The 2014 Willowfest presentation dinner saw one of the closest races for the Sovereign's MDP award in Dedication history. Jakob Sluiter took an early lead after the first two games, with his 72* in game two garnering him the lion's share of the votes. Joel Thomas also took some early votes due to some tight bowling on the first two days. Despite not getting huge numbers of early votes, both Joel McMahon (7 wickets on day 3) and Haydn Falconer (5 wickets on day 4) were always going to be in the running.
Going into the final round, Jake Sluiter was still holding onto his lead, but Falconer's 5 wicket haul, along with some 2 and 1-vote performances in earlier games, was enough to get him over the line.
The other major Dedication award - the much less sought after Horse's Arse award - was also an extremely close race. Reflecting a great year for the team, this year's award was won with a record low number of points, and for the first time ever, a player (Joel McMahon) went a whole tournament without accruing a single point.
In the end, thanks to some tough dropped catches and a shocking misfield on the final day, the Horse's Arse trophy ended up in the hands of Jakob Sluiter.
Going into the final round, Jake Sluiter was still holding onto his lead, but Falconer's 5 wicket haul, along with some 2 and 1-vote performances in earlier games, was enough to get him over the line.
The other major Dedication award - the much less sought after Horse's Arse award - was also an extremely close race. Reflecting a great year for the team, this year's award was won with a record low number of points, and for the first time ever, a player (Joel McMahon) went a whole tournament without accruing a single point.
In the end, thanks to some tough dropped catches and a shocking misfield on the final day, the Horse's Arse trophy ended up in the hands of Jakob Sluiter.