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JUST three wins made season 2019-20 the leanest in six years for Sandhurst in the Bendigo District Cricket Association.
Premiers just two years ago, the side at times barely resembled the drought-breaking premiership team of 2017-18 such has been the player turnover at the Dragons since.
Apart from back-to-back one-day wins on either side of the Christmas-New Year break against Kangaroo Flat and Eaglehawk, the Dragons were never able to build any momentum in their season and ultimately finished second-last above only Bendigo United.
With the bat, the Dragons relied on the trio of Sri Lankan Shasheen Fernando (463), the returning Ben Leed (422) and young opener Joel Murphy (327) to score the bulk of their runs, with opener Fernando hitting his straps in the second half of the season.
Fernando's six innings post-Christmas included knocks of 103 n.o. against Eaglehawk, 109 n.o. against Golden Square when he batted for all 85 overs and 97 against Kangaroo Flat, while with the ball captain-coach Taylor Beard was the clear standout.
Beard was a workhorse, sending down 219 overs for the season, taking 33 wickets and winning the club's Noel Turner Memorial vote count for a third time.
However, Beard has already confirmed his departure from the Dragons and is headed back to his former club Echuca next season, meaning when Sandhurst takes to the field in 2020-21 it will be with a new skipper at the helm.
IN A NUTSHELL
Record - 3-9-1
Finished - 9th
Batting rank - 6th
Bowling rank - 10th
Average scores:
Batting - 202
Bowling - 255
SEASON RESULTS
Round 1: 72 lt Huntly-North Epsom 123
Round 2: 206 def Bendigo United 9-205
Round 3: 0-0 drew Eaglehawk 9-232
Round 4: 266 lt White Hills 285
Round 5: 182 lt Bendigo 253
Round 6: 142 lt Strathfieldsaye 7-263
Round 7: 4-142 def Kangaroo Flat 141
Round 8: 3-204 def Eaglehawk 9-150
Round 9: 67 lt White Hills 8-68
Round 10: 8-159 lt Huntly-North Epsom 2-163
Round 11: 6-234 lt Golden Square 7-235
Round 12: 261 lt Kangaroo Flat 286
Round 13: 112 lt Strathdale-Maristians 8-355
LADDER POSITIONS
Round 1: 8th (0-1)
Round 2: 7th (1-1)
Round 3: 7th (1-1-1)
Round 4: 8th (1-2-1)
Round 5: 9th (1-3-1)
Round 6: 9th (1-4-1)
Round 7: 8th (2-4-1)
Round 8: 7th (3-4-1)
Round 9: 8th (3-5-1)
Round 10: 8th (3-6-1)
Round 11: 8th (3-7-1)
Round 12: 8th (3-8-1)
Round 13: 9th (3-9-1)
TOP 5 BATSMEN
1 - Shasheen Fernando
Runs: 463 Innings: 12
Avr: 46.30 High: 109*
100s: 2 50s: 1
League rank: 8
............................................
2 - Ben Leed
Runs: 422 Innings: 12
Avr: 35.17 High: 113
100s: 1 50s: 2
League rank: 11
............................................
3 - Joel Murphy
Runs: 327 Innings: 12
Avr: 27.25 High: 86
100s: 0 50s: 2
League rank: 21
............................................
4 - Taylor Beard
Runs: 236 Innings: 11
Avr: 21.45 High: 86
100s: 0 50s: 2
League rank: 38
............................................
5 - Will Gadsden
Runs: 109 Innings: 7
Avr: 15.57 High: 59
100s: 0 50s: 1
League rank: 71
TOP 5 BOWLERS
1 - Taylor Beard
Wickets: 33 Overs: 219
Avr: 18.33 Best: 6-6
Strike: 39.82 5W Inns: 3
League rank: 5
............................................
2 - Matthew Combe
Wickets: 19 Overs: 127
Avr: 18.32 Best: 5-43
Strike: 40.11 5W Inns: 1
League rank: 19
............................................
3 - Sam Sperling
Wickets: 13 Overs: 149
Avr: 28.62 Best: 2-12
Strike: 68.77 5W Inns: 0
League rank: 36
............................................
4 - Ben Evans
Wickets: 11 Overs: 82
Avr: 28.27 Best: 4-21
Strike: 44.73 5W Inns: 0
League rank: 41
............................................
5 - Shasheen Fernando
Wickets: 7 Overs: 42
Avr: 15.29 Best: 2-15
Strike: 36.00 5W Inns: 0
League rank: 51
TOP 5 MVP POINTS
1 - Taylor Beard
Points: 951
Runs: 236 Wickets: 33
Fielding: 5
League rank: 6
............................................
2 - Shasheen Fernando
Points: 698
Runs: 463 Wickets: 7
Fielding: 8
League rank: 21
............................................
3 - Ben Leed
Points: 497
Runs: 422 Wickets: 0
Fielding: 7
League rank: 39
............................................
4 - Matthew Combe
Points: 466
Runs: 26 Wickets: 19
Fielding: 6
League rank: 46
............................................
5 - Sam Sperling
Points: 368
Runs: 68 Wickets: 13
Fielding: 4
League rank: 57
CENTURIES
113 - Ben Leed
vs White Hills, rd 4
109* - Shasheen Fernando
vs Golden Square, rd 11
103* - Shasheen Fernando
vs Eaglehawk, rd 8
FIVE-FORS
6-6 - Taylor Beard
vs White Hills, rd 9
5-43 - Matthew Combe
vs Bendigo, rd 5
5-57 - Taylor Beard
vs Eaglehawk, rd 3
5-69 - Taylor Beard
vs White Hills, rd 4
TWENTY20 COMPETITION
Record - 0-4
MOST RUNS:
Damon Egan - 77
MOST WICKETS:
Taylor Beard - 5
Nathan Walsh - 5
2019-20 SEASON BDCA-EVCA CLUB REVIEW SERIES:
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