A look back at an electrifying season

The 2015-16 Geraldton Bendigo Bank Cricket League season ended on a high with one of the most thrilling grand finals on record.

Today, we look back on the clubs and their efforts over an action-packed season.

Chapman Valley-NorthamptonFifth (three wins, 13 losses).

While the Valley Rams had some good moments, the bad ones tended to be very bad.

They won only three games, all against Bluff Point, who finished above them on the ladder.

In all, 35 players were used in A-grade but between them they managed only four 50s, two of them to captain Nigel Routledge, who headed the batting figures.

Routledge also kept wicket and did well with a league-high 29 dismissals.

Hayden Dawson was the best of the bowlers, with help from Patrick Walsh, Will Gray and Dan Gill, but after them, stocks were painfully thin. CVN’s fieldsmen chased a lot of leather.

It says a lot that Brayden McMath took 6-21 in one game, but his remaining wicket in five other games cost 177 runs.

Bluff PointFourth (two wins, one tie, 13 losses).

The Pointers started with no one wanting the captaincy — a bad sign.

Their season was mostly hard work for the 32 players used, except when they met Towns, who they troubled for some reason by taking a win off them and a tie they should have won.

Ryan Dixon led the batting average and aggregate and also the bowling average, while the amazing Ashley Taylor won the club and league bowling aggregate. Taylor also took a hat-trick in the Twenty20 round.

Darren Taylor scored the only century, but they are always special when against Wanderers, and Dermott Collins had the only five-wicket haul.

To improve, the Pointers need more from a host of players, especially with Ashley Taylor now retired. Jayden Pinto is one with the skills to improve.

WanderersThird (10 wins, seven losses).

The huge age disparity between their experienced and rising players hurt them and they were also hamstrung by the loss of promising paceman Ringo McKenna late in the summer.

Ross Graham marked his return from injury with an unbeaten 150 and veteran Clint Bee also made a ton. They led the batting stats.

Hudson Toomey, a young spinner to keep an eye on, took 5-15 in the preliminary final, and Bruce Gillingham took a five-for in the second-last qualifier — amazingly his first bowl since 1999-2000.

Toomey headed the bowling averages and Bidwell the aggregate, as well as going past 500 career wickets.

Gillingham has reportedly retired with every batting record there is. Others are near their end, but you can’t write off a team that has not missed finals since 1986-87.

TownsSecond (12 wins, one tie, four losses).

Towns will be upset at losing the grand final, but proud of their finish to the season.

Michael Travcich and Jai Russell made tons and topped the batting. Brad Mailer and John Elliman had five-wicket bags, with Glen Wishart and Jake Keleher leading bowling stats.

Elliman, often Towns’ talisman, was hindered by a bad back and had just three wickets at 58 in his first seven games. Then he found a way to manage it and in his last six games took 20 at 8.75.

Four games were salvaged from losing positions, including one against Wanderers when Towns chased down 249 thanks to an impish 77 not out from Vijil Varghese.

Other highlights included the debut of Phoebe Vlahov, the first woman to play A-grade (on merit) and the high-class keeping of Russell.

SportsmansPremiers (15 wins, three losses).

Led for most of the season, but dropped to second in the last round.

No matter, they won the grand final by seven runs.

Clint Yeates not only scored a century and grabbed a five-wicket haul, but also won Cricketer of the Year, the Hogue Medal and the association’s batting average and aggregate. Oh, and he captained brilliantly.

Cody Bone was the league’s ace all-rounder, topping the bowling stats with 27 cheap wickets as well as making 287 runs — and that was despite missing eight games.

Ben and Ben O’Brien also took five-wicket hauls, while Lucas Horwood was another century maker.

It was curious that Sportsmans had basically the same team as the previous two seasons, when they missed the finals. The difference was the coaching and counsel of Martin Tobin.

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N Routledge (CN) 29

M Gallop (W) 26

J Russell (T) 22

C Yeates (S) 17

B O’Brien (S) 12

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1st 153 B v W D Taylor-P Maxwell

2nd 125 S v CN MP Tobin-LD Horwood

3rd 158 T v CN J Russell-D Lennard

4th 105 S v T C Yeates-C Bone

5th 96 T v CN J Russell-M Travcich

6th 96* S v T C Yeates-LD Horwood

7th 58 B v T A Taylor-C Shilling

8th 38 S v B D Welsh-MP Tobin

9th 38 W v CN R Lane-GR McKenna

10th 38 S v T G Barndon-J Jones

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Oct 17 2015 (T20) : Dan Welsh — 200th wkt for Sportsmans; Joe Italiano — 327th inns placing him 4th on all-time list.

Oct 24 2015 (T20) : Ashley Taylor — hat trick (first in A-gde T20).

Nov 7 2015 : Lucas Horwood — 2000 runs; Clint Yeates — 18th century; Ross Graham — 6th century.

Nov 14 2015 : Brad Mailer — 3rd 5 wkt haul.

Nov 21 2015 : Bruce Gillingham — 400th inns for Wanderers; Lucas Horwood — 1st century.

Nov 28 2015 : John Elliman — 12th to make 2000 runs for Towns; Brayden McMath and Dermott Collins — 1st 5 wkt bags.

Dec 5 2015 : Carl Shilling — 100th wkt; Darren Taylor - 1000 runs; Michael Travcich — maiden century.

Dec 12 2015 : Shane Bidwell — 500th wkt; Clint Bee — 5000 runs.

Dec 19 2015 : Bruce Gillingham — 15,000 runs; Ashley Taylor — 300th wkt.

Jan 30 2015 : Ryan Dixon — 2000 runs.

Feb 6 2016 : Clint Yeates — 7000 runs.

Feb 27 2016 : Darren Taylor — maiden century; Cody Bone — 200th wicket; Clint Yeates — 5000 runs for Sportsmans; Bruce Gillingham — 3rd 5 wkt bag; Peter Maxwell — 1000 runs.

Mar 5 2016 : Clint Yeates — 2nd Cricketer of the Year Award; Troy Bedford — 3rd B-grade Cricketer of the Year.

Mar 12 2016 : Ben O'Brien — 1st 5 wkt haul.

Mar 14 2016 : Clint Yeates — 2nd Hogue Medal; Ashley Taylor awarded Life Membership.

Mar 19 2016 : Sportsmans — 4th flag, Wanderers win B-gde. Jono Jones and Jadyn Fitzsimmons are respective best players.