GOL Gol cricket star Shacaya Thomas is a two-time Les Innes Medal winner after a landslide victory in the Sunraysia Cricket Association best and fairest award.
The Jamaican all-rounder was one of the red-hot favourites for Wednesday night’s count following a competition best 29 wickets and third-best 755 runs during a dominant home and away season.
Thomas romped his way to the medal after securing a huge 27 votes, finishing ahead of teammate Wade Hancock who had 16 votes and Irymple captain and previous medal winner Mark Thomson on 15.
Hancock led the competition run scoring until the final day of the season, finishing on 869 runs including four centuries, but was overtaken by Mildura Settlers champion Jason Morrison, whose 170 in the last round saw him finish on 892 runs.
Thomson had a career-best season with the bat making three centuries in his 547 run and 11 wicket campaign.
Thomas’s achievement is made more remarkable by the fact he had major knee surgery last April and missed the opening match of the season.
The all-rounder becomes the 13th player in the history of the Les Innes Medal to win multiple medals after claiming the award in 2020/21.
Since joining the Sunraysia competition in 2017, Thomas has scored more than 4500 runs and taken more than 130 wickets for the NSW side.
In the Premier Women’s division, Katelin Kemp was rewarded for her outstanding all-round campaign to be named the division MVP.
The captain of the combined Coomealla Wentworth-Nichols Point outfit scored a superb 281 runs at 140.5, also taking 14 wickets.
She finished ahead of Mildura Settlers gun Shania McKinnon (19 votes), who scored 210 runs at the same average, and combined-club teammate Eadie Neagle (15), who scored 211 runs and took nine wickets.
Last week Irymple rising star Francis Boulton became the third Swallows player to win the Under 16 John Hall Medal.
Boulton finished the season with 296 runs and 20 wickets, earning 15 votes in the count.
Teammate Tyler McGregor and Josh Driscoll from Mildura West each earned 12 votes to finish joint runner-up.
Alongside the award winners, Gary McGlashan was awarded SCA Life Membership for his contribution to the sport since the 1960’s.
