wills (Gorae-Portland)

Mitch Arnold (South Portland)

Cam Mather (Tyrendarra)

Stephen O’Brien (Gorae-Portland)

Glenn Hollis (wk) (Portland Colts)

Luke Evans (c) (Portland Colts)

Lachie Kirk (Tyrendarra)

Sam Wilson (Tyrendarra)

Mat Belden (Portland Colts)