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Opinion
The third XI shapes to be a different outfit compared to the first and second line-ups.
As is the tradition at cricket clubs, lower-grade sides such as the thirds typically have a mix of older players, youth and players that only want to play for pure enjoyment. Be sure to read through the line-up as there are some great stories to go with why these current and recently retired AFL players have been selected.
Here is the third XI in batting order.
1. Luke Ball (Collingwood and St Kilda)
Ball captained his school cricket team, Xavier College, and even took them to a premiership in the 2000-01 season. He finished his amazing school cricketing career with a total of six centuries as well as holding the record for the second highest amount of runs ever scored in the school competition. This achievement comfortably puts the Collingwood premiership player in the role of opening batsman as well as batting coach of the club. His batting expertise will come in handy for the team.
2. Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
According to Rozee’s MyCricket stats, he has a high score of 111 and a wicket tally of 77 in his 142-game career as a cricketer. His cricket skills that were showcased in an opening partnership at the Adelaide Oval with Port Adelaide teammate Travis Boak prove why Rozee’s cricket numbers might be so good after all. As a result of his solid performance in the bush fire relief T20 showdown game, Rozee will open the batting with Ball and provide some nice firepower early in the innings.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
3. Cameron Ling (captain) (Geelong)
Former Geelong captain and three-time premiership player Ling is a handy addition to the third XI, particularly with what he has achieved on the cricketing field in recent times. Remarkably, Ling has thrived in cricket, having played in every season for his local club St Josephs since his retirement in 2011. In that time, he has averaged 136.24 with the bat along with scoring five centuries in the last two seasons according to his MyCricket stats. A highlight performance was when Ling contributed 79 runs in a 122-run partnership with former Geelong Cats teammate David Wojcinski in a grand final against Alexander Thomson last year. As well as this, with a career average of 266.75 batting at number three, Ling deservedly takes the number three spot in the third XI batting order. Overall, with Ling’s accolades of recent times, he will lead the third XI side at the AFL cricket club.
4. Jake Carlisle (St Kilda)
As a 17-year-old, Carlisle reportedly took a year off AFL to play cricket as well as filling in for a Craigieburn second XI team when they were struggling for numbers. These sorts of actions are highly desired by the third XI as they are the sacrifices that are often required when players are pulling out games as close to an hour before the first ball with any sort of excuse. Actions like Carlisle’s keep the thirds going, which makes the club more than happy to accommodate him.
5. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn and Brisbane)
Hodge is a four-time premiership player, three-time premiership captain, two-time Norm Smith medallist at Hawthorn as well as a talented cricketer in the AFL’s third XI. His impressive display of batting in a T20 exhibition match where he scored 40 runs from 28 balls puts him in a comfortable position in the middle order of the third XI.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
6. James Gwilt (wicketkeeper) (St Kilda and Essendon)
Gwilt played first XI cricket in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition for South Melbourne Cricket Club as a teenager. Nowadays, as an AFL third XI cricketer, he is encouraged to stroll around in his South Melbourne cricket clothes on game days to gain a competitive advantage over the opposition. Strategically, Gwilt will take the gloves for the third XI in the hope that he will always be in the sight of opposition batsmen and playing in their minds with his superior cricket whites on.
7. Jeremy Howe (Collingwood)
It was once reported that Howe broke his finger while filling in for the Koonung Heights Cricket Club in a local T20 semi-final. Howe denied those claims. The fact that he was filling in for the local club comes in as a handy attribute for the third XI, particularly when there are late outs in the side. Howe is also cousins with Australian Test cricketer Matthew Wade. They once went to battle at the MCG indoor nets where Howe was able to secure an impressive result.
8. Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
Former Port Adelaide captain Boak played for Torquay Cricket Club on the coast of Victoria near Geelong. He also represented the local region of Barwon in under-16s for two years in a row, where he took a total of 15 wickets from 13 matches. More recently Boak also proved himself as a cricketer when defeating talented teammate Hamish Hartlett in a game of indoor cricket. Boak will come in handy with his fast bowling as well as his batting late in the innings.
9. Rory Sloane (Adelaide)
Sloane’s catch on the boundary in the T20 bush fire relief game epitomises everything about a third XI catch. Sloane’s catch saw him fall to the ground, to end up on two knees, keeping him balanced for the catch. By going to the ground, Sloane got himself into the ultimate position for a typical third XI catch. Further to my point, as the ball arrived in his hands, he even brought his chest into play to make sure he caught the ball – another mannerism of a third XI cricketer. Overall, Sloane’s unique but completely logical catching ability has him picked in the third XI side as a specialist fieldsman.
(Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
10. Tendai Mzungu (Greater Western Sydney and Fremantle)
The Fremantle 100-gamer Mzungu featured in the Big Bash when he took a crowd catch off the bat of Hobart Hurricanes batsmen George Bailey at the WACA ground. Mzungu’s crowd catch led to a wicket on the very next ball for the Perth Scorchers. The fact that he took his rare chances so sweetly proves that Mzungu should find a spot in the thirds team. We don’t know what his batting or bowling is like so he will be experimented in the side as a wildcard player. We know he has the potential to do something spectacular.
11. Brayden Sier (Collingwood)
The famous Braydon Sier always has a spot in the club’s third XI whenever he wants it. Despite him missing registration every year to avoid the membership fees, the club is always happy to play him under the name of Phil Inn for a couple of games a season. Sier is always a good member to have around the team and is always welcome to play when available.
Nick Smith (Sydney)
Former Sydney 200-gamer Smith was reported to have taken 100 wickets in his school cricket career for Scotch College in Melbourne. He retired from AFL football in 2019.
Sam Sturt (Fremantle)
Sturt was weighing up between footy and cricket only weeks before being drafted to Fremantle at pick 17. Following the TAC Cup grand final Sturt played in, he began his cricket season shortly after as he was still weighing up the decision to pursue an AFL or cricket career. In the first three cricket games of the season, he scored a total of 12 runs including two ducks. This led to his decision to choose the AFL over cricket, which led to him getting drafted a couple of weeks later.
Matt Crouch (Adelaide)
Crouch impressively debuted for Victorian Premier Cricket club Melbourne as a wicketkeeper at the age of 15. He also went on to represent Victoria at an under-17 level a few years later. Recently, he made 36 off 22 balls in the T20 bush fire relief showdown against the Port Adelaide team where over $1 million was raised in that match. Crouch has also batted against Adelaide Strikers Big Bash player Rashid Khan in an over where he was quite good against one of the world’s best leg spinners.
Tom Lynch (Adelaide)
Adelaide 100-gamer Lynch represented Victoria up until the age of 16 as an all-rounder, bowling fast and batting at the top of the order. He also recently led his Adelaide Crows side in the T20 bush fire relief showdown match, where he hit 38 runs off 24 balls against the Port Adelaide side.
Zach Merrett (Essendon)
Merrett was a star batsman for his school side Melbourne Grammar in the APS cricket competition. One season he scored 487 runs from ten games. That is an average of 48.7 runs a game.
Hamish Hartlett (Port Adelaide)
Hartlett has a career average of 43.88 and a high score of 161 according to his MyCricket stats. He also featured in the T20 bush fire showdown match in February 2020 where he got Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey out. Hartlett was also a part of Port Adelaide’s T20 team that represented the Grange Cricket Club in the Adelaide Turf Cricket Association competition in 2019.
Mitchell Lewis (Hawthorn)
Hawthorn tall Mitchell Lewis played in the second XI for Carlton at the age of 15, where he took 17 wickets in the 2014-15 season. He had options as a talented sportsman between golf, cricket and Aussies rules but ended up choosing Aussie rules after being selected in the Calder Cannons AFL pathway team.
Todd Marshall (Port Adelaide)
Marshall was a talented cricketer who represented his state team NSW as a junior and also toured England as part of the Australian combined high schools team. He began his cricket journey as a fast bowler and transitioned to off spin later in his career before choosing to pursue a career in the AFL.
James Bartel (Geelong)
Former Geelong Cats 300-gamer Bartel was a talented cricketer as a teenager. He represented Victoria at under-17 level after winning his St Josephs College school’s batting award in 2000 and 2001 as well as debuting for the school’s first XI as a 16-year-old. Bartel retired from the AFL in 2016 after a Brownlow medal and three premierships.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Jack Lukosius (Gold Coast)
Lukosius, the number two draft pick of the 2018 draft, was a talented cricketer growing up. He represented South Australia in the under-17 national championships in 2016-17. He was selected in the team as an opening bowler.
Tom Papley
Papley was a left-handed top-order batsman who represented the Gippsland region as an under-15 cricketer. He also toured Barbados in the Caribbean region of North America to play cricket there when he was 16.
Eddie McGuire
McGuire has played the role of president in both cricket and the AFL. He was president of the Big Bash club the Melbourne Stars in cricket as well as Collingwood in the AFL. With his experience in this job, he will serve the AFL cricket club as president.
Jason Dunstall
Dunstall, the former 1254-goal-scorer for Hawthorn, will serve the club as vice-president, having had experience at the Melbourne Renegades as chairman.
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