READ MORE – Last weekend’s BDCA wrap
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AFTER almost 100 games of Premier Cricket first XI, class batsman Andrew Chalkley says he’s looking forward to giving back to the club where he got his start.
Chalkley is returning to his home club Strathdale-Maristians in the Bendigo District Cricket Association following six-and-a-bit seasons with the Monash Tigers.
The 26-year-old’s return game for the Suns will be in this weekend’s Saturday-Sunday match against reigning premier Sandhurst at Weeroona Oval.
“With work commitments and not being able to get out to training regularly on a Tuesday and missing games through weddings and things like that, it got to the point where for the first time I was putting cricket behind work and family and friends,” Chalkley said on Thursday.
“So I sat down with the coach and had a chat about the future and came to the conclusion that it was probably in the best interests for the Tigers and myself to call time now rather than float in and out of the club when there’s so many players who are working as hard as when I first got there.
“It didn’t sit right with me coming back into the team one week and taking a young player’s spot, so I felt it’s the right time to let those younger players get their opportunity to bat in the No.3 spot.”
Chalkley made the move from the Suns, where he played in the 2011 and 2012 premierships, as a 19-year-old to join the Tigers.
“I played around 96 or 97 first XI games and it was a great experience. I have no regrets and it was a tough decision to say goodbye to the Tigers,” Chalkley said.
“But at the same time it was better to pull the pin now rather than not have my heart in it for the rest of the season.”
Chalkley – whose highest first XI score for the Tigers is 119 made against Geelong – returns to a Suns side that is 2-2 and sitting fifth on the BDCA ladder.
“Strathdale has been my home since I was seven… they taught me how to play cricket, how to compete and how to win and I’m really looking forward to coming back,” Chalkley said.
“They taught me everything and I see this as a good opportunity to be able to give something back whether it’s from a playing point of view, or mentoring or coaching, which I think is more important.
“Obviously, you want to come back and do well, but in a couple of years time if there’s another Strathdale player who goes down to Melbourne and does well on the back of something I might have helped them with is much more important for me.
“I’ve learned so much down at the Tigers in the way you think about the game, play the game, assess conditions and bowlers and, hopefully, I can pass some of that on back at Strathdale.”
While Chalkley has been gone from the Suns since the 2011-12 premiership season, he has still maintained a connection with the BDCA as a Twenty20 marquee player at Strathdale-Maristians, Eaglehawk and Sandhurst.
The left-hander is the all-time leading run-scorer in BDCA Twenty20 history with 981.
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