ANOTHER weekend of Victoria Premier Cricket Premier Men’s Firsts has wrapped, with plenty of impressive performances around the competition. In this series, we put the spotlight on one individual performance that may have caught the eye of teammates, opponents and fans. With plenty to choose from each week, it is worth mentioning that there will be some unlucky players that miss out on a weekly basis.

This week, that honour belongs to Northcote bowler Michael Edwards, who was outstanding with ball in hand. He finished with figures of 6/21 as he tore through the Camberwell Magpies batting order to see them all out for just 59 in a terrific outing.

This week’s Player of the Week award goes to Ringwood batsman Thomas Rogers, who was last week’s runner-up of this honour, with 118 runs next to his name. However, he was able to beat that total this week, producing one of the most impressive knocks of the season as he led his side to a whopping total with his skilled and composed work with bat in hand.

When his side were sent out by opponent Prahran to bat first, Rogers opened the batting as he always does, and wasted no time getting things going. He was able to make the most of the opportunity to post the first total, and made sure this score was all but unreachable for the opposition.

The Prahran bowlers had no answer for Rogers, who seemingly did as he pleased at the crease. His aggressiveness with bat in hand was something to be marvelled at, constantly playing each shot with perfection, with many of eluding the field and racing away to the boundary line for four.

No matter who else was out there, it was always the smart option for Ringwood to have Rogers facing the next delivery, given the outstanding form he was not only in during this match, but the weeks prior too.

In the end, he finished with a total of 200 runs not out, with opposing players and coaches unable to find the stumps or draw an edge to slip, with Rogers completely in control at all times. This total took just 151 balls to reach, in a display that cannot be described as anything but dominant. His willingness to take on the Prahran bowlers was just as terrific, finishing with 25 boundary’s for the day (four went over the rope for six).

His outstanding performance with bat in hand led his side to a whopping total of 325, which was obviously not reached by Prahran, so there is no hesitation in calling Rogers’ performance match-winning. He has been one of the most impressive batsmen in the competition of late, and this match gave teammates, opponents and fans a true taste of what he can do in the future.