Tatura product Michael Archer’s Victorian Premier Cricket campaign is progressing in fine fashion, with the leg-spinner ranked fifth on the competition’s wicket-taking table.
He currently has 20 wickets to his name at a tidy average of 20.6, with best figures of 5-46, and with Carlton currently third halfway through the season, Archer’s influence has been apparent in the club’s pursuit of a second flag in three seasons.
Meanwhile, Old Students’ Ashton Frost and Katamatitie’s Kepler Lukies returned from the Under-19 National Championship’s with a semi-final appearance under their belt after a strong Victoria Country campaign.
Lukies employed his spin variety to good effect, with seven wickets for the tournament and his best figures of 3-33 against New South Wales in the competition opener underscoring his value for Victoria.
It wasn’t long after that Lukies was bound for the 33rd South East Asia Games competing for the Phillipines in Thailand, where he starred in the T20 competition.
Lukies and the Phillipines eventually finished with silver medals, in part due to the Katty product’s exploits with the ball, which included a hat-trick against Malaysia and a top-score of 43 with the bat.
Meanwhile, Frost built on his First XI debut for Footscray earlier this year with new-ball duties for Victoria, including a dramatic finale to its clash against WA where Frost, taking the last over, helped the Big V to a nail-biting one-run win.