SEASON’S GREETINGS
A premiership player in Bendigo last summer, left-handed all-rounder Shane Murdoch has wasted no time making his mark for Newtown & Chilwell this season.
SHANE Murdoch knows when he’s on a good wicket — both literally and figuratively.
A Bendigo Cricket Association premiership player with Eaglehawk last summer, the left-handed all-rounder has wasted no time making his mark in GCA1 with impressive contributions with both bat and ball.
After briefly flirting with the idea of playing at a rival GCA club, upon landing in Geelong, he’s ready to admit that eventually deciding on Newtown & Chilwell has been instrumental in his preChristmas success.
“The ground presents a really nice wicket for both bat and ball each week, so if you get in, it’s happy days,” Murdoch said a week after plundering an extraordinary 151 against Leopold at Queens Park.
“I think we’ve made 200 twice and then the high 290s on the other games, so I think we just really like playing at home, it’s really nice to bat on.”
But it’s not just the meticulously prepared Stinton Oval that has impressed the 31-yearold; the Two Blues have won him over with their sense of spirit and celebration of culture.
“I didn’t know what to ex- pect at the start of the season, going to a young club,” Murdoch said.
“But when I got my 100 so many people were saying how proud they were, how good it was to watch and how good they feel for me.
“It’s a really good feeling down there.”
Murdoch’s initial six matches produced eight wickets and 163 runs before the Mornington Peninsula-raised artisan legitimately announced himself by launching into the Leopold attack in the return of the 85-over game.
“With so many one-dayers so far, it’s been a bit hard to actually spend some time at the crease,” he said.
“I’ve got a two-day mentality, I like to spend a lot of time at the crease, I don’t necessarily have to push the runs quickly, I like to wait for my strength balls.”
Despite giving the Lions an early chance in the gully, Murdoch grew in confidence throughout his marathon 217ball innings, partnering, in the main, Will Simson and Graeme Clark to propel the host to 372.
“James Menzies was giving it to me a fair bit with a lot of short stuff, so I had a couple of tough periods there, but got through it and at the end of the day it got easier,” Murdoch said.
“I’ve been working really hard at training to create some game simulations to just not get out.
“I was just looking for a bit longer time at the crease.”
Working in hospitality for the past four years, Murdoch has, just this week, made the switch to his true profession, greenkeeping, at Wyndham Council.
So, while he’s well qualified to stand in judgment of the quality of our region’s playing facilities, he’s now also wellplaced to assess some of Country Victoria’s best cricketers.
“After we played the first game against South Barwon, I went back to Roycey (NCCC Director of Coaching, Dev Royce) and said, ‘Mate, this is the most competitive cricket’,” Murdoch said.
“That day against Grovey, when they batted second and the pitch was flat, it was good to watch, but I was sick of it by the end of it. We’ve played East, so I’ve seen Seany (O’Neill) bat, but I haven’t seen Richie (Oliver) bat yet.”
“When I got my 100 so many people were saying how proud they were, how good it was to watch and how good they feel for me. It’s a really good feeling down there.” NEWTOWN & CHILWELL’ S SHANE MURDOCH