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 Geelong’s Dom McGlinchey, who was outstanding with ball in hand on the weekend. In his side’s win, McGlinchey picked up five wickets in his 10 overs, ripping apart the opposition batting order to help drive his team to a win.

However, this round’s Player of the Week award goes to another Geelong player, but instead it is a teammate up the other end of the batting order. Opener Hayden Butterworth was simply outstanding in his team’s upset victory over Casey-South Melbourne on Saturday. Giving fans at Geelong Cricket Oval some terrific viewing, Butterworth was marvellous with his shot selection and execution, and was one of the main reasons his team was able to emerge victorious.

When Casey-South Melbourne set a total of 242 from the first innings, Geelong would need at least one batsman to stand up at the crease, and Butterworth led by example. Facing 128 balls, the opener set the tone for his side by producing an innings that set his side up for victory. He was able to find the boundary 13 times, and delivered a healthy balance of patience and aggression.

After manning the crease for over three hours, Butterworth was dismissed for 107 runs. There is no doubt that his efforts set his side up for the upset win. He was far and away the strongest performing batsman for his side, being the only one who scored more than 43 runs. However, the pressure was well and truly relieved for the rest of the batting order, with the Butterworth allowing his teammates to head out to the crease with plenty of balls remaining as they chased down the total to claim their third win of the season.

Geelong take on Dandenong in Round 9, and with the sides currently holding identical records, Butterworth will again be a massive factor in his side emerging victorious.