Dane Ugle’s sensational finish to the 2017/18 Western Australian Premier Cricket season netted him his first Martin Baird Medal on Saturday night as Rockingham-Mandurah’s best senior player.
The count, as voted by the players in all four grades, fluctuated throughout the evening at Lark Hill after the round 15 match against Fremantle was completed.
Ugle finished on 19 votes after he scored his third century in four matches, 125 plus 2/32 from 10 overs in the Mariners’ seven run loss to Fremantle at Stevens Reserve.
The right-hander stormed home with 14 votes after the Christmas break, polling three votes on four occasions.
Going into the final round’s play, youngster Ronan Hogarth led the count on 17 votes but was unable to poll in second grade’s one wicket win at Lark Hill.
The all-rounder had a tremendous season in second and third grades, polling in nine separate matches from an output of 300 plus runs and more than 20 wickets.
The count swayed throughout the evening with Ed Pollock getting off to a flyer with two maximum vote games.
Pollock, Hogarth and last year’s winner Shaune Guppy had moved away from the chasers by Christmas before new year bursts by Ugle.
After finishing second in last year’s count, Ugle’s match-winning performances of three centuries, one half-century and his miraclulous four wicket final over maiden against Joondalup got him across the line by two votes.