New master wicket taker
BA delivers magic for Eagles
WITH Alexander Thomson cruising at 2-97 entering the start of the 12th over in last Sunday’s GCA3 T20 grand final, Waurn Ponds-Deakin captain Matt Wescombe knew he needed a wicket to prevent the Vikings exceeding a score of 160.
So he threw the ball to a man from India who had only arrived in the country four months previous, with barely any cricket experience to his name.
By the end of the over the Vikings were 5-101, and by the end of the 14th they were 7-111 — and BA Abhishek was the creator of all the damage. He had 6-23.
Softly-spoken yet energetic in the field and pacy with the ball, Balarammahanti Abhishek — or ‘BA’ for short — is described by teammate Mayuka Perera as “really into the game, he talks about the game most of the time”.
Yet Abhishek has become an integral part of the Eagles with 29 wickets at 16.14 across all forms, after only arriving in the country in late October to complete his Masters degree at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus. “I played a couple of games for the under-19s back in my home town, but not much at a big level,” Abhishek said.
“I enjoy it a lot and I enjoy the club. They’re supportive, (it’s) a good culture. There are a couple of players from Sri Lanka and the Australians too — it’s a blend of different countries, which is good.”
Abhishek said there were no real plans before his manof-the-match performance in the grand final, other than “concentrate on bowling wicket to wicket” as he put it.
He first snared Michael Cox with the second ball of the match, before the magic over — 3-4 in six manic balls. Top scorer Bailey Forssman was beaten for pace and lost his middle stump, Jake Mundy couldn’t keep out a searing yorker two balls later, and then Vikings captain Jay Dunstan knew what was coming but was unable to stop a ball speared towards his big toe, and was adjudged lbw.
Two more wickets in his final over followed to complete the searing spell. While disappointed, Abhishek retained a sense of pride.
“I wanted to win the match. The man-of-the-match is not the main thing I wanted — I want to win the match, so I am disappointed,” he said.
“I enjoyed my cricket in India back home, but then coming here and doing well is a very good feeling.”
‘I enjoyed my cricket in India back home, but then coming here and doing well is a very good feeling’ BALARAMMAHANTI ABHISHEK