Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

Welcome Season 2019-20

Introduction

Photographs/Images

Hello and welcome to the Drouin Cricket Club Inc. Season Review. We have prepared this newsletter in lieu of our Presentation Night being cancelled and hope that you enjoy the read!

Please note that all photographs/images used throughout this newsletter have been extracted from public social media pages!

Contacts – Season 2019-20 President - Michael Caddy P: 0438 061 366 E: dccpresident20@gmail.com Secretary - Celeste Starc/Michael Caddy P: 0438 061 366 E: dccsecretary1@gmail.com Treasurer - Steve Austen P: 0408 251 445 E: dcctreasurer14@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/drouincricketclub

https://drouincricketclub.teamapp.com

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Presentation Night 2019-20

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President’s & Secretary’s Report

By Michael Caddy

Changing of the Guard In the last half of 2018 I was invited by Kym Osseweyer to apply to for the President’s position of the Drouin Cricket Club (DCC). I was delighted and honoured to be considered for this role. It presented quite a change to me personally and to the club as a whole.

Change in itself is a good thing yet to many it poses a threat. People are used to one way of working and to change that way can cause angst. It is the president’s job to shift the paradigm from threat to opportunity.

Review During the 2019/20 season our club was at the forefront of cricket locally, having won both Division 1 and 2 premierships the previous year.

Highlights included the recruitment of Mitchel Smith as an assistant coach to help out Sammy van der Zalm. To bring a person of Mitch’s quality into our club has been enormously beneficial.

Drouin hosted and played in the Under 14 T-20 final at the LMK Oval (Bellbird Park 2 Oval) with many senior players, parents, families, guests and spectators in attendance to watch our young guns take home an easy victory over Ellinbank!

Following this match our Division 2 side hosted and played Warragul on turf in the WDCA One Day Final at our Bellbird Park 1 Oval, the Drouin & District Community Bank Branch Oval. Unfortunately on this occasion, Drouin couldn’t get the chocolates.

Once again our DCC groundsmen, Ronald and Nick Harper did a magnificent job preparing the wicket. Special thanks go out to these gentlemen for all the extra rolling and general ground maintenance. Our ground preparation is always second to none and arguably the best turf wicket in the WDCA. Ronnie will be retiring at the end of this season and leaves a massive void to fill. Thanks Ronnie for all of your tireless work, it is greatly appreciated.

It was also a treat to see Malcolm Dow back in Drouin colours. …THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Players

Committee

Our club experienced a great deal of change over a very short time. The playing group adapted to Sammy van der Zalm’s second year as coach and Mitchell Smith’s training drills in a very positive manner.

It is great to see our future cricketers spending a lot of time in our wonderful nets.

Their extra training and dedication is certainly paying off. From a clubs perspective it is excellent to see these exceptional training facilitates being put to good use.

Many thanks go to Sammy, Mitch and their respective Captains, junior coaches and the players for their efforts in this past season.

Special thanks goes to Sammy for his two year coaching stint in which he won 3 flags with his highlight being Division 1 last season.

We all realise the opportunities that exist at the club. Next season we hope that we are in position to climb the ladder and challenge for more premierships!

Change also affected the club off field. My predecessor, Kym Osseweyer successfully led the club over the past three seasons.

He has still been very much an active committee person although enjoying some well needed down time. His support to both myself personally and to the club as a whole has been remarkable. Thanks Kymmie.

Further change to the Executive Committee saw our Secretary, Celeste Starc stand down by mutual agreement. On behalf of our club, I would like to thank Celeste for all of her efforts and contributions after an almost 3 year term as Secretary. Your vibrant energy and good spirits have been welcomed throughout DCC and we wish you all the very best for the future. Thanks Cel. This season the club struggled to secure a Treasurer, with Steve Austen retiring at the end of last season. Although with sheer reluctance, he finally accepted the position for one additional term which we are very grateful for.

Steve will however be resigning from Treasurer at the end of this season. His years of experience and contributions to DCC have proved invaluable.

His support to both myself personally; and to the club as a whole has been most valuable. On behalf of DCC we hope you enjoy some much needed down time.

Thanks Aussie.

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Volunteers Volunteers are the lifeblood of any organisation. DCC is no different. Our volunteers make our club function.

My thanks goes out to all volunteers who assisted with catering and helping out in the kitchen throughout the season. This included a wonderful Christmas Dinner celebration; general Thursday night meals and afternoon tea on game days. Thank you Elicia, Celeste, Kendal and anyone else I may have forgotten (apologies in advance)!

Committee continued Change is inevitable. It often results in a change of leadership style. We will use this change as an opportunity to improve the way we operate the club by embracing past successes and exploring new approaches in areas of need.

My thanks also goes out to all of the committee and volunteers alike. The general public do not see the many hours you give to make our club a success. I appreciate your efforts to make our club a better place to be.

Thanks also go out to all our volunteers who help set up and assist at training; on match day, dedicate their time to scoring our games, preparing drinks; assisting our coaches/captains and the playing teams; and generally helping out whenever they can. Your tireless work does not go unnoticed and helps to alleviate some of the pressure.

Thanks again especially to our retiring executive committee Members, Celeste and Steve.

You have both made terrific contributions to DCC and remain valued club members.

As I mentioned earlier, it is with great thanks to these gents for preparing the wicket week-in and weekout, to offer the best possible playing surface in the WDCA. The sheer dedication, tireless work and manhours put into maintaining the turf wicket by fatherson duo Ronnie and Nick Harper is exemplary. Thanks again Ronnie and Nick.

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Grants Special thanks goes to our outgoing Treasurer on his tireless efforts in applying for numerous grants. Aussie is always looking for ways to better the club and our facilities.

One of his successful grant applications this season was the Community Crime Prevention & Safety Grant which funded the purchase and installation of three electronic security roller shutters to each of our external windows/doors.

They look fantastic and offer that extra sense of security which will hopefully deter any potential burglars!

Double Sliding Doors

Great job Aus!

Westerly facing window

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Treasurer’s Report

By Steve ‘Aussie’ Austen

First, congratulations to Michael Caddy on navigating his first season of President of the Drouin Cricket Club. I’m sure it was a genuine ‘eye-opener’ for him, being the ‘face of Drouin CC’ and dealing with the many and varied issues including the daunting task of managing people’s expectations, theirs and usually their children’s. Not a role I strive to fulfil.

Overall we were down on the previous season, but still maintained a reasonable gross profit from the kitchen/canteen/bar.

The final season loss looks ordinary, but there are reasons for this.

Financially for the Club season 2019/20 was another ‘challenging’ task to juggle. This season was a difficult one to manage as a result of the replacement of the covers ($4k+), which was not budgeted for.

Again, I would like to thank our President Michael Caddy for diligently working with our insurers to almost cover the entire costs of replacement.

Sponsorship is a very important income stream for the Club, and this season was no exception. We were up in total from the 2018/19 season, with the help from LMK Building Surveyors contribution, but taking this out, we were actually down by recent years.

We are however, immensely grateful for the support of our generous sponsors.

Our bar sales are another important income stream and this side of the Club needs to be managed very closely.

Firstly, we have written off bad debts of which were being carried forward from previous seasons. These were payments disappointingly unpaid by past players – therefore the Club will need to ensure any player committing themselves to either play or be given merchandise actually pays for the privilege, enough said.

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Treasurer’s Report Continued…

Secondly, income was down all over, offset by lower expenses. Year on year loss was similar, taking the write-off of bad debts into account.

Accounts Payable has a current balance, being funding from Drouin & District Community Bank Branch (Bendigo Bank Grant) to fix the holes in Andrews Pavilion, and a balance of the grant received to improve the Shed, yet to be expensed.

In closing I would like to congratulate our Under 14 and Division 2 (back-to-back) premiership teams. The season took a bit of a right turn with this COVID-19 pandemic, and quickly finished the cricket season, but I guess some of you now see the advantages of finishing on top of the ladder at the end of the season. As I say, ‘any win is a good win’.

At the start of the season I did stand-down from the Treasurer role, and again it was disappointing that NO-ONE was willing to take over the role, help the Club and contribute in a meaningful way. Being a good friend of Michael Caddy, I could not let him down, when he obviously needed my help.

The Treasurer’s role seems daunting to some people, and yes you do need to know a little about Book-keeping (you do not need to be a trained Accountant to do this), and yes you do need to spend some time completing reconciliations, banking monies, creating invoices, chasing money etc. You also need to know a little about Xero, internet banking, MyCricket, Team-App, Stripe payments etc. But, overall it is a very satisfying experience knowing that you have contributed to the management of the Club, in a very important way.

I will not be helping out in season 2020/21, therefore it is vital that the Club ensures the role is filled by a competent and trustworthy person, working very closely with our President and Committee.

I wish the Club good fortune and thank it for the many years I have enjoyed on the committee, and as a past secretary and treasurer.

All the best, Steve Austen.

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Senior Coaches Report

by Sammy van der Zalm

Season 2019/20 has come and gone and it was without a doubt unlike any other.

The rain days that effected games and trainings seemed relentless and then the pandemic which sprung up and came in like a steam train. Something that no one was ready for but on reflection I believe that league made the right decision in unprecedented circumstances.

Our first eleven were not able to go as far as the 2s this year, and while internally we believe we under achieved, the season was not a waste.

We have grown tighter as a group, enjoyed each other’s company and become better team mates. I am extremely confident that there is still a burning desire in the group and the disappointment from this year will be used as motivation for future years.

While nobody ever wants to see a season finish how it did, I don’t believe it takes away anything from our 2nd 11’s back to back premiership. (or any other team in the league who were awarded the premiership). The accolade of receiving the premiership is a great reflection of the hard work you have put in throughout the year and the consistency of your performances.

The thirds and fourths boys, the heartbeat of the club. Thanks for your constant efforts. You lads are champions and there is some extremely talented young fellas coming through that are surrounded by great men. I would like to give a big thankyou to Jack Jarred, you were extremely selfless this year putting your hand up to captain the 3rds. Even when you were selected in the 2s you were still organizing the boys, Cheers mate.

Throughout the senior squads there is a core group of talented young men coming through with about a dozen cricketers under the age of 20 going through the first 11 and second 11. It so nice to see how close you boys are, I want to thank those lads for the passion, enthusiasm and professionalism you displayed at training and on game days. Like I mentioned many times during the last few years, this club is yours to make your own. If you boys maintain the same qualities and comradery you displayed this year it will only be a matter of time before you are winning premierships in division 1 and higher levels of cricket. …THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Senior Coaches Report Continued…

A couple of off-field thankyous, to all of the ladies and men who helped to organize Thursday night meals; you are all stars and you guys keep this club going. Thank you to Elicia, your hard work organizing functions did not go unnoticed and the playing group really appreciates your efforts.

Although I slipped over on the dance floor and then my arm grew about 35 inches in diameter I loved every minute of the functions.

To my assistant coaches and leaders during the last couple of years, thank you so much. I could not have done it without you.

To Benny Bowering, your attitude and commitment to the playing group and your selflessness is second to none. The playing group and I really appreciate your work, thanks mate.

To the committee, players and supporters. I would just like to thank you for the last two years and the constant support I have received. Whether it was cricket advice, coaching advice or just life advice there is no shortage of great people to chat to. I would like to thank you all for backing me in to be the coach and giving me the opportunity to be a division 1/2 premiership player coach; Something I will never forget and will have photos of in the poolroom for the rest of my life.

I can’t wait for next year, let’s get around Troy, maintain our enthusiasm, continue to grow as a club, continue to grow as mates and strive to win more flags.

See you all for a beer when the current times permit.

Cheers Sammy van der Zalm Senior Coach

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Under 12 Coaches Report

by Nico Botha

Team

Season

Remy Butler Xavier Jones Noah Fielden Harvey Mylius Matthew Arandall Fernando Tristan Fernando

Will Midgley Zach Fielden Nicolas Botha Aaron Nucara Justin

Introduction The under 12’s cricket team didn’t have a coach at the beginning of the season and they missed the first couple of games.

After meeting with the club President Mr. Michael Caddy, I decided to help with the coaching of the Drouin under 12 cricket team.

Our season started off being difficult, seeing that we missed a couple of games and within that period most of the under 12 senior players joined the under 14 team leaving us vulnerable with inexperienced players.

Playing with a very young team came with a lot of challenges itself. We barely won a game throughout the season which sometimes broke the boy’s spirit. A lot of pep talks about sportsmanship and encouraging pulled them through the rough patches. Altogether the boys showed excellent progress and

character when the season came to an end.

We worked a lot on the basic aspects of the game, trying to improve the teams batting, bowling and fielding. The boys excelled and became more confident as the season progressed.

Being a team of 11 players was an advantage when we played our games – each over, one player could have a rest as some of the days were very hot!

Each boy had the chance to Captain the team and the batting line-up varied each game giving each player the opportunity to play at all batting positions.

I created an additional what’s app group as a better platform to communicate with the parents. This united and involved the parents creating a pleasant atmosphere during and after games Hopefully next season we will get better results as most of the players will remain at the under 12’s team (being 10). For the few advancing to the under 14 team, I hope you’ll make a valid contribution to the team.

Nico Botha Under 12’s Coach

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Under 14 Coaches Report

by Anthony Radcliffe

I’d like firstly to thank Cadzo for the invitation to coach the under 14’s this season it was an absolute pleasure to have such a great group of boys and be able to see them develop as a team.

It was a season that began and ended on high notes with a great deal of individual and team success along the way.

The teams captain Cam Caddy represented WDCA at U15 JCW and was later selected to represent the U14 Gippsland Pride team at State level. Seb Amoroso (with Peyton Saddington and Sid de Abrew filling in) also joined him in the GCL under 15 try outs at the end of the year.

The team also had 3 boys Harrison Radcliffe, Keegan Friedlander and Charlie Piner (with Ibby Faisal-Wahid filling in) make the under 13 GCL team, selected from a squad of 30 from across all teams in our league; all the boys acquitted themselves very well across the games they played. I had the pleasure of being asked to be the assistant coach for this team and the talent in the league is extremely high.

I was fortunate to have a terrific group of boys with a great blend of top age, middle and bottom age making up the team. It was a group that from the more experienced to the first year players bonded together exceptionally well. I had 14 in the team and this made it difficult at times to fit all into 11 and for them to participate in all facets of the game especially when you have great depth in the batting and bowling, but with a little understanding from all we got through the year.

The growth in all the boys abilities is testament to how we were able to finish on top of the T20 and Main draw ladders for the year and eventually be crowned premiers in both formats of the game.

Having 5 boys play several games of Div. 5 with all batting and bowling with some excellent results achieved with all getting 1 or more senior wickets and scoring and hitting the winning runs in these games.

I’d like to thank the entire group for the season as all conducted themselves at both training and games extremely well and I’d like to wish those going onto under 16’s all the very best and invite all the rest to return next season to have a go at defending our crowns.

Anthony Radcliffe Under 14’s Coach

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Division 5 Captain's Report

by Michael ‘Iceman’ Caddy

At the start of the season when the club decided on what teams we were fielding and decided to drop Div. 4 I honestly thought this year would have been a lot easier. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. We started off with a plethora of numbers, but by the Christmas break it was a totally different story. We had 2 very serious knee injuries that ended John Tomkins and Herman van der Elst’s seasons, plus several people with work commitments.

We also had a certain fellow who retired every week but I could always talk Erkel (Steve Bleazby) into playing next week. I also had a stalwart of years gone by deciding he would have a go playing up, in the end I think Tappa (Brad Cross) himself should of stayed with us but he had a go and can’t hold that against him.

This season the league in their wisdom made Division 5 one-day games and 40 overs per side with a 12:30pm start. This made us play the same amount of game time as Division 1 which does not sit well with me. I did write to the league expressing my opinion/concerns, however they didn’t respond. All in all it was a fruitful exercise.

The team had a very up and down year with a magnitude of new faces including several young ones and also loads of fill-ins. New faces included Jack Fraser, Ash “Bulldog” Norton, Herman, Peyton Saddington, Seb Amoroso, Harrison Radcliffe, Keegan Friedlander and a few ‘one game wonders’ who we never saw again.

Highlights of the year were the 5 under 14 lads who showed wonderful composure when things got tough and never dropping their heads. Well done boys – I’m very proud of you all! Anthony Radcliffe who I asked on several occasions to fill in got to play a game alongside his son Harrison which I am sure he will treasure; not to mention he also took a blinder of catch. On ya Anthony!

Peyton and Harrison both took their first senior wicket in the same game with Keegan getting his first senior wicket the following week. And of course there is Seb! We can’t forget him; as a wicket keeper, he also took his first senior catch behind the stumps in the last game of the season.

All of these boys including my son Cameron have all represented the league (WDCA) this season. Well done fellas! Having kids like these in our club makes the future look very bright for DCC. So with great pleasure I would like to thank all of the players who played under me this season. I look forward to playing alongside you again next season. Thank you very much and go Hawks!

CAPTAIN MIKE

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Division 3 Captain's Report

by Jack ‘Jakka’ Jarred

Firstly I’d like to thank Sammy for his great work over the last couple of years he has been great for the club and we’ve seen that in the success we have had.

This year in division 3 was a good fun year topped off with us managing to make the finals after missing the last couple of years the depth we have and the young guys that are coming through the ranks are looking very promising for the future.

We had a very up and down season there were games that we didn’t perform as well as we could have and there were games where we played to our best and got the result we wanted, as I said we managed to make finals still which was a disappointing result but we were outclassed on the day, in saying that next season we will be looking to go a couple of steps further and I think we have a good young group to do so.

I would also like to thank Kye for stepping in as captain when I was playing up he did very well, as well as the other leaders of the team.

Jakka

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Division 2 Captain's Report

by Nick ‘Ritchie’ Harper

What a season for us in the twos, finishing the home and away season on top of the ladder with only two losses was a huge effort! To then win a really tough semi-final against a quality Western Park side just shows the talent we have at the club. To not be able to play the grand final was a real disappointment, but as we finished on top of the ladder we have been awarded back to back flags! I know this isn’t the way we saw the finish to our season happening, but the fact that we finished on top of the ladder is still something to be really proud of, good work boys!

Joxy spoke just before Christmas about our tough draw that we had playing Western Park, Iona and Catani coming up just after the Christmas break, these were going to be the three games that would shape our season, especially considering the games lost to Longwarry and Jindivick leading up to the break. He was bang on and winning all three games ultimately put us on top of the ladder and gained us back to back success.

Special mention to Josh Maric, Matt Kouris, Nic Caddy, Regan Hodge and Ben Dixon, these up and coming lads of the club where brilliant this year in the twos! Seeing these boys at training from 4 until almost dark and pushing themselves to improve is amazing. With Nugget opening the batting all year and getting a small taste of Div. 1, Cadzo going from batting at 10 to 3 through the middle

part of the year and doing a great job, Regan being that bowler you can always turn to slow down the run rate and put the brakes on, Matt winning the batting average for the twos and Dicko winning the bowling (bad luck Paul). I hope you boys can see that all your hard work throughout the year has paid off, this is clearly evident through how much you blokes have improved throughout the year! I look forward to seeing what the years to come have in store for you all!

I’d like to thank Sammy for the two-year coaching at the club, absolutely awesome getting a Div. 1 and Div. 2 flags in your first year and then the Div. 2 again this year. As Trevy has said in his report, flags don’t come to you, you have to earn them!! You definitely did that mate, so thank you! Congratulations also to the under 14 boys on a great season, I loved watching a few of your games, there are some real future stars!

Thanks to Cadzo for stepping into the presidents roll this season, you have done an outstanding job mate and I hope you get a good break in the off season. I’d also like to thank Ronald for again doing the turf wicket, it was a very tough season but you have done an amazing job. Hope to see you all again next season for the three peat GO HAWKS!!

And as Joxy always says, EEEEHHHHHH!!

Cheers, Ritchie

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Division 1 Captain's Report

by Trev Gardiner

Unfortunately we were unable to give ourselves a chance to go back to back for 2019/20. After another slow start to the year and the Christmas break coming at the perfect time, we were again able to turn our season around and storm into another finals campaign! Beating both the Grand Finalists along the way showed when we were on we were extremely hard to beat!

I was again super proud of the group to turn things around and drop only 1 game after Christmas and being the team no one wanted to play in the finals. We were beaten by a better team in that semi-final, by a team that were more patient and willing grind through the tough periods. Flags are hard to win that’s for sure!

I want to thank Sammy for all his dedication and hard work leading and coaching our club, to win a Div. 1 and 2 flag in his first year didn’t happen by fluke! The comradery and passion you bought to a new club can’t be underestimated! Thanks for having my back and wanting me to lead this top group of blokes as Captain!

Congratulations to Joxy and the Div. 2 boys on Back to Back flags! To achieve that success with such a young group is hopefully a snapshot of the future for our great club. To Anthony Radcliffe and the Under 14s, congratulations on your success, and thankyou to a lot of the boys who helped filling our senior teams week in week out. Clearly we have plenty of talent coming through, but that will only get us so far. Like I said, flags are tough to win! But with the attitude I have seen from so many of our young guys, stay together and when it does happen it’s the best thing ever to achieve it as ONE club!

Can’t wait to see you all for another crack at it in 2020/21, that’ll be me done as Captain but I look forward to giving my best for as long as possible as a player and hopefully mentoring and working with many of the young (and old) players! GO HAWKS!

To rest of the playing group, thanks again for another season and your support and respect you have shown to me! We have a great group of players both current and up and coming! It’s always easy turning up to the club when the guys that want to achieve the same success are also great mates as well. …THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Premierships 2019-20

U14

DIV. 2

U14

Under 14 – T20 Grand Final – Drouin v Ellinbank Under 14 – Drouin v COVID-19 Division 2 (back to back) – Drouin v COVID-19 …THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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U14 – T20 Premiers Drouin v Ellinbank

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U14 Premiers Drouin v COVID-19

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Division 2 Premiers

Drouin v COVID-19

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DCC’s Best of the

Best in WDCA N.B. Quoted from Pakenham Gazette, 01.10.2019 “With the new Warragul and District Cricket Association season beginning on Saturday and a bevy of stars from eras new and old ready to make their mark on the 2019/20 campaign, we have gauged the opinions of club coaches and a selection of experts in their ranking of the best of the best – the top 15 Division 1 stars for this upcoming season.” * - Pakenham Gazette, 01.10.2019

Trevor Gardiner - (2018-19: 406 runs at 50.75) While the spin of Dale Weller and the aggressive Damon Healy stole headlines in last year’s flag for Drouin, the inclusion of Gardiner mid-year after a knee infection was the key to Drouin’s stunning turnaround. Along with his tough, gritty batting, Gardiner offers outstanding leadership and bowls handy left-arm mediums – solidifying his position as one of the most respected cricketers in the association.

Damon Healy - (2018-19: 347 runs at 43.38) A serious knee injury almost derailed the ferocious Healy’s entire 2018-19 season. Instead, he was the player of the finals as he led his side to premiership glory. Healy’s aggressive nature and headstrong attitude means batting on one leg didn’t stop him, and with career-best innings in the book, don’t be surprised to see a full-season from Healy equate to a massive amount of runs and more critical March performances.

Dale Weller (past player) - (2018-19: 31 wickets at 16.35) You may as well call Weller the Luke Hodge of the WDCA – the man just always gets it done when it matters. Has Weller been bettered in a clutch situation? His love affair with Western Park continued in a mesmerizing semi-final performance last year, and he played a huge role in the decider. The wily off-spinner simply oozes class and is mentally tougher than most in the league.

The greatest Weller stat? A total of 43 finals wickets in his career is the most since the inception of MyCricket. …THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Award Winners 2019-20

Division 1 Batting: Bowling: Captains Award:

Damon Healy 358 runs @35.80 Sam van der Zalm 22 wickets @ 15.50 runs Jonathan Bell

Division 2 Batting: Bowling: Captains Award:

Matthew Kouris 215 runs @ 43 Paul Timewell 16 wickets @ 7.81 runs Mike Ainsley

Division 3 Batting: Bowling: Captains Award:

Kye Osseweyer 306 runs @ 27.82 Adin Short 22 wickets @ 11.41 Jack McConville

Division 5 Batting: Bowling: Captains Award:

Steve Bleazby 155 runs @ 19.38 Cam Caddy 12 wickets @ 21.71 Jack Fraser

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Award Winners 2019-20

Under 14 Batting: Bowling: Coaches Award: Most Improved:

Seb Amoroso 261 runs @ 43.50 Musa Faisal-Wahid 14 wickets @ 5.64 runs Jack Roberts Harrison Radcliffe

Club Awards Phill Dent Award: Paul Scott Award: Club Champion: Lindsay Rippon ‘Man of the Match’: Graeme Davies ‘Best Clubperson’: Pud Boot Award:

Nic Caddy Josh Maric Alex Gaudion 672.15 points Jamie Glen Michael Caddy Lochie Downie

Individual Awards Century Makers:

Mike Ainsley Drouin v Garfield/Tynong 132

10 Wicket Match:

Simon Gardiner Drouin v Neerim District 7-14 & 3-37

5 Wicket Hauls:

Sam van der Zalm Drouin v Western Park 5-24 Paul Timewell Drouin v Warragul 5-42 Paul Timewell Drouin v Western Park 7-49 Reagan Hodge Drouin v Ellinbank 5-17 Rhys Fairlie Drouin v Longwarry 5-48

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Award Winners 2019-20

Individual Awards First Senior Wicket:

Keegan Friedlander Drouin v Jindivick 1-1 Harrison Radcliffe Drouin v Warragul 1-20 Peyton Saddington Drouin v Warragul 1-20

Wicket-keeper First Senior Catch:

Seb Amoroso – Rd 17 Bunyip v Drouin

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Award Winners 2019-20

W.D.C.A. Senior Awards WDCA Team of the Year:

Damon Healy – 310 runs @ 34.44

W.D.C.A. Junior Awards U18 GCL ‘James McMahon Trophy ‘ Players of the Year:

Jack McConville & Nic Caddy

G.C.L. Junior Awards U15 All Gippsland JCW Team of the Year:

Cam Caddy

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Representative Report

by Trev Gardiner

A quick recap on how the Drouin Cricket Club member’s went in all forms of Representative Cricket this season.

Senior Rep Damon Healy was this year the sole member from the Club who represented the WDCA at both Senior GCL and a rain affected Country Week in Melbourne, with his main highlight being 45* off 36 balls on day 4 against eventual winners Leongatha.

Jack

U18 Reps Nugget

Cadzo

GCL

Matt Dicko

In what was one of the Club’s highlights of the season, we were proud to have 5 members represent the WDCA in the Under 18s GCL team, those being Nic Caddy, Jack McConville, Ben Dixon, Josh Maric and Matt Kouris. What was even more pleasing was they were also the star performers for the team. Josh Maric lead the team for runs scored, with an 86 against Latrobe in Round 3 the highlight. Ben Dixon lead the team for wickets taken with 13, including 2 bags of 4. And as a reward for their consistency Nic Caddy and Jack McConville were awarded joint winners of the James McMahon Trophy for the GCL Player of the Year.

A fantastic effort and further evidence our future is no doubt looking bright.

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Representative Report

by Trev Gardiner

U15 Reps In the Under 15 Junior Country Week we had Thomas Wans who opened the batting all tournament and was 2nd in the most runs scored. We also had Cam Caddy who also performed very well with the 2nd most wickets and also gaining selection in the Team of the Year. The team also performed really well making the Grand Final but falling short to the might of Sale/Maffra. The highlights didn’t stop there for Cam however, also gaining selection for Gippsland Pride in the Under 14 Victorian Championships where Cam performed brilliantly being the leading wicket taker for the Tournament for Gippsland and no doubt gaining a wonderful experience playing on some of Melbourne’s premier grounds!

U13 G.C.L. Development Squad

Smokey conditions at Vic State Champion -ships

U15 JCW 2020

U13 Reps We also had 3 representatives for the GCL Development League to go along with their Under 14s premiership for this season.

Congratulations to Keegan Friedlander, Charlie Piner and Harrison Radcliffe on your selection, hopefully plenty more cricket together for you all at both Club and Representative level. …THE YEAR THAT WAS

Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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WDCA T20 Charity Bushfire Bash East All Stars VS West All Stars

It was magnificent to see 3 of Drouin’s finest selected in the ‘West All Stars’ team who participated in a one off T20 Charity Bushfire Match to raise much needed funds for those affected by the Gippsland Bushfires. Congratulations Damon ‘Strut’ Healy, Simon ‘Pong’ Gardiner and former DCC player (and current Casey player) Jordan ‘Jordy’ Wyatt on your selection in the team; and for supporting such a worthy cause!

‘Strut’

‘Pong’

‘Jordy’ …THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Setbacks Pitch Covers In addition to the Clubs initial financial downfall, sadly this season brought some unexpected costs with irreparable damage to the pitch covers, which needed replacing immediately.

This caused a major financial setback to the club at a cost of more than $4,500. This was a particularly hard pill to swallow considering the damage was caused by the sheer ignorance of the general public and beyond the control of DCC.

“ICE SKATING FOR DOGGOS” As a deterrent to stay off the Covers, the Baw Baw Shire installed ‘NO DOGS ON OVAL’ signs. DCC also had ‘PLEASE KEEP OFF CRICKET PITCH AREA’ signs made but it would appear that some of the local community can’t read!!!

Thankfully, after a successful insurance claim through our wonderful sponsor ‘ENSURE RISK SOLUTIONS’ we were able to purchase new replacement Covers which we are extremely grateful for!

The Warragul Gazette also published an article about the damage, politely asking people and dogs to staff off the Covers.

THE NEW COVERS ARRIVE…

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Setbacks Bushfires

Pitch Covers

The 2019-20 season got off to a shaky start with some matches being abandoned due to wet weather. Other matches were compensated by one day games and T20 for juniors.

By December 2019 the temperature soared in the high 30’s and the bushfires struck, raging across East Gippsland and burning into February 2020.

The air quality was poor due to smoke pollution, which impacted some of the play right up until February. As a result, some Junior Country Week cricket games were abandoned.

Likewise with Senior GCL and Melbourne Country Week; and also the Youth State Championships.

Smokey conditions at Yinnar Rec Reserve U15 JCW 2020

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Setbacks Coronavirus COVID-19

The other major setback this season was when the COVID-19 Pandemic struck!

As a club this also impacted on our financial situation, having missed out on hosting finals, which generally helps us get a head start for next season.

More importantly, it denied our Division 2 and Under 14 sides the opportunity to play in a Grand Final. Both having finished on top of the ladder, they still took the win, but it doesn’t bring the same atmosphere and club camaraderie that a usual GF win brings!

Due to social distancing and crowd gathering limitations, our Presentation Night was ultimately cancelled; then before long we were all in isolation! …THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Introduction

Mystery Bus Tour

We hope you are all surviving in iso, thanks Rona! Our season come to a blunt end and we missed out on our last function for the year- Presentation Night. This would have been a prime time to celebrate the season that was, where we were lucky enough to take home another Premiership Cup. Let’s not let the Lockdown stop us from reminiscing on all the good times of the season. Here is your social recap #nofilter

Oh what a night to kick start the season! The bus was quite a mix of lads and ladies, it was super fun for team bonding and inclusion.

Plenty of games on and off the bus saw that everyone was quickly on their A game. Starting at the club rooms, shooting out to the Noojee Pub. Here we seen The Pom gain official initiation into the club- braving the dark, to have a daring dip in the Latrobe river in nothing but his birthday suite.

Next stop was the Neerim South pub and then we reached our final destination at the Family Hotel Drouin. By this point, I would say the boys were looking worse for wear- we won’t go into the details, as let’s say what happens on tour, stays on tour- Ladies 1 Boys 0.

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Premiership Reunion & Past Players

Spring Races

Massive turn out to this event. Here we relived the excitement from Div. 1 Premiership teams of 1969/70, 1989/90 and 2009/10. The boys shared their stories of the past and even created a short film, worthy of an Oscar. It was great to see the camaraderie between players, new and retired.

The glory of The Cup never gets old!

This next event had a low turnout, but those who came were not short of a laugh. With just myself and one other WAG, we certainly got more than we bargained for that night. With full trackside set up, we also had the infamous HamGift race on field, testing out our new night lights. Not sure what it is with this club and birthday suites, but here we go again, with the final race heat, well packing some heat.

Congrats to Jake Harper who won.

The unofficial Race event of the night, for those who stuck around till stumps, saw none other than Lochie Downie take on the 100 McNugget challenge. What a machine (having just downed some chips and dim sims before kicking off). He was on target to break the world record, in good form.

I am not sure of the official stats, I know there is a video in existence somewhere. Lochie went in confidence, quote ‘I don’t get full, I don’t know what full is’ but did come off a bit short.

Re-match next season big fella?

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Christmas Dinner

Family Day/Sponsors Day

This was a nice, mellow Thursday night. It was great to see a few players bring their partners and kids. Some of the WAGS assisted me in preparing a two-course roast dinner- delicious.

As much as this club is all about the players, it needs to be inclusive of the children, our future generation. It also should include the WAGS who do so much behind the scenes, not just at functions, but washing whites and supporting their partners in a game that takes up much of the weekend. Next year it would be good to see more family coming along to these events- we gotta keep this club alive.

This day was planned as a day of free fun to show thanks to families and continue on our theme of inclusion. Unfortunately, due to weather damage at the home ground, the event had to be moved to another ground, and honestly had a poor turn out. For the kids who did come along, the main regulars you see at the side line every week, they got to enjoy unlimited free fun with the Animal farm. They also had a special appearance from Grover the Dog who gave free bubbles.

We did attract a few locals who were passing by.

This would have been an excellent opportunity to promote our club in the community had it been a home game as planned.

Oh well, better luck for next year.

Only a few sponsors attended the event, but from what I hear, this did not let things get in the way of a big night for those few boys who took them out to show a good time.

‌THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Retro Cocktail Night After a bit of a lull in attendance to the last few functions, this one was epic! Everyone enjoyed unlimited cocktails and really took to dressing the part. Our resident DJ set the scene, playing some absolute classics. The dance floor was full. Nick Harper really surprised me with his moves being on point. Sammy Van Der Zalm suffered some collateral damage, trying to pull out the worm (this lead him to a little hospital visit later and missed a match). Oops Puppy Dog, perhaps you’re not as much of a smooth operator as you thought?

Lots of WAGS, lots of friends brought into the clubthis is what it was all about.

Keg Party/Vote Count

Best Dressed Male- The Pom Best dressed female- Mel P Best dressed couple- the new Mr and Mrs Harper

This was planned to be the Reverse Draw, but listening to club members, this event was adapted to now be a Keg Party and vote count. Pauly organised the vote count, being an entertaining host. Congratulations to Simon Gardiner who took out the main title.

This event was mainly the boys with only myself and one other new WAG (the new Mrs Pom). With unlimited beers, until the kegs run out and roast gravy rolls, everyone was well nourished.

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Thank you

Barefoot Bowls

A lot of effort goes into the creation, organisation and logistics of functions. So firstly, I want to thank all of those that came along and made a night of things. There were a few faces I saw at every function- you guys keep this club alive. It would be good next year to work on improving turn out and inclusion of partners and community. The committee are always open to ideas and suggestions, so please make sure you provide feedback so we can make next year even better.

This was the boys ‘Social Training’ event of the year!

A nice little bonding session for the boys before they get stuck into the business end of the season.

Secondly, I would like to thank all the additional helpers that I had, though at times it was hard to strum up some assistance, every bit helped and I am very grateful to those who did. A special shout out to Celeste Starc who was my greatest helper and organiser. Another shout out to my bae, Jonathan Bell. He was instrumental in strumming up numbers for events, helping me when others couldn’t and listening to me when I needed it.

I am grateful for all the thanks and love that was shown to me- members at this club have been so well mannered and appreciative. I’d go so far to say some of you were even chivalrous haha.

Especially being pregnant, ya’ll were offering me seats, drinks and to lift things or pick things up off the floor. It certainly makes the job much easier.

Clubs don’t run on their own, so keep it coming and keep on coming. Go Hawks!

Elicia Medjeri

DCC Barefoot Bowls Champions

Pong & Ritchie

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Congratulations Winter

Elsie

Belly & Elicia welcomed Fezz & Tahlia welcomed

Ritchie & Kendall welcomed

Piper

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Congratulations

Jake & Ebony tied the knot!

Sammy & Bri Engaged

Ritchie & Kendall Engaged

Strut & Karina Engaged

Simon & Emily Engaged

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Congratulations School Captains 2020

Congratulations to Jack and Matt on their appointment of College Captains for 2020. It is a delight to have such responsible leaders and role models at DCC. Not only are they looked up to by their peers, they are also well regarded by all members, young and old.

To top it off they are both great young men, talented cricketers and liked by all who cross their path. Well done fellas. Great Job!!! ‌THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Life Members 1960’s

1978

1979

*Fred Johnston *Vaughan Rice

Paul Sheffield

Tom Carroll *Fred Harper

1981 *Lindsay Rippon

1982 Graham Austin Des Nottage

1986 Graeme Davies Stewart Pepperell

1995 Ronald Harper

2000 Bruce McGillivray Phillip Wyatt

2001 Greg Vincent

2005 Michael Caddy

2009 Stephen Nottage Rob Thomsom Michael Wardle

2010 Paul Wyatt

2011 Steven Austen

2015 Brendan Butler

2018 John Perry *deceased

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Thank you Platinum Sponsors

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Thank you Gold Sponsors

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Thank you Silver Sponsors The DCC gratefully acknowledges all of our wonderful business partners for their generous sponsorship during the 2019-20 season. We look forward to working with you again in the future

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Thank you Small Business Sponsors

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Thank you Small Business Sponsors

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Farewell and Good Luck!

Season 2020-21

DCC would like to wish Damon ‘Strut’ Healy, Jamie ‘Jimmy’ Glen and Mike ‘Pom’ Ainsley every success in their new found ventures for season 2020-21.

You will all be sorely missed!!!

Pom ditched us for an Aussie girl… It must be true love!!! He has relocated to Seville where he will continue his cricket career at Yarra Junction CC. All the best mate!

STRUT

Strut has taken on the position of Head Coach for rival club Hallora CC

JIMMY

Jimmy has taken on the position of Head Coach for Glen Alvie & District CC POM …THE YEAR THAT WAS

Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Welcome!

Season 2020-21 DCC are thrilled to announce the following new recruits for season 2020-21. A shout out also to former DCC U16’s Premiership Player and recent U18 GCL Player, Ben Giles who will be returning to DCC for season 2020-21.

Please give them all a warm welcome!

Aaron Paxton

Cam McPhan

Troy Lehman Senior Coach

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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That’s a wrap for now…

Season 2019-20

As we are currently held to ransom by the current COVID-19 restrictions, as soon as it is safe to do so we plan to get the following underway.

Coming Events Annual General Meeting Meet the Coach/Registration Day Pre-Season Training

Signing off for Season 2019-20 Thanks again to everyone for persevering with me as I find my feet in my new President’s role.

Finally I would like to thank my adorable family; wife - Donna and our boys, Nic and Cam for supporting me in my new found venture as President.

That’s a wrap from me - until next time… stay healthy and stay safe - The Iceman, signing off for season 2019-20.

Go Hawks! …THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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Location Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

Bellbird Park, Drouin

(P O Box 290, Drouin, 3818) 270 Settlement Road, Drouin, 3818

Copyright © Gem Saloon 2020

…THE YEAR THAT WAS Drouin Cricket Club Inc.

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