BACK in 1859, Tom Wills established the rules for Australian Rules football to keep cricketers fit during the long cold winter months.
Despite his best intentions, Wills could not have foreseen the way that his new sport would take hold of society and how those very same cricketers would embrace the sport.
Pigeon Ponds champion all-rounder and PF Christie medalist, Simon Close is one cricketer that loves to play the indigenous game in winter, and he has bitter-sweet feelings from this season with the Harrow-Balmoral FNC as his side claimed the senior football premiership, but he also badly injured his knee in the grand final.
Close injured his anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the entire 2023/24 cricket season which is a huge blow to the chances of the cricket club.
The loss of such a player isn’t easy to replace but it just means that others within the team must now take on added responsibility with the bat and the ball to cover his loss.
The Pigeon have picked several recruits over winter with Jai Thompson being a wicketkeeper/batsman, Max Leeming is a medium pace bowler, while Greg Schofield is a left arm quick bowler who no doubt will take the new ball along with Jack Beaton.
Beaton had a great summer last season which saw him selected in the HDCA Team of the Year for his efforts with the ball and to a lesser extent the bat, as he notched his career highest score early in the summer.
Peter Staude will again be at the tiller of the Ponds ship and the left-hand opening batsman must kick on with the starts he gains this season to register 500+ runs at the top of the order.
“I expect the five Portland teams to be good for the competition, I dare say we will have to be at our best each week to come home with a win,” Staude said when asked the impact that the old PDCA teams will have on the competition.
“Obviously we want to win the competition, but to win the one day or T20 comp would also be a goal of ours.”
“I think Casterton are the big threat this year, they’ve been building nicely over the last couple of seasons, and I think they will be hard to beat this year.”
Although Close is a huge loss, the club has the personnel to not only reach the finals but to go on and win the competition.
The shorter format of the game is what suits the team best, as the players like to attack with the bat and the bowlers deliver an economical line and length.
The Close brothers, Michael and Anthony will support Staude with the bat in posting totals that can be defended while Anthony Close will support Beaton and Schofield with the ball in dismissing the opposition.
Partnerships with the bat and the ball will be vital to the success of the side, which means that one player doesn’t have to be relied upon to score the majority of the runs or take the bulk of the wickets.
