THE 2019-20 Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association season will go down as one of the closest in recent memory.
All six teams enjoyed the spotlight at various points of the season and not one of the top four were confirmed until the final ball was bowled of the minor-rounds.
Despite rain interrupting 14 of the 33 games, fans remained entertained as many individuals stole the show with eye-catching performances.
The man who had the final say of the summer was North Sportsman’s fast bowler Tim Young.
Young saved his best performance for the biggest stage, with a pivotal five-wicket haul in the grand final against East Gambier.
Defending a small total of 111, he bowled a relentless spell and used his left-arm angle to challenge the outside edge of his right-handed opponents.
The end result was devastating, as Young knocked over the Bulldogs’ top batsmen including the final match-winner catch, which in itself was a highlight for slips fielder Kieran Ashby.
The other man who made a difference for the Tigers was opening-batsman Jake Schutz.
In difficult conditions, Schutz was the top-scorer in the decider with 41, which allowed North to post a total to bowl at.
The gritty innings completed an impressive second half of the season for Schutz, who complied 281 runs in his four innings after the Christmas break.
His highest score of this golden period was a crucial moment in the Tigers’ premiership chase.
Scoring was close to impossible in the semi-final between North and Penola, but Schutz managed to make an unbeaten 101 off 238 balls.
His partner in crime on that day was Ashby, who also made his presence felt with the bat.
Walking in at 3/38 in a two-day match against Mil Lel, Ashby stood tall and hit 125 runs in a losing cause.
Another man who filled his boots this summer was East Gambier’s Dion Stratford.
Across two games against Mil Lel and West Gambier, Stratford scored 211 runs without being dismissed.
The respective knocks of 104 and 107 not out, were full of control and allowed the Bulldogs to secure a pair of important wins.
But the highest score of the season belongs to the competition’s leading run-scorer David Somerfield.
The South Gambier captain was unstoppable in a one-day match against Mil Lel, with 165 runs off just 111 balls.
A total of 126 of those came from boundaries, with 18 fours and nine sixes.
Joint Bill Whitty medallist Richard Crute also unleashed his devastating best on Mil Lel’s bowling.
The tall all-rounder struck 141 off 96 balls and came within nine runs of surpassing the opposition’s team score.
The man Crute shared the top award with also made an impact against Jack Miller’s side.
George Kidman’s all-round feats were for all to see in round nine against Mil Lel, when he claimed 5/20 with the ball after scoring a brisk 44 not out with the bat.
Another strong effort in both disciplines of the game was made by East Gambier all-rounder Emerson Marks, with 5/18 and an unbeaten 60 against the Eagles.
The finest hour of the 2019-20 leading wicket-taker Alex Hentschke’s season arrived in a losing effort against the eventual premiers.
The East Gambier captain led from the front with a 10-wicket match, including 7/28 in the first innings.
Young Roos’ all-rounder Sam Willis enjoyed the finest run of form with ball in hand.
In back-to-back matches Willis took 6/20 and 5/19 with the white and red ball respectively.
But the top bowling performance was produced by Robert Drenthen, who dominated the craziest game of the summer.
In a contest where only one team could surpass the 50-run mark, Drenthen picked up match figures of 11/55 in just one day.
He was close to unplayable and utilised the moving ball to find the outside edge seven times across the two innings.
In all it was an entertaining summer of cricket, with plenty of highlights on the journey, despite the intervention of rain and heat.
