New Mehta in GMC

Mehta polled best in umpire voting throughout the season, putting in standout performances with both bat and ball.

The BLU all-rounder made a respectable 400 runs at 44.44, highlighted by important knocks of 84, 61, and most crucially 106 in the Lions’ win over Moama in round 18, the premier’s only defeat of the season.

Mehta was even more impressive with ball in hand, the right-arm leg spinner taking 36 wickets, the equal most in the competition, at an average of 14.08.

His best performance was a 5-52 showing against Nondies-Cohuna in round four, but consistency was also a key aspect of Mehta’s game.

The newly crowned medallist only failed to claim a scalp on one occasion throughout the campaign, taking two or more wickets in 12 different outings.

The other major award on the night, A-grade cricketer of the year, was awarded to Echuca South’s Asantha Singappuli.

The trophy, awarded based on the champion player metric, is a statistically driven honour considering performance with both bat and ball.

Singappulli led the wicket-takers’ list, also claiming 36 wickets at a slightly superior average to Mehta of 12.17.

He also topped the batting charts, making 653 runs at 46.64 over the season, including two hundreds, three fifties, and a further three 40+ scores.

The Swans star has now claimed the champion player honour in two of the past three campaigns.

In the other grades, Moama’s Kirk Teasdale won player of the year for B-grade Goulburn, while Tongala’s Callum Tucker was deemed the league’s best in B-grade Murray.

C-grade saw Rochester’s Leigh Hartshorne claim the honours, and Stanhope’s Adam Braithwaite dominated D-grade.