Power take stock after season

A SEASON of on-field transition could not bring about a change in results for Mount Beauty United Cricket Club. After bowing out in the previous season’s preliminary final, the Power’s first eleven struggled to recapture the success of what most at the proud club were hoping for and expecting, finishing in sixth place on the Cricket Albury Wodonga District table with three wins and nine losses, then losing its first final against league powerhouse Kiewa earlier this month. First-time captain, yet experienced leader Greg McLennan was forced to deal with a raft of changes and unpredictable player availability in his first season at the helm, with 25 players featuring in the side. This certainly tested the club’s depth in all departments – legend Frank Iaria stepped down a grade to captain the second eleven; Paddy Dodd, Ethan Brown, Nick Iaria and Adam Whelan all only played handful of games due to work commitments, plus key players Toby Derrick and new recruit Jack Nieuwerth were hampered by long-term injuries. In what was once a dependable strength of past Power line-ups, skipper Greg McLennan (487 runs and five half-centuries) was the sole Mount Beauty batter to reach 200 league runs, while Graham Beer was the only other player to average more than 20. Shannon Wilson was a mainstay of the Power’s attack and added nine wickets to lead the way for his side. Whilst admitting that there were some challenges faced in the recently-completed season upon reflection, McLennan took a lot of positives from the year with the return of some important players. “We didn’t put what we think is our strongest side on the park once this year, nor did we have the same team two weeks in succession, so that was a challenge,” McLennan said. “That said, we showed on a few occasions that our best can test any other side. “Getting Steve Pask back at the club was a big plus for us – he is a natural talent and a great guy to have around the club. “The continued development of Nick Iaria’s batting is also very exciting – he has historically played as a bowler, but he has a good eye and excellent hitting power and as his technique and confidence improves, he can be a top contributor for us, as he was in several games this year. “Another player coming back is Shannon Carter who eased himself back into cricket via B Grade this year. “By the end of the season he was dominating games with both bat and ball – he is a genuine A Grade quality player and was the hero of our 2011-12 premiership and we hope he will have a big impact in A Grade next season. “The key for next year will undoubtedly be getting our best team playing in the majority of games, and we are also hopeful of getting some other former players back. “We certainly have no shortage of talent and if we get our best team playing each week, we’ll be back up at the pointy end come finals time.”

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