Kale McBain was tonight announced as the third winner of the Horse's Arse Award, presented in front of a large crowd at the Willowfest presentation dinner. McBain thoroughly deserved the award, making 3 ducks for the week and having the lowest batting average in the team. The MDP award went to Joel McMahon for the second year in a row, winning comfortably with 101 votes ahead of Cameron Roberts on 48. Third place went to Joel Thomas with 40. Other notable vote-getters included Hadleigh Sirret (2), The Beast (1), Danielle Dawson (1), Troy Nicholson (1), and of course the great man Scarby, who with 21 votes beat 5 Dedication players in the count.
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Dedication player Joel McMahon was tonight named player of the carnival for Willowfest 2007. McMahon finished on a total of 10 votes, tieing the award with a player from cup grade side Croydon Cockatoos. For the second year in a row, McMahon was also selected in the Lencia XI, the team made up of the best performing players from the entire tournament. McMahon was lost for words when he received the awards, and in his acceptance speech he forgot to thank the rest of the Dedication players for playing so badly that he received all the votes. He won $500 worth of cricket gear, including a bat, which will no doubt be useful in replacing his old bat which was held together with orange tape.
Dedication batsman Joel McMahon today broke his own record for the highest score by a Dedication batsman, with an innings of 91 from just 52 deliveries against Kangarilla. McMahon's innings, along with his bowling later on, helped Dedication to their first win of the 2007 tournament. Also in the game against Kangarilla, Ash Spencer made his first runs for the year.
Dedication C.C held its final training session at No1 oval Mildura today. Turnout at the training was reasonably high, considering the proximity to Christmas. Selectors were, however, disappointed that Bill Barber again failed to show up to training, making him the only Dedication player to not have trained with the squad. Many commentators have surmised that this lack of dedication to training may have cost Barber the vice-captaincy (announced earlier this week).
A serious mishap occurred at today's training session, and whilst it is not expected to affect this year's Dedication squad, it could well have a bearing on the club in a couple of decades. A ball hit by Joel McMahon was screaming along the ground towards Jake Sluiter, who decided to let it roll through his legs. Unfortunately, at the last minute, the ball kicked up and caught Sluiter square in the gonads, making it unlikely that there will be future generations of Sluiters available to play for Dedication in years to come. Dedication selectors today announced Tyler Hankinson as vice-captain of the team for Willowfest 2007. The decision ended rampant speculation amongst fans that Hankinson was to be replaced in the team with Adam Burke. Hankinson's promotion came as a shock to some fans, but many were pleased with the appointment, pointing out that not only has Hankinson played every game for Dedication, but is also the only player to have won both the club's awards. Leadership aspirant Bill Barber is understood to be disappointed on missing out, although few commentators gave him much hope of getting the position after he was dropped from the squad last year. At a press conference today, Barber stated that "I'm a bit disappointed, but as long as Sluiter doesn't get it, I can handle it."
Speculation amongst Dedication fans is rife after two new faces appeared at Dedication training on Sunday. The first of these new players was Brody McBain, brother of Kale, and the consensus among Dedication fans seems to be that he will not be taking the field for the club. It is the second of the players, Adam Burke, however, who is causing a stir amongst supporters. Burke is widely known to be chasing a spot in the Dedication squad, and his appearance at training has sparked much debate about whether he might get his wish. Some commentators are arguing that selectors have recruited Burke to replace Tyler Hankinson, whose repeated attempts to injure Joel McMahon at training have severely harmed team harmony. Other reports suggest that Burke is only being considered as a replacement for Hankinson's rumoured absence on the final day of the tournament. This spot, however, was long assumed to belong to Luke Gibbons, and many of Gibbons' fans have expressed outrage at the possibility of Burke coming into the team. Dedication management has refused to comment on any of these rumours, ensuring that speculation will continue to rage.
Dedication C.C. had a very successful training session at the Mildura East C.C. nets yesterday afternoon, with many players showing fine form. Attendance was very pleasing, with only 3 of the Dedication squad not present. Despite all being invited, however, only one Halls Enforcers player turned up, demonstrating the extreme lack of dedication present in that squad. The one player who did attend, Chris Hope, struggled against the Dedication bowling, showing little evidence of his supposed improvement in the off season.
Dedication also had the chance to practice batting against a bowling machine - a good preparation for facing the supposed extreme pace of Enforcers bowler Hadleigh Sirret. Whilst batsmen struggled against the machine at top pace, when it was brought back to Sirret's pace, the Dedication top order managed to play the ball without too much trouble. Harmony within the Dedication ranks has hit an all time low after another spat between players emerged at training yesterday. It seems that Tyler Hankinson has been getting worried about his position in the batting order after the influx of talent into this year's Dedication squad. With the addition of Roberts, Spencer and Barber to the lineup, it is understood Hankinson is worried he may be dropped down the order.
At training yesterday, Hankinson reportedly attempted to rectify the situation by taking Joel McMahon, a player many expect to bat above Hankinson. Whilst McMahon was in the nets collecting balls from the bowling machine, Hankinson took aim with the machine set at 100mph, and shot a ball at McMahons back. Fortunately for Dedication, the shot missed, and left McMahon a little shaken but unhurt. Hankinson afterwards claimed that he had not seen McMahon in the nets, but few people believe him, and he will be kept under close observation at training from now on in order to prevent a repeat incident. Hankinson has been given a horse's arse point for the incident, giving him an early lead in the award, and making him a favourite to take out the award for the second time. Dedication CC held its first training session on Friday November 30th at No 1 oval. Whilst the turnout wasn't as high as hoped, selectors were very pleased with the form shown by those in attendance. Several players who have not played cricket for a long time took little time to get back into the swing of things. The presence of Halls Enforcers captain Chris Hope at the training session was useful in giving Dedication players a huge confidence boost.
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