WHITE Hills savoured a rare taste of modern BDCA finals action in season 2019-20, finishing in the top four for just the second time in the past 21 seasons.
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After finishing fourth on the ladder the Demons were pitted against Strathale-Maristians in a Bell Oval semi-final and a massive upset looked possible when White Hills had the Suns reeling at 3-4 on day one.
However, the Suns regrouped, posted 173 and then bowled White Hills out for 136 to leave the Demons still without a first XI grand final appearance since their last flag in 1993.
When firing the Demons were a potent force with the bat - on one three-game stretch from rounds four to six they made consecutive scores of 285 against Sandhurst, 1-286 against Bendigo United and 299 against Bendigo.
The 1-286 against Bendigo United in round five featured a maiden century to Rhys Irwin (119 n.o.), as well as a 12th career ton for Gavin Bowles (100 n.o.) in what was a memorable day for the club.
So too was the Demons' round seven win over Golden Square when favourite son Bowles celebrated his 200th first XI game.
In what's a familiar tale the Demons' batting was again heavily reliant on the trio of captain Mitch Winter-Irving (650 runs), Irwin (378) and Bowles (362), while Irwin also had a major impact with the ball, taking 33 wickets followed by spinner Linc Jacobs' 26.
Despite being hampered by a back injury early in the season, Winter-Irving's 650 runs and 16 wickets earned his the captaincy of the BDCA Team of the Year.
IN A NUTSHELL
Record - 6-6-2
Finished - 4th
Batting rank - 3rd
Bowling rank - 8th
Average scores:
Batting - 229
Bowling - 236
SEASON RESULTS
Round 1: 7-211 lt Bendigo United 7-212
Round 2: 291 lt Kangaroo Flat 6-386
Round 3: 0-0 drew Golden Square 7-318
Round 4: 285 def Sandhurst 266
Round 5: 1-286 def Bendigo United 241
Round 6: 299 def Bendigo 160
Round 7: 2-176 def Golden Square 7-175
Round 8: 146 lt Strathfieldsaye 8-150
Round 9: 8-68 def Sandhurst 67
Round 10: 4-79 drew Strathdale-Maristians 9-344
Round 11: 146 def Strathfieldsaye 128
Round 12: 89 & 7-127 lt Eaglehawk 168
Round 13: 164 lt Huntly-North Epsom 173
Semi-final: 136 lt Strathdale-Maristians 173
LADDER POSITIONS
Round 1: 6th (0-1)
Round 2: 9th (0-2)
Round 3: 10th (0-2-1)
Round 4: 10th (1-2-1)
Round 5: 5th (2-2-1)
Round 6: 3rd (3-2-1)
Round 7: 3rd (4-2-1)
Round 8: 3rd (4-3-1)
Round 9: 3rd (5-3-1)
Round 10: 3rd (5-3-2)
Round 11: 3rd (6-3-2)
Round 12: 3rd (6-4-2)
Round 13: 4th (6-5-2)
TOP 5 BATSMEN
1 - Mitch Winter-Irving
Runs: 650 Innings: 14
Avr: 50.00 High: 150
100s: 1 50s: 5
League rank: 3
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2 - Rhys Irwin
Runs: 378 Innings: 14
Avr: 29.08 High: 119*
100s: 1 50s: 1
League rank: 16
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3 - Gavin Bowles
Runs: 362 Innings: 14
Avr: 27.85 High: 100
100s: 1 50s: 2
League rank: 17
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4 - Dylan Baillie
Runs: 162 Innings: 11
Avr: 14.73 High: 69
100s: 0 50s: 1
League rank: 52
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5 - Caleb Barras
Runs: 138 Innings: 11
Avr: 15.33 High: 45*
100s: 0 50s: 0
League rank: 61
TOP 5 BOWLERS
1 - Rhys Irwin
Wickets: 33 Overs: 221
Avr: 17.58 Best: 6-45
Strike: 40.18 5W Inns: 1
League rank: 4
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2 - Linc Jacobs
Wickets: 26 Overs: 221
Avr: 26.04 Best: 4-58
Strike: 51.00 5W Inns: 0
League rank: 10
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3 - Mitch Winter-Irving
Wickets: 16 Overs: 108
Avr: 19.00 Best: 5-27
Strike: 40.50 5W Inns: 1
League rank: 24
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4 - Jack Bourke
Wickets: 15 Overs: 159
Avr: 33.13 Best: 3-6
Strike: 63.60 5W Inns: 0
League rank: 30
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5 - Dylan Baillie
Wickets: 14 Overs: 123
Avr: 23.07 Best: 3-15
Strike: 52.71 5W Inns: 0
League rank: 31
TOP 5 MVP POINTS
1 - Rhys Irwin
Points: 1093
Runs: 378 Wickets: 33
Fielding: 5
League rank: 2
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2 - Mitch Winter-Irving
Points: 1015
Runs: 650 Wickets: 16
Fielding: 4
League rank: 3
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3 - Linc Jacobs
Points: 652
Runs: 92 Wickets: 26
Fielding: 4
League rank: 24
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4 - Jack Bourke
Points: 478
Runs: 93 Wickets: 15
Fielding: 8
League rank: 43
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5 - Dylan Baillie
Points: 462
Runs: 162 Wickets: 14
Fielding: 2
League rank: 48
CENTURIES
150 - Mitch Winter-Irving
vs Bendigo, rd 6
119* - Rhys Irwin
vs Bendigo United, rd 5
100 - Gavin Bowles
vs Bendigo United, rd 5
FIVE-FORS
6-45 - Rhys Irwin
vs Strathdale, semi-final
5-27 - Mitch Winter-Irving
vs Strathfieldsaye, rd 11
TWENTY20 COMPETITION
Record - 2-2
MOST RUNS:
Brayden Stepien - 144
MOST WICKETS:
Linc Jacobs - 8
2019-20 SEASON BDCA-EVCA CLUB REVIEW SERIES:
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