The cricket season is inching ever-closer as Victoria races towards its vaccination benchmarks.
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Last summer may seem like a lifetime ago but the 2020-21 season offered plenty of learning opportunities.
We dove into the stats to find every club's strength and the areas for improvement.
GOLDEN POINT
2020: 5th (lost grand final)
THE GOOD
3397 runs
The Pointies were the second highest-scoring side last season, which makes that weakness below more surprising. But, more on that later. Runs are currency and collecting them in such amounts leaves Golden Point with flexibilty comes to their game plan.
THE BAD
20 half-centuries, 1 century
Golden Points' conversion rate - 0.05 per cent - doesn't make for pretty reading. The Pointies had six different half-centurions, with Josh White, the side's only centurion, hitting eight of them. Granted, raising the bat is a tough thing to do in limited-overs cricket, but the more batters than can do it, the less exposed you are to ill luck or challenges.
NORTH BALLARAT
2020: 6th (lost semi final)
THE GOOD
15 ducks
The Roosters had fewer batters walk back scoreless than anyone else. It's not an overly-influential statistic, but it's a comforting thing to know. North Ballarat was the third-highest scoring club last season, hitting 3105 runs, so clearly it had an impact.
THE BAD
ave. economy rate of 5.76
For a side with a formidable bowling unit, it may be surprising that the Roosters had the worst average economy rate last season. Limited-overs are naturally higher-scoring and the game is reaching a point where run rates eclipsing 5 are normal. Still, the best sides can limit their opponent's scoring and slowing the rate is a key step to victory.
MT CLEAR
2020: 3rd (lost semi final)
THE GOOD
ave. 18.339 runs per wicket
Mt Clear was the most lethal side last season, on average leaking just 18 runs per wicket. The form of Grant Trevenen and Steven Nicholson was big reason why. The pair snared 27 and 26 wickets, respecitvely, at averages of 18.7 and 17.5.
THE BAD
2332 runs
Mt Clear's status as a bowling side is pretty clear. The Mounties were the lowest-scoring side last season, but still progresses as far as the semi finals. Six half-centuries also sees them at the bottom of the competition. A lack of runs has the potential to be costly, but the Mounties are still winning plenty of games.
BROWN HILL
2020: 9th
THE GOOD
126 wickets
For a side that finished second-to-last last summer, a handy haul of 126 wickets shows potential. The tally has the Bulls competitive towards the middle of the pack. There may be cause for concern though. Seventeen of the wickets came thanks to Virj Pushpakumara, who's crossed to Napoleons-Sebastopol.
THE BAD
ave. economy rate of 4.99
The Bulls may be taking wickets, but it's coming at a cost. Brown Hill had the second-worst average economy rate last season, only better than North Ballarat. A lowly 80 maidens also doesn't help the equation. In a shift to shorter formats, tightening up will become a necessity.
WENDOUREE
2020: 1st (lost semi final)
THE GOOD
3806 runs
Wendouree's strength is clear. The Red Caps score big runs for fun. With the help of Sam Miller's four centuries, Wendouree piled on more runs than anyone else last season. It's haul was more than 400 clear of Golden Point in second.
THE BAD
99 maidens
Thankfully the Red Caps pile on the runs because they're bowling can let them down at times. A total of 99 maidens is nothing to shrug the shoulders at, but it puts Wendouree in the middle of the pack. With more limited-overs games on the horizon and scoreboard pressure increasingly important, it highlights an area of improvement for premiership hopefuls.
BALLARAT-REDAN
2020: 7th
THE GOOD
2 centuries
The Two Swords had the equal-second highest amount of centurions last season. Importantly, they came from two different sources - Zac Jenkins and Jack Riding. The more players able to notch big scores, the more outlets a side had to escape trouble. Granted, a 0.18 conversion rate is lacklustre, but the groundwork is there.
THE BAD
116 wickets
Ballarat-Redan was one of the worst sides with ball in hand last summer, with only Buninyong and Napoleons Sebastopol claiming less scalps. Of concern is the fact that the Two Swords also have a middliving average of 27.34.
DARLEY
2020: 4th (won grand final)
THE GOOD
166 wickets
Winning a premiership requires all-round excellence, but the Lions can be extra thankful for their bowling unit. Darley took more wickets than anyone else last season. With two players claiming more than 30 scalps and another two passing 20, there's no doubting the club's ability with ball in hand.
THE BAD
highest individual score of 67
It's tough to find a knock on a benchmark side. But, big scores are a rarity for the Lions. The highest individual score was just 67. A fair knock, still, but not match winning. It could be looked at two ways. For optimists it's a sign that runs are shared and the team wins as unit. There's one question pessimists will have. Who will be able to step up and win a game off their own bat if needed?
BUNINYONG
2020: 8th
THE GOOD
2430 runs
In the bigger picture, it's a low runs tally, but it offers a platform to build on. Three teams scored fewer runs than Buninyong last season. Importantly, the load was shared as well. Three players topped 300 runs and the average for a Bunnies' batter, 19.29, was the third-highest in the competition.
THE BAD
ave. runs per wicket of 35.98
The Bunnies conceded more runs per wicket than anyone else, which is even-more debilitating taking their equal-lowest wicket haul into account.
NAPOLEONS-SEBASTOPOL
2020: 10th
THE GOOD
ave. economy rate of 4.07
It may be a surprise to some but Naps-Sebas had the second best economy rate in the competition last summer. Averaging only slightly over four an over in one-dayers is no small feat.
THE BAD
101 wickets
Although they were stringent, Naps-Sebas struggled to take wickets. A tally of just 101 was the lowest in the competition last summer, alongside Buninyong. Though three got close, no Naps-Sebas bowler was able to eclipse 20 wickets either.
EAST BALLARAT
2020: 2nd (lost qualifying final)
THE GOOD
128 maidens
Few sides can strangle their opponent like the Hawks. A haul of 128 maidens was equal second-best in the competition. It might be the same this summer though with spearhead Oliver Hayes returning to play in Melbourne. Hayes bowled a club-high 36 maidens last season. Luke Corden's form was a big reason why, having bowled 116 overs at an economy of 3.31.
THE BAD
2827 runs
East Ballarat scored a middling amount of runs last season. Just under 20 per cent off them came from the bat of one person, Harry Ganley, as well. They're both pretty insignificant figures in comparison to the Hawks' second-place finish and deep finals run, but shows where they can take their game to new heights.