By Jonty Ralphsmith
As a team last season, Beaconsfield made four half-centuries.
The club had just two batters in the top 30 run-scorers – Ashan Madushanka and Michael Vandort – who scored 476 runs between them.
Already this season, recruit Tyler Clark has scored more than that pair combined with 504 runs from nine hits to lead the Turf 2 competition run-scorers in Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) Turf 2 .
He has also raised his bat for 50 more than the entire First XI last season, doing it five times, on one of those occasions bringing up triple figures.
He also has three 40s, as well as three handy contributions in the Tigers’ T20s as Beaconsfield captain Mark Cooper has seen growth in his stroke play, having spent two seasons with him at Kooweerup.
“He was a good technical batter when I first met him but didn’t have many expansive parts to his game so could get tied down for a period of time,” Cooper said, noting the progression in his leg-side game in particular.
“Working through those times has been a part of our journey for a couple of years.
“It’s been a bit of a change (at Beaconsfield).
“When we played together at Kooweerup, I was more the aggressor, and he would take a backseat role.
“He’s picked up his game on turf really well and he’s doing the scoring and I’m playing the secondary part now.
“The ability to know each other’s game has been a big part of the partnership.”
The slow and often turning Perc Allison Reserve wicket meant collapses were commonplace for and against a Beaconsfield side that finished seventh last season.
Clark has shown the way to play at Perc, grafting through some tricky periods this season: don’t let bowlers get on top, move around so you’re not bogged down, and frustrate by rotating the strike.
“Sitting back on the ball and waiting for it, rather than playing through it is important,” Clark said of playing at Perc Allison.
“You just have to keep wickets in hand, bat time and give the team the opportunity to post a reasonable total and it especially helps if you do bat first.”
That was on display on the weekend against Doveton, his 40 being worth much more in the context of the game given the weather prior to the contest.
He was steady early, which provided a platform for Michael Dunstan to up the ante late.
Generally, Clark is a player who seems to get from zero to 20 playing risk-averse cricket, as he assesses the wicket and shows the way to bat on it, laying a foundation for his team.
“You’re looking to be proactive,” Clark said, playing just his second full season of turf cricket.
“Even if I’m not scoring freely I want to be moving around my crease and forcing the bowler to change his lengths even if I’m not scoring at a run a ball.
“You need to be creating opportunities for yourself so that has been a difference from years gone by and if that means sometimes you employ different techniques to access different areas of the ground, you do that.
“It’s key to starting the innings well particularly in a one dayer.”
That mindset which has seen Clark take responsibility in a young lineup, has set up Beaconsfield to average 182 batting first this season compared to 135 last season.
He’s been assisted by a left-hand, right-hand opening combination, which throws bowlers’ lines, creating more scoring opportunities.
Importantly, though, Clark and Cooper have capitalised, averaging 68 for the first wicket.
The quality of that pair at the top of the order, though is something of a poisoned chalice for Beaconsfield.
It has protected the middle order from much pressure throughout the season, which is why Clark believes the weekend’s outing against Doveton was the most complete performance.
After he set the innings up, the middle-order showed their capabilities, Riley Clark, Jesse Busacca, Ashan Madushanka and Dunstan all chipping in with late cameos.
One player who hasn’t got into the season so far but could prove handy should Cooper and Clark both fall early at the business end is Lachie Ramage, a technically correct batter and steady builder of an innings.
While there has been some mixing up of the batting order, there is continuity in the make up of the First XI, and the reserves are on top of their ladder, Brendan Johnson and Brad Miles among the batting depth.
Their bowling stocks are also well suited to the Perc Allison wicket, with Cooper’s and Madushanka’s spin throughout the season nabbing 17 wickets each.
Callan Tout and Jake Cutting are also bowling well upfront, while Jack Burchill has shown he is more than capable of chipping in with his mediums.
Beacy sit half a game clear on top, well clear of second-placed Heinz Southern Districts on percentage, runs scored, wickets taken and runs conceded.
The new, experienced heads have carried the load, but there’s increasing week-on-week promise from the blooming youngsters, propelling the club to premiership favouritism.
