Allrounder ups stumps at Vikings

ALEXANDER Thomson has been dealt a major blow, with star allrounder Sean Tindale opting to return home to England.

Vikings president Stuart Helwig confirmed Tindale, a star top-order and new-ball bowler, had decided against returning to Highton Reserve next season following the club’s relegation.

Helwig said the 21-yearold’s departure was a bitter blow for the club, which was relegated to a third division under the GCA’s new turf restructure.

“It’s as big a blow as the restructure,” he said.

“That’s the second casualty of the restructure for us. We lost a coach (Simon Anderson) out of it last year and now we’ve lost our leading player. It’s exactly what we thought would be the case . . . our club is less marketable under this structure when you’re lumped with clubs like Corio, who are up in the air about whether they will even be a club, and Waurn Ponds and Guild.

“It’s disappointing, but we knew it was happening and we’ve got to find a way (to move on).”

Helwig said Tindale had contacted him late last week to reveal his intentions.

“He’s got uni and career options to consider,” he said. “He told us that he wouldn’t play for any other club in Geelong, and Section 3 Turf cricket doesn’t fulfil his cricket aspirations, so he’s going to focus on possibly joining the police force and studying in England.”

Tindale, who scored 567 runs and snared 56 wickets in a season that earned him a place in the GCA’s titlewinning Country Week team, was headhunted by clubs.

“He told me straight out that North Geelong and other clubs were chasing him but he told them all the same thing . . . that he wasn’t leaving us,” Helwig said.

“He wouldn’t play against us and he said he couldn’t imagine playing for any club in Geelong other than our club.

“His issues are being 21 and needing to think about his future back in England.”