Sport
21 March, 2024
Oddie claims second Ken Gibbs Medal
It was double-delight for Beaufort’s Lachlan Oddie, who became the first two-time recipient of the Ken Gibbs Medal after the medal was renamed in his honour on Wednesday night in a tight count to celebrate the 2023/24 Maryborough District Cricket...
It was double-delight for Beaufort’s Lachlan Oddie, who became the first two-time recipient of the Ken Gibbs Medal after the medal was renamed in his honour on Wednesday night in a tight count to celebrate the 2023/24 Maryborough District Cricket Association (MDCA) season.
It was a season to remember from Oddie, who helped bring the Crows back to the finals after a winless season in 2022/23, with the all-rounder in the top five in both batting (fifth with 393 runs) and bowling (second with 26 wickets).
Given all the circumstances which played against Beaufort throughout the season, with the white-ball format seeing them play all their games away from home, as well as the bushfire which threatened the town in late-February, Oddie’s win encapsulated the joy Beaufort have continued to play with throughout the season.
Oddie polled 14 votes to hold out Laanecoorie Dunolly’s Luke Smith by two votes, with Clunes captain Mitch Coppick and Carisbrook’s Dean Nalder tied for third with nine votes.
Oddie and Smith also shared in The Maryborough District Advertiser’s A grade player of the year award, polling 28 votes apiece.
While Oddie was happy to take the award, his thoughts first and foremost turned to his teammates.
“It’s good, it’s probably a personal-best season. I’d like to think I had more of an impact than when I won it last time, but it was really good to see a lot of people kicking in this year, which made it a lot better,” he said.
“It was a lot better getting five or six wins, which was definitely a big improvement on last year. We got some new nets and a new pitch at home also helped. It was good to see everyone enjoying themselves, it made everything easier.”
Oddie’s exploits came after a terrific season playing in England for Frinton-on-Sea, an experience which he said helped him with his confidence in trying different things in cricket.
“It was a lot of getting into a rhythm in England, not necessarily with the bat, but more so with the ball, and also getting out of the comfort zone and doing something different,” he said.
Oddie was intent on talking about the youth of the club, which he believes helps maintain his motivation for Beaufort to do well — particularly Tom and Ben Grant, who were successful in their own right.
“Ben Grant played most of the year in the seniors and picked up the new ball every week. Tom towards the end looked very comfortable, especially against Dunolly. There’s plenty of juniors, it’s a matter of keeping them,” he said.
“Tom won the Ballarat award in juniors as well. There’s plenty of medals around Beaufort, but just not the one we’re looking for yet. I feel like it’s coming. A few extra pieces of the puzzle, and we’ll be right back at it next season.”
In A reserve, it was Jack Kenden’s year again, with the Talbot all-rounder claiming a second-consecutive title, as well as The Advertiser’s best A reserve player for a fourth year in a row.
Kenden polled 11 votes to win from Maryborough’s Lachlan Bursill and Natte Yallock’s Zac Mortlock, who polled nine votes apiece.
A grade’s batting award went to Laanecoorie Dunolly’s Zach Graham, who scored at an average of 145.5 to win the title, while Oddie was also the recipient of the bowling award, averaging 11.91 throughout the season.
In A reserve, Trent Mortlock took the batting award with an average of 69.5, while Kenden won the bowling award on wicket aggregate with 16 wickets.
Laane’s Sergio Rosier was recognised for his terrific efforts in Melbourne Country Week by picking up the MDCA senior representative player of the year, while junior representative awards were also awarded, with Maryborough’s Judd Ross winning the under 13 rep player of the year, Beaufort’s Tom Grant the under 15 rep player of the year, and Beaufort’s Cooper Cahill the under 17 player of the year.
The under 16 teams which competed in the Castlemaine District Cricket Association junior competition were also recognised, with Maryborough’s Oliver Cassidy claiming the batting award with an average of 87, while Owls teammate Mason Trickey was the bowling award winner, averaging four. The J.C Hunter Cup went to Colts Phelans’ Brett Coon.
The Just For Girls team was recognised as the first award of the night, with Arabella Koop and Amity Palmer awarded rep players of the year for their efforts.
The Jim ‘Kiwi’ Riley award for umpire of the year went to Kevin Koop, while the Neville Spokes Memorial Award for administrator of the year went to Carisbrook’s Leigh Koop.
Finally, the team of the year was announced throughout A grade, with the team announced in batting order.
The team was: Luke Smith (Laanecoorie Dunolly), Rhys Wagstaff (Colts Phelans), Dean Nalder (Carisbrook), Lachlan Oddie (Beaufort, captain), Mitch Coppick (Clunes, vice-captain), Sergio Rosier (Laanecoorie Dunolly), Zach Graham (Laanecoorie Dunolly), Lachlan Morganti (Clunes), Jude McGuire (Clunes, wicketkeeper), Dayne Baker (Colts Phelans), Nick Henderson (Colts Phelans), and 12th man Matt Smith (Laanecoorie Dunolly).
