By Owen Watts and Hugo O'Callaghan
Wasim Khan (left) and Blair Burns (right) make their winning speeches at the conclusion of the Hunt-Kelly 'Drownlow' Medal count last Saturday night.
(Photo: Balwyn Saints Cricket Club)
Last Saturday, the Balwyn Saints Cricket Club had its annual ‘Hunt-Kelly Drownlow Medal’ Best and Fairest night, hosted at the Balwyn clubrooms. With many of the senior players returning to the clubrooms, the night was full of celebrations, food, drinks, laughs and antics.
First XI batting all-rounder, Wasim Khan and Third XI bowling all-rounder, Blair Burns were this season’s joint winners of the prestigious award, both polling 17 votes each. This was both Khan and Burns’ first Hunt-Kelly Drownlow Medal for the club, with Khan having played at the club in the First XI for a few seasons now and Burns having his debut season for the club in the Third XI.
Blair Burns had a fantastic year playing one game in the Fourth XI before being moved to the Third XI, playing the next seven games there. Burns impressed early in the Third XI as a quick bowler, taking 3, 2, 3, 3, 3 wickets in his first five games. His next game against Bulleen Cricket Club, Burns arguably played his best game in his career with incredible bowling figures of 6-8 off six overs. Burns, due to his scintillating bowling performances, hadn’t had a lot of opportunity with the bat this season. However, he did make a match-winning 38-not-out against North Balwyn when it looked like North Balwyn would steamroll the Saints. Burns steadied the ship and with Roger Brown guided the Saints to a win, keeping their finals hopes alive.
Wasim Khan once again this season has shown why he is one of the best at this club. After a serious injury during the off-season to his elbow, Khan was in doubt to play cricket. However, with club coach, Paul Fisher keeping in close contact, Khan made the decision to play on for the 2022-23 season. With the bat, Khan made a couple impressive scores including a top score of 78 runs against Richmond Union and a score of 48 against Canterbury. But it was Khan’s bowling which was his highlight from the season, taking wickets consistently with his crafty spin bowling. Some top performances include two games with four wicket-hauls and one game against Canterbury where Khan took 5-28 off seven overs, taking a wicket off the last ball of the game for the win.
In their winning speeches, both Wasim Khan and Blair Burns praised and thanked everyone for the playing opportunity throughout the season and mentioned how special it was to be part of the club and team culture.
“After surgery to my elbow, I wasn’t sure if I would play this season. I’m so proud and I thank the club for the opportunity,” Khan said.
“Thank you to everyone at the club, obviously newly recruited this year, it’s been an absolute cracker with great culture around,” Burns said.
After the ‘Drownlow Medal’ was announced and speeches were said, the afterparty had started. There was plenty of food and drinks being shared and all of the senior players were getting around the ‘Drownlow’ winners. There were also a few light hearted games which included some arm wrestling, with Gary Billings ending up as the undisputed champion.
Top 10 - Hunt-Kelly Drownlow Medal
1. W. Khan and B. Burns (17 votes)
3. W. Spratt (15.2 votes)
4. J. Watts (14 votes)
5. D. Yapa (13.2 votes)
6. M. Pinwill (13.1 votes)
7. V. Sreenivasan (13 votes)
8. M. Hara (12.9 votes)
9. M. Murphy (12.7 votes)
10. J. Collopy (12 votes)
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