15/05/2026
Tigers,
At the club’s recent presentation evening we have two awards that we value with high esteem - the Keiran Nihill Club Champion and the Best Clubperson. We value them so highly that they actually receive a trophy unlike the other award winners who get their names on an honour board.
Remarkably this year, two players tied as joint club champions. This has never happened before. One of these players is known in cricketing circles simply as Harry. When this name is mentioned everyone knows who we are referring to which is indicative of the player he is. Harry Whittle, champion player and champion person wins yet another of the top Tiger awards. A special effort, as generally this award is won by all-rounders, but Harry did it this year by his batting alone. Three centuries during the year but these innings were overshadowed by his performance in the semi-final, when he and Tom Calvert put together a partnership for the ages. Wonderful effort, Harry.
The other winner may not be as recognised universally as Harry, but in the confines of the Tiger club, his value is certainly appreciated. Kane Goldsworthy. To illustrate his talent, Kane opens both the batting and bowling in a team loaded with stars. Kane produces when most needed which is a sign of a player that every club seeks. Luckily for United Kane has chosen us. His loyalty to the club is well recognised as we know he is on the shopping list of other clubs, but his love of the Tigers overrules all.
Kane’s first ever club champion trophy could be the start of something special. He could go down as one of the greats as we watch him develop into a player that other teams fear with both bat and ball.
The other major club award is the Best Clubperson. This is won by the person who receives the most votes from all committee persons, to someone who has gone beyond normal expectations and made our club so much better. Club batting coach Rod Whittle is this year’s winner.
Rod really has been our secret weapon. Before our two Division One flags, the club went through four years of disappointment, falling just short of against very good opponents. We realised our batting required two major improvements- a strong top order and dangerous hitters in the lower order to capitalise on those solid starts. We were lucky that the man who could install improvement was someone in our club - enter Rod Whittle. Rod doesn’t just work on technical improvements, but also the mental component of batting and being strong when the pressure is on.
A great example of Rod’s teaching is Paddy Hartney who went from Division Two three years ago to winning both Division One Best Player awards in the past two flags. Our whole batting line up is now confident whoever they play against and whatever the situation - and we thank Rod Whittle’s astute mentorship for this.
Great stuff Kane, Harry and Rod.
